Who Considers Terrorism Justifiable? A Machine Learning Analysis Across 65 Countries

This study applied Random Forest analysis to analyze 360 potential predictors of terrorism justification using data from the World Values Survey across 65 countries. Contrary to narratives that focus exclusively on religious extremism, the findings indicate that terrorism justification is more strongly associated with a worldview characterized by moral flexibility, antisocial values, and anti-democratic sentiment. An analysis of the top predictors revealed three overarching domains: (1) Normalization of Violence, where support for terrorism is closely linked to broader acceptance of aggression in political, interpersonal, and domestic contexts; (2) Moral Flexibility and Rule Violation, where individuals who justify terrorism also endorse dishonest behaviors such as bribery, theft, and fraud; and (3) Religious and Political Authoritarianism, characterized by support for governance based on religious authority and skepticism toward democratic institutions. These findings underscore the need for counter-radicalization strategies that address moral disengagement, promote democratic values, and strengthen trust in democratic governance.