Download This PaperThe Sources of Public Support for A Violent Extremist Group: The Case of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan
29 Pages Posted: 21 May 2020
Date Written: April 24, 2020
Abstract
This paper explores Pakistani public support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT,also known as Jamaat ul Dawa, or JuD), which is one of the most competent and lethal Pakistan — based and — backed militant groups operating in India and elsewhere in South Asia. Contrary to common perceptions that Islamist militant groups are inherently revolutionary, this study, using data from a country-wide survey of 7, 653 Pakistanis carried out in 2013, argues form a social psychology perspective that the sense of significance that a violent extremist group may bestow on its in-group members is the essential factor in conditioning sympathy and support for that group. We posit that the LeT, a Salafi group based in Punjab, is most likely to be supported by Salafis and Punjabis as these are the societal groups most likely to believe that the LeT accords them significance. By analyzing data from a novel dataset derived from a nationally-representative survey of Pakistanis, we find strong support for these contentions.
Keywords: Pakistan, public opinion, terrorism
JEL Classification: C50, C55, C54
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