Evaluating the Political Rationality of Terrorist Groups - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Evaluating the Political Rationality of Terrorist Groups write by Eric van Um. This book was released on 2015-11-10. Evaluating the Political Rationality of Terrorist Groups available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This book improves our understanding of terrorists’ motivations and rationality and may, ultimately, also indicate how to respond to the phenomenon of terrorism. In his research studies, Eric van Um explores the political rationality of terrorist groups. The political rationality model builds on rational choice theory. It demands that terrorist groups take into account the costs and benefits of their available options and choose the option promising them the highest political utility. Testing the explanatory power of this model is relevant, as rational choice approaches have become very prominent in terrorism research. But, at the same time, their empirical power remains highly contested. Increased knowledge of the political rationality model not only promises added value for terrorism research itself, but also for social sciences more generally.
The Rationality of Terrorism
The Rationality of Terrorism - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Rationality of Terrorism write by Alexander Farrow. This book was released on 2016-12-23. The Rationality of Terrorism available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. How do terrorists really think? What motivates a terrorist organization? Why is violence the weapon of choice?This groundbreaking, empirical theory plunges deep into terrorist rationale by exploring terrorism and counter warfare strategies (counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, antiterrorism, and concession). Specifically, I explore the reason why some organizations, like ISIL and Hezbollah, not only conduct attacks but also establish shadow governments by controlling the water supply and even taxing the population.Constructing a game theoretical "strategic interaction model", I analyze how a terrorist organization competes with a government for social control over the population. The conclusion of my modeling is that terrorism is inversely proportional to power, measured by social control. When a terrorist organization is less powerful than the government, it attacks. When it is more powerful, it governs. To illustrate the model, I explore shifts in social control; the primary case studies are Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh).My hope is that this theory helps nations precisely suppress terrorist organizations with the appropriate combination of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism._______In Chapter 1, I introduce the puzzle of how violent terrorist organizations often act as shadow governments, supporting the population.In Chapter 2, I outline contemporary literature on terrorism. Specifically, I define the terms terrorism and terrorist organization to ensure that the theory is appropriately applied. Next, I outline the theoretical components of terrorism, explaining concepts like fear as a force multiplier. Then, I illustrate the fundamental components of counter warfare, including counterinsurgency and counterterrorism strategies. Finally, I illustrate why contemporary literature is unable to adequately explain long run shifts in terrorist strategy. I therefore suggest a new model for studying terrorism -- a strategic interaction model.In Chapter 3, I develop a strategic interaction model of terrorism. Firstly, I define the rules of interaction between a terrorist organization, a government, and a population. Then, I establish a connection between political power and social control. Next, I construct the terrorist organization and government's social control functions in order to analyze each of their respective interactions with the population. Finally, I analyze how the two functions interdependently determine primary warfare strategies. In Chapter 4, I apply this theory to two case studies using time and shift in social control as the independent variables and strategy as the dependent variable. I choose Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Taliban in Afghanistan as case studies because of their definitive shifts in social control. Hezbollah gained significant control after ousting Israel from Lebanon in 2000. The Taliban, on the other hand, lost significant control after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the establishment of a democratic regime in 2004. In order to quantify shifts in terrorism strategy, I aggregate the number of yearly and monthly attacks. Finally, using narratives, regressions, t-tests, and graphs, I analyze the relationship between social control and strategy shifts.In Chapter 5, I prescribe counter warfare strategies. I briefly outline general steps that the government takes when contemplating primary strategies to combat a terrorist organization. I then apply these counter warfare strategies to ISIL. In this chapter, I hope to give politicians, military commanders, analysts and scholars a more practical lens through which to evaluate counter warfare options. Terrorism cripples populations with fear and chaos. By shedding light on how it works, I hope to develop a new approach to how the international community can counter future terrorism.
Psychology of Terrorism
Psychology of Terrorism - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Psychology of Terrorism write by . This book was released on 2007. Psychology of Terrorism available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In compiling this annotated bibliography on the psychology of terrorism, the author has defined terrorism as "acts of violence intentionally perpetrated on civilian noncombatants with the goal of furthering some ideological, religious or political objective." The principal focus is on nonstate actors. The task was to identify and analyze the scientific and professional social science literature pertaining to the psychological and/or behavioral dimensions of terrorist behavior (not on victimization or effects). The objectives were to explore what questions pertaining to terrorist groups and behavior had been asked by social science researchers; to identify the main findings from that research; and attempt to distill and summarize them within a framework of operationally relevant questions. To identify the relevant social science literature, the author began by searching a series of major academic databases using a systematic, iterative keyword strategy, mapping, where possible, onto existing subject headings. The focus was on locating professional social science literature published in major books or in peer-reviewed journals. Searches were conducted of the following databases October 2003: Sociofile/Sociological Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts (CJ Abstracts), Criminal Justice Periodical Index (CJPI), National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts (NCJRS), PsycInfo, Medline, and Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). Three types of annotations were provided for works in this bibliography: Author's Abstract -- this is the abstract of the work as provided (and often published) by the author; Editor's Annotation -- this is an annotation written by the editor of this bibliography; and Key Quote Summary -- this is an annotation composed of "key quotes" from the original work, edited to provide a cogent overview of its main points.
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism write by James R. Lewis. This book was released on 2017-07-25. The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. There is currently much discussion regarding the causes of terrorist acts, as well as the connection between terrorism and religion. Terrorism is attributed either to religious 'fanaticism' or, alternately, to political and economic factors, with religion more or less dismissed as a secondary factor. The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism examines this complex relationship between religion and terrorism phenomenon through a collection of essays freshly written for this volume. Bringing varying approaches to the topic, from the theoretical to the empirical, the Companion includes an array of subjects, such as radicalization, suicide bombing, and rational choice, as well as specific case studies. The result is a richly textured collection that prompts readers to critically consider the cluster of phenomena that we have come to refer to as 'terrorism,' and terrorism's relationship with the similarly problematic set of phenomena that we call 'religion.'
The Political Economy of Terrorism
The Political Economy of Terrorism - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Political Economy of Terrorism write by Walter Enders. This book was released on 2011-10-31. The Political Economy of Terrorism available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The Political Economy of Terrorism presents a widely accessible political economy approach to the study of terrorism. It applies economic methodology – theoretical and empirical – combined with political analysis and realities to the study of domestic and transnational terrorism. In so doing, the book provides both a qualitative and quantitative investigation of terrorism in a balanced up-to-date presentation that informs students, policy makers, researchers and the general reader of the current state of knowledge. Included are historical aspects, a discussion of watershed events, the rise of modern-day terrorism, examination of current trends, the dilemma of liberal democracies, evaluation of counterterrorism, analysis of hostage incidents and much more. The new edition expands coverage of every chapter, adds a new chapter on terrorist network structures and organization, accounts for changes in the Department of Homeland Security and the USA Patriot Act and insurance against terrorism. Rational-actor models of terrorist and government behavior and game-theoretic analysis are presented for readers with no prior theoretical training. Where relevant, the authors display graphs using data from International Terrorism: Attributes of Terrorist Events (ITERATE), the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), and other public-access data sets.
