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Terrorist Mind: I. A Psychological and Political Analysis

NCJ Number
215941
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 121-138
Author(s)
Laurence Miller
Date Published
April 2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article, the first in a two-part series, discusses the major forms of domestic and foreign terrorism and analyzes the motivations of the perpetrators as well as counter-terrorism strategies.
Abstract
The goal of terrorism is to violently intimidate or coerce a government or civilian population to further political or social objectives. The typical response to terrorism, which is to strike back at the offending party as quickly and with as much force as possible, is criticized as an ineffective counter-terrorism strategy that merely entices the terrorist groups into responding with more violence, creating a “cycle of violence.” Instead, the author recommends a strategy similar to the strategy fueling community policing: a comprehensive strategy that couples a dialog with terrorists regarding their sociopolitical concerns with targeted and swift punishments for any acts of violence. For this type of strategy to work, there must also be justice for victims of terrorism that involves sanctioned consequences for violent actions. The author begins by analyzing the nature and purposes of terrorism before turning to a discussion of the changing demographics of international terrorism. While international terrorist groups in the 1960s and 1970s were comprised mainly of well-educated and well-trained middle-class men and women, current day international terrorists are more likely to be poorly educated, unemployed, and ill-trained male refugees of Middle Eastern decent. The varieties of domestic terrorism are reviewed, which generally involve extreme left- or right-wing groups who engage in terrorist violence for economic and political reasons. The author discusses the motivations for joining terrorist organizations, noting the relatively deprived lives many terrorists live and the all-encompassing ideological beliefs to which they cling. Psychological and sociopolitical explanations of suicide terrorism point toward the rage and resentment suicide terrorists feel at perceived injustices and humiliations suffered at the hands of the targeted group. Motivations and avenues for quitting terrorism are also examined, which are few and far between, before the author offers an analysis of counter-terrorism strategies. References