{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/77830"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/77830","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Asymmetry of will : the effect of religious radicalism on state military doctrine","abstract":"How is a state's military doctrine affected by the presence of radical religious ideology in its military? Using analysis of satellite imagery, recent military exercises, and a series of source interviews, I examine the evolution of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In particular I explore the effect of religious radicalism on Iran's acceptable casualty rates for its naval operations. A successful ideologically based strategy appears to have three necessary components: terrorism as a tool for pursuing political objectives, religious ideology as a generator of potential violence, and a regime which exercises tight control over the military. Combined, these factors allow a military to mobilize a large cadre of troops that are willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide operations. Ideology overcomes conventional acceptable casualty rates for sustained military sorties. Finally, I compare the Iranian case to similar militaries in the Sudan and Yugoslavia to determine how the presence and absence of each factor affects the military's development.","abstract_html":"How is a state's military doctrine affected by the presence of radical religious ideology in its military? Using analysis of satellite imagery, recent military exercises, and a series of source interviews, I examine the evolution of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In particular I explore the effect of religious radicalism on Iran's acceptable casualty rates for its naval operations. A successful ideologically based strategy appears to have three necessary components: terrorism as a tool for pursuing political objectives, religious ideology as a generator of potential violence, and a regime which exercises tight control over the military. Combined, these factors allow a military to mobilize a large cadre of troops that are willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide operations. Ideology overcomes conventional acceptable casualty rates for sustained military sorties. Finally, I compare the Iranian case to similar militaries in the Sudan and Yugoslavia to determine how the presence and absence of each factor affects the military's development.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lewis, Patrick (Patrick Joseph)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Roger Petersen."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:06Z","subjects":["Political Science."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 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Using analysis of satellite imagery, recent military exercises, and a series of source interviews, I examine the evolution of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In particular I explore the effect of religious radicalism on Iran's acceptable casualty rates for its naval operations. A successful ideologically based strategy appears to have three necessary components: terrorism as a tool for pursuing political objectives, religious ideology as a generator of potential violence, and a regime which exercises tight control over the military. Combined, these factors allow a military to mobilize a large cadre of troops that are willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide operations. Ideology overcomes conventional acceptable casualty rates for sustained military sorties. Finally, I compare the Iranian case to similar militaries in the Sudan and Yugoslavia to determine how the presence and absence of each factor affects the military's development."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Asymmetry of will : the effect of religious radicalism on state military doctrine"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Roger Petersen."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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A successful ideologically based strategy appears to have three necessary components: terrorism as a tool for pursuing political objectives, religious ideology as a generator of potential violence, and a regime which exercises tight control over the military. Combined, these factors allow a military to mobilize a large cadre of troops that are willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide operations. Ideology overcomes conventional acceptable casualty rates for sustained military sorties. Finally, I compare the Iranian case to similar militaries in the Sudan and Yugoslavia to determine how the presence and absence of each factor affects the military's development."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77830"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. 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