About the Speaker

[Photo:Robert Pape]

Robert Pape

Robert Pape is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the College, and Director of the Program in International Security Policy at the University of Chicago. Before coming to Chicago in 1999, he taught international relations at Dartmouth College for five years and air power strategy for the United States Air Force's School of Advanced Airpower Studies for three years. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1988 and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. His current work, widely reported in the media, focuses on the causes of suicide terrorism and the politics of unipolarity. His most recent book is Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (Random House, 2005). His commentary on international security policy has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; as well as on ABC, the BBC, and NPR.

Please join Robert Pape Professor in the Department of Political Science and in the College for his lecture on:

What Drives Suicide Terrorism?
Since 9/11, Al Qaeda suicide attacks in Iraq have surged, confounding those who search for reasons and remedies. Attacks perpetrated by Muslim terrorists point to Islamic fundamentalism as a central cause. However, a new and comprehensive analysis of more than 460 suicide terrorists around the world shows that neither Islam nor any other religion functions as the main cause of suicide terrorism. More than 95 percent of suicide attacks stem from a common political cause — to compel military forces to withdraw from territory that the terrorists prize as their homeland. Professor Pape will discuss these recent findings, which have important implications for the United States’ “war on terror.”

When: Thursday, April 17th
Location: The Arts Club of Chicago
201 East Ontario Street - 2nd Floor
Chicago, Illinois
 
Cocktails — 5:30 p.m.
Program — 6:00 p.m.
Buffet Dinner — 7:00 p.m.
Cost: The cost is $80 per person, members and guests

Please respond by Thursday, April 10, 2008

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