Yes, No, and Maybe in the World of Terrorism Research: Reflections on the Commentaries

Responses to our target article afford a welcome opportunity to discuss fundamental issues in terrorism research, related to substantive as well as philosophical and methodological concerns. Some of the comments offered expand the scope of the discussion and address important levels of analysis that, even though falling beyond the scope of our specific contribution, might well be included in a multifaceted analysis of suicidal terrorism. Other comments set the occasion for clarifying aspects of our analysis that may have been obscure, yet others stimulate a dialogue about the role of theory, data, and policy recommendations in a domain of phenomena as refractory to controlled empirical investigation as is terrorism.