Since 9/11, terrorism has been an important subject of study within the political and social fields, having often been examined critically. However, empirical frameworks have been lacking within the study of terrorism. This paper aims to counter reductionist views of terrorism and provide a holistic analysis under the arch of a criminological ontological framework. This study tests the relevance of routine activity theory to terrorism, taking the specific case study of terrorism within Southeast Asia. Working with Interpol, terror attacks, and counter-terrorism operations were quantified to mathematically model Routine Activity Theory where I aimed to find predictive terror patterns. Using a time-series analysis of terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations, Deterrence Theory, Randomness Theory in targeting and Contagion theory will be tested. A comparative framework will be established between religious attacks and politically related ones. My research aims to disprove any discursive assumptions of terrorism through a quantitative empirical focus. Furthermore, it aims to find patterns within terrorism to learn how to better combat it.
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