The importance (and difficulty) of taking the research subject seriously

In order to know which theories, models, or general concepts that may be appropriate to a particular case – and how they should be integrated in order to reflect the reality-on-the-ground that they purport to explain – students of terrorism and violent extremism need to be attuned to the perspectives of their research subjects. The reason is basic and entirely practical: terrorists and violent extremists act on the basis of their own understanding of themselves and the world around them. We can begin to answer the question “why do they do what they do?”