Quotation by David E. Long

Both terrorist groups and cults tend to become countercultures with their own codes of behavior into which each new recruit is indoctrinated. The activities of both tend to be on or beyond the fringes of socially acceptable behavior. It has long been established in the study of cults that any deviant group will attract individuals who have a grievance or feeling of deprivation, provided the group offers some explanation or remedy. We have seen that the same is true of terrorist groups. Populations with similar or shared grievances or feelings of deprivation constitute a pool of possible converts. In the case of cults, it was further found that social networks—similar ethnic, social, educational, or other relationships existing before the recruitment takes place—are highly influential in determining who among the many in the pool are most likely to be among the few who are recruited. Despite the greater heterogeneity of personality types among terrorists in general, there appears to be a remarkable homogeneity in terms of social networks within specific groups.