Employing case study evidence, I have argued that there is no necessary causal link between the lack of democracy in the Middle East and Islamist terrorism. Although in some cases a link does exist, it is not consistent enough to establish a regular (that is, a theoretical) pattern. As the preceding pages have amply demonstrated, being conclusive or categorical about the ‘causes of things’ is a vain endeavour. There are no clear, decisive answers when it comes to social science questions such as those investigated here. However, the process of investigation and exploration has, hopefully, offered the reader the means of drawing his or her own conclusions.

At the book's start, I stated its central question, rationale and methodology, defined key terms and concepts, and outlined the main contours of US democracy promotion in the post-2001 period. Chapter 1 introduced the debate on the complex and multi-faceted relationship between democracy and terrorism and argued that it is not plausible to maintain that a lack of democracy gives rise to terrorism. On the contrary, terrorism can even be encouraged by democratic politics and increase in periods of democratic transition. Political explanations of repression and political exclusion were the book's primary focus, but I divided the causes of terrorism into two broad categories: ideational and material/structural. I explained why my analysis of Islamist terrorism would focus on the latter category which was sub-divided into socio-economic and strategic/instrumental explanations.