Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror

by Mia Bloom

What motivates suicide bombers in Iraq and around the world? Can winning the hearts and minds of local populations stop them? Will the phenomenon spread to the United States? These vital questions are at the heart of this important book. Mia Bloom examines the use, strategies, successes, and failures of suicide bombing in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and assesses the effectiveness of government responses. She argues that in many instances the efforts of Israel, Russia, and the United States in Iraq have failed to deter terrorism and suicide bombings. Bloom also considers how terrorist groups learn from one another, how they respond to counterterror tactics, the financing of terrorism, and the role of suicide attacks against the backdrop of larger ethnic and political conflicts.

Dying to Kill begins with a review of the long history of terrorism, from ancient times to modernity, from the Japanese Kamikazes during World War II, to the Palestinian, Tamil, Iraqi, and Chechen terrorists of today. Bloom explores how suicide terror is used to achieve the goals of terrorist to instill public fear, attract international news coverage, gain support for their cause, and create solidarity or competition between disparate terrorist organizations. She contends that it is often social and political motivations rather than inherently religious ones that inspire suicide bombers. In her chapter focusing on the increasing number of women suicide bombers and terrorists, Bloom examines Sri Lanka, where 33 percent of bombers have been women; Turkey, where the PKK used women feigning pregnancy as bombers; and the role of the Black Widows in the Chechen struggle against Moscow.

The motives of individuals, whether religious or nationalist, are important but the larger question is, what external factors make it possible for suicide terrorism to flourish? Bloom describes these conditions and develops a theory of why terrorist tactics work in some instances and fail in others.

Genres: International Relations, Sociology, Terrorism

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the major studies of suicide terrorism. Anyone interested in the subject should read this book, as well as other major sources (such as Robert Pape's work and Ami Pedahzur's edited volume). She begins by providing a brief history of suicide terrorism--which has roots going back quite a distance historically (the Zealots of Judea to the Kamikaze during World War II).

She emphasizes that, contrary to what some people say about terrorism being irrational, this is a political tactic that can make sense under certain circumstances. Early on, she notes that (page 1):

Terrorist groups appear to use suicide bombings under two
conditions: when other terrorist or military tactics fail,
and when they are in competition with other terrorist
groups for popular or financial support.

In addition, she contends that suicide bombings can only be effective when a population is supportive of this tactic. Also, she observes that history shows that harsh punitive counterterrorist tactics actually exacerbate the situation. Ham-fisted antiterrorist actions leads to more people who are "dying to kill." A kind of contagion effect has been manifest over time. Bloom says that (page 126) "As suicide terror has proven relatively successful in the Middle East or places like Sri Lanka, there has been an upsurge in the number of regions, countries, and non-state actors that utilize it as a tactic in their nationalist struggles against (real or perceived) foreign occupations."

She concludes by noting that the United States has a potential "lose-lose" in Iraq. On the one hand, if the United States stays in Iraq over time, it will be perceived as an occupying power and be subject to greater suicide terrorist tactics against it. On the other hand, if the United States pulls out prematurely, that would embolden terrorist strikes, as the U. S. appears to be a "paper tiger." This becomes another side effect of the United States' invasion of Iraq. If she is correct, another legacy of the war may be implications for future terrorist actions against the United States.

This book was written several years ago, so it is interesting to see how well her analysis has held up over time. . . .

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mia Bloom’s Dying to Kill is one of the most important works ever written on suicide terrorism because it dismantles the assumption that such violence is primarily religious or culturally predetermined.

Instead, Bloom frames suicide terrorism as a strategic tool shaped by organisational competition, gender dynamics, and political calculation.

Her analysis is both unsettling and clarifying, revealing how deeply instrumentalised self-sacrifice can become.

At the heart of Bloom’s argument is the concept of “outbidding”. Terrorist organisations, she suggests, often escalate tactics not merely to confront the state, but to compete with rival groups for attention, legitimacy, and recruits.

Suicide attacks, with their guaranteed publicity and symbolic potency, become a grim currency in this competition. This framework allows Bloom to explain why suicide terrorism emerges in some conflicts but not others, even when religious or ideological conditions appear similar.

One of the book’s most striking contributions is its treatment of gender. Bloom challenges the simplistic portrayal of female suicide bombers as either victims or anomalies.

She demonstrates how organisations strategically deploy women to exploit social assumptions, evade security, and generate shock value.

In doing so, Bloom reveals how deeply gendered narratives are manipulated by militant groups, often under the guise of empowerment while maintaining rigid patriarchal control.

Bloom’s comparative approach strengthens her analysis. By examining cases across regions and movements, she shows that suicide terrorism is neither exclusive to Islamist groups nor rooted in a single cultural logic.

Instead, it arises at the intersection of occupation, repression, organizational rivalry, and perceived strategic advantage. Religion may provide moral framing, but it does not explain timing, targets, or tactical choice on its own.

The prose is disciplined and evidence-driven, avoiding sensationalism even when dealing with extreme violence. Bloom is careful to ground her claims in data, interviews, and case studies, resisting moral panic in favour of analytical precision.

At the same time, the book never loses sight of the human cost — not only for victims, but for the communities from which attackers are drawn.

Dying to Kill ultimately reframes suicide terrorism as a strategic phenomenon rather than a mystical one. This reframing is deeply uncomfortable, but necessary.

By stripping away mythologies of fanaticism and inevitability, Bloom forces readers to confront the political and organisational conditions that allow such violence to flourish.

Recommended.

[Mike Thiac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more broad than I thought, from the front page you would assume it concentrating on ME/Islamic issues, but it covers the full history of suicide operations and their motivations, like the Japanese Kamikaze missions. Not that long (less than 200 pages) with an excellent list of references. God for intel/crime nerds like me.

[Chris Tolve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the structural analysis and rational choice theory, but this study felt messy and unfocused, and its acceptance of the liberal "hearts and minds" approach to counterinsurgency is tired. Go to Robert Pape for the better book on suicide terror, and to Jacqueline L. Hazelton for the better approach to counterinsurgency.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of a light and simplistic read, I guess worth it if you want to augment your knowledge of the topic but nothing new except for some interesting details about the tamil insurgency.

[Michael Griswold · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a relatively compact volume Mia Bloom details the rational behind why people are so willing to blow themselves up for a cause. There are the standard religious terrorists who blow themselves up in the name of a God, but there are also those who blow themselves up because of devotion to a non-religious cause like the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, persons who blow themselves up because they've lost family members and loved ones, which leads to them having no place in society like Chechnya. What separates Blooms work from other works in my view is that it actually manages to put suicide terrorism into a historical context. If one considers the actions of the Assassins and other medieval and revolutionary organizations that have conducted terrorist operations for hundreds of years before the so called modern wave of suicide operations, we discover that today's suicide terrorists have only improved models of mass violence from other times to a deadly effect. This historical context places Bloom above other noted books on the subject.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looks at the evidence for what motivates terrorist groups to use suicide bombing as a tactic. The author's two main conclusions are that suicide terrorism is more likely in cases where multiple terrorist groups form around the same issue, because each wants to show its level of commitment, and that suicide bombing will travel geographically to other conflict areas once it is demonstrated in one place.

The author's research was interesting, but there appeared to be quite a lot of digression, for instance a whole chapter on gender and suicide bombing that had little to do with her overall thesis. Also, her last chapter focused on the future of the War on Terror, but it didn't include any insights from her research, instead it was a rehash of arguments that others have already made.

[Ari Moel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters 2 & 4 are well worth the read.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my blog post on it:

http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

A noteworthy look at a highly controversial topic.