Narcissism Over Ideology: Revealed versus Stated Terrorist Preferences

What preferences motivate the severity of terrorist attacks? I investigate how Boko Haramterrorists adjust their fatalities when unexpectedly deprived of public attention, relative to AlShabaab terrorists, that were not deprived of public attention. Losing public attention raises theseverity of terrorism: Boko Haram terrorist fatalities surged following the rebasing of Nigeria’seconomy, which catapulted the country into Africa’s largest and the top twenty-five worldwide.The largest spike in Boko Haram terrorist fatalities occurred in the wake of the Nigerian Ebolahealth crisis. Although Boko Haram claims an anti-education sentiment, their fatalities do notactually differ significantly from Al Shabaab fatalities during the Nigerian national basic educationexamination. Overall, terrorists consider well-being changes as threats that have morevalidity than the persuasiveness of their own claimed ideologies. Terrorist groups do not significantlyvary the severity of their attacks during Ramadan. Emphasizing revealed preferences mayundermine terrorist credibility and recruitment.