Does cultural proximity contain terrorism diffusion?
| Author | Vincenzo Bove,Tobias Böhmelt |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0022343319864425 |
| Subject Matter | Research Articles |
Does cultural proximity contain
terrorism diffusion?
Tobias Bo
¨hmelt
Department of Government, University of Essex
Vincenzo Bove
Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick & Department of Management,
Universita
´Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Abstract
What are the security consequences of population movements? This article seeks to provide a better understanding of
when, how, and under what conditions terrorism diffuses across countries via migration flows as a vehicle. We
contribute to this debate by studying the influence of migrants’ cultural proximity to the native population of their
host country. It is argued that cultural closeness can contain such terrorism diffusion. Similarities in societal norms,
customs, or beliefs seem likely to induce trust in the social interactions between migrants and locals. This, in turn,
makes it more difficult for terrorist organizations to exploit transnational population movements for radicalization
and as a recruitment pool – one of the core mechanisms linking population flows with terrorism. Conversely,
migrants from culturally distant societies may find it more challenging to integrate into their new homes. A fertile
ground for terrorist organizations for the recruitment of new followers is thereby more likely. Our analyses present
consistent evidence that the effect of terrorism diffusing across countries weakens when accounting for cultural
closeness between migrants and host societies. This key finding of our research has crucial implications for policy’s
and scholars’ understanding of terrorism, the diffusion of terrorism across countries, and the security consequences of
population movements.
Keywords
cultural proximity, diffusion, migration, terrorism, violence
Introduction
The world’s migrant population has grown by more than
40% during the past 15 years and, indeed, most states
now have significantly more immigrants than in the
1990s (UN DESA, 2016). Not surprising, international
migration has become one of the most salient contem-
porary policy issues and its consequences have attracted
particular attention from policymakers and scholars
alike. For instance, the literature generally agrees that
host countries benefit from migration economically
(Dustmann & Frattini, 2014). However, we must not
ignore some of the more difficult political consequences
of population movements, including security concerns
linked to migration. There is evidence that migrants can
have an important role in global security politics
(Greenhill, 2010) and act as a conduit for transnational
action, such as third-party military intervention in civil
wars (Bove & Bo
¨hmelt, 2019). Transnational migration
may also challenge the stability of receiving countries by
making it harder for states to control their territory (e.g.
Adamson, 2006; Helbling & Leblang, 2019). Migration
inflows may further affect the ethnic composition of host
nations (e.g. Dowty & Loescher, 1996) or could facil-
itate the traveling of weapons, combatants, and ideolo-
gies across borders (Lischer, 2015; Salehyan &
Gleditsch, 2006). Additionally, population movements
are frequently targeted by combatants and terror
Corresponding author:
tbohmelt@essex.ac.uk
Journal of Peace Research
2020, Vol. 57(2) 251–264
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343319864425
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