This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The protracted conflict between Chechnya and Russia ultimately led ethnic Chechen separatists to ally with Islamic jihadists at the turn of the 20th century. This thesis focuses on one product of this alliance: the emergence of female suicide terrorism (FST) in the first (1994-1996) and second (1999-2009) Chechen wars. Previously, the use of FST as a tactic had been confined to secular groups. In this thesis, factors that precipitated the rise of FST in Chechnya are explored. Despite the eventual alliance of Chechen separatists with Islamists, this thesis finds the factors that specifically apply to female suicide terrorism to be primarily secular. By identifying contributing factors in the Chechen case, this research provides a framework to identify conflicts in which a popular movement's tactics may escalate to terrorism and the employment of FST.

I. INTRODUCTION * A. BACKGROUND * B. SIGNIFICANCE * C. RESEARCH QUESTION * D. HYPOTHESES * E. SOURCES AND METHODS * F. THESIS OVERVIEW * II. TERRORISM, SUICIDE TERRORISM, AND FEMALE SUICIDE TERRORISM * A. WHY GROUPS CHOOSE TERRORISM * B. WHY GROUPS CHOOSE SUICIDE TERRORISM * C. WOMEN AS VEHICLES OF SUICIDE TERRORISM * D. SUMMARY * E. CONCLUSION * III. CASE STUDY: THE RUSSO-CHECHEN CONFLICT * A. CHECHEN HISTORY * 1. Islam in Chechnya * 2. Russian Political and Military Action * 3. Operation Lentil * 4. Post-Soviet Chechnya * B. THE FIRST CHECHEN WAR (1994-1996) * 1. Secular Motivations * 2. Human-Rights Violations * 3. The Silence of the West * 4. Minimal Use of Terrorism * C. THE INTERWAR PERIOD * D. THE SECOND CHECHEN WAR * 1. Russian Atrocities * 2. Islamic Terrorism * E. SUMMARY * IV. ANALYSIS OF THE CHECHEN CASE * A. INDUCEMENTS TO RESISTANCE * 1. Russian Actions * 2. Chechen Tactics and Techniques * 3. The Nature of Chechen Resistance * 4. Separatists Turned Islamists * B. THE EMERGENCE OF FST * 1. Examples of Chechen FST * 2. Evidence of FST as Secular * 3. Historical Precedence * 4. Motivation as Complex * V. CONCLUSION * A. SUMMARY * B. POLICY IMPLICATIONS * C. NEW QUESTIONS