Date of Conferral

2-9-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Gregory Koehle

Abstract

Within the United States, current strategies aimed to prevent terrorism focus on terrorist organizations and international terrorism. The predominant literature on lone-wolf terrorism has focused mainly on quantitative data, and the qualitative studies that have been conducted do not uncover all factors that led to the individual committing the attack. Lone-wolf terrorism, while less frequent than international terrorism, has a significantly higher number of victims per attack and is extremely difficult to predict and prevent. The existing qualitative literature has heavily focused on the mental state, emotional status, and cognitive ability of the offender. This study explored why an individual becomes a lone-wolf terrorist. The theoretical lens is Agnew’s general strain theory of terrorism. This thematic case study analyzed four lone wolves and provided a rich context of what motivated their decision to commit an attack. The analysis uncovered six prominent themes. The analysis showed that the lone wolves embraced an ideologically motivated strain or grievance and had a history of using violence as a coping mechanism. The offenders felt inferior to the initiator of their strain or grievance and had a diminished ability to consider outcomes. Additionally, they had been trained to use weapons and felt their victims were complicit in the harm the offender internalized. This insight could have implications for positive social change in relation to policy recommendations to enhance national security and positively impact, not only the community at large, but also the potential lone wolf terrorist, by intervening before an attack occurs.

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