Bartosz Bolechów argues that the United States has committed a number of policy mistakes that are associated with its being the target of terrorist violence. Clauset, Young, and Gleditsch report and discuss research on the frequency and severity of terrorist events since 1968. R. Antony Duff argues that terrorists are entitled to be treated as enemy combatants. A longitudinal historical dataset on domestic terrorism in Europe is presented and discussed by Jan Oskar Engene. Mario Ferraro presents an historical comparison and analysis on the phenomenon of “martyrdom” in different cultures. Gray and Wilson report research on how people interpret the war on terrorism. Alberto Rocha, an inmate in Calipatria State Prison in California, equates the domestic “war on gangs” with the “war on terrorism.” Stephen Schwartz raises the critical issue of security within the contexts of renewed U.S. isolationism and misperceptions of the Muslim world. The U.S. Department of State and National Intelligence Council reports are useful reviews of the global terrorist environment. Peter Van Ham discusses how domestic diplomacy for the “hearts and minds” of the Muslim world is a key factor for waging the United States’ war on terrorism. Michael Walzer explores the application of standards of operations for special operations forces. Wheeler’s article examines moral theories that are available for analyzing the deaths of innocents in the war against terrorism.

Bolechów, Bartosz. “The United States of America Vis-à-Vis Terrorism: The Super Power’s Weaknesses and Mistakes.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:6 (February 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

Due to international policy and internal sociopolitical factors, America has been the primary target of international terrorism since the 1960s and is seen as a major obstacle to the goals of international terrorism. This article discusses key mistakes made by the Unites States that the author argues have strengthened and given rise to further terrorism, including (a) acceding to terrorists’ demands; (b) funding freedom fighters who later became involved in terrorism against their former benefactors and allies; (c) misunderstanding foreign peoples and cultures and believing all terrorism must be state sponsored; (d) applying force selectively; (e) thinking in error that the United States is safe from terrorism; and (f) faulting U.S. media specifically, exacerbating the problem by inadvertently galvanizing sympathetic public opinion for acceding to terrorists’ demands. The author discusses corrections to these mistakes.

***

Clauset, Aaron, Maxwell Young, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. “On the Frequency of Severe Terrorist Events.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:1 (February 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

In the spirit of Lewis Richardson’s original study of the statistics of deadly conflicts, we study the frequency and severity of terrorist attacks worldwide since 1968. We show that these events are uniformly characterized by the phenomenon of "scale invariance," that is, the frequency scales as an inverse power of the severity, P(x) Ax-{alpha}. We find that this property is a robust feature of terrorism, persisting when we control for economic development of the target country, the type of weapon used, and even for short time scales. Further, we show that the center of the distribution oscillates slightly with a period of roughly {tau}{approx} 13 years, that there exist significant temporal correlations in the frequency of severe events, and that current models of event incidence cannot account for these variations or the scale invariance property of global terrorism. Finally, we describe a simple toy model for the generation of these statistics and briefly discuss its implications.

***

Duff, R. Antony. “Notes on Punishment and Terrorism.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:6 (February 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article focuses on the question of whether we should see terrorists as criminals, who are both bound and protected, as all citizens are, by the criminal law, or as enemy combatants with whom we are engaged in a war and who are entitled the protection of the rules of war, or as "unlawful combatants" who are entitled to no such protection. It argues that, however terrible their actions, they are minimally entitled to be treated as enemy combatants; and it discusses the dilemma that can be presented by the prospect of using torture to extract essential, life-saving information.

***

Engene, Jan Oskar. “Five Decades of Terrorism in Europe: The TWEED Dataset.” In Journal of Peace Research, 44:1 (2007).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

The article presents a regional dataset on internal terrorism, Terrorism in Western Europe: Event Data (TWEED), covering the period 1950 through 2004 for 18 West European countries. As the dataset covers internal terrorism, the distinction between this form of terrorism and international terrorism is discussed. In demarcating international from internal terrorism, the former is usually taken to mean terrorism involving nationals or territory of more than one state. In TWEED, however, terrorism is regarded as internal when terrorists act within their own political systems. Terrorists originating from outside Western Europe, but committing acts of terrorism inside the region, are excluded from TWEED. Next, the article discusses the selection of sources from which the coding is done. With its combination of continuous coverage and good reporting of Western Europe, Keesing’s was chosen as the source for TWEED. The article discusses problems of source coverage related to relying on a single source. Finally, the article presents the structure of the dataset. The coding unit is the event related to terrorism, whether acts of terrorism or government acts directed against terrorists. A total of 11,245 events are recorded in TWEED, of which 86.5% are actions initiated by terrorist groups or non-state agents. TWEED records activities by 214 named terrorist groups. Events are coded for a range of 52 variables falling into two groups: attributes of the action, including basic information such as date and country of the terrorist attack, the agent (group) responsible and the number of deaths and injuries inflicted; and attributes of the agent, which records their ideological profile, regional context and attitude towards the state.

***

Ferrero, Mario. “Martyrdom Contracts.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50:6 (December 2006).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article emphasizes the similarities between such diverse instances of public-spirited suicide as the Islamic martyrs of yesterday and today, the anarchists, the Japanese kamikaze of World War II, the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, and the Christian martyrs under the Roman Empire. It tries to accommodate this disparate evidence within a single two-period, expected utility model of a martyrdom contract, to which volunteers sign up in the expectation of probabilistic earthly rewards. Contract enforcement is ensured by a sufficiently strong stigma, or social sanction, placed on renegades. The main implication for counterterrorism policy is that the sanction should be softened, so as to turn prospective martyrs into apostates.

***

Gray, Jacqueline M. and Margaret A. Wilson. “Understanding the ‘War on Terrorism’: Responses to 11 September 2001.” In Journal of Peace Research, 43:1 (January 2006).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This study investigates how people interpret the war on terrorism that commenced as a result of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The utilitarian and retributive philosophies of punishment and the international relations approach to deterrence provide a framework for understanding the ways in which the war on terrorism may be construed. The participants were 178 British university students. The literature suggests that messages of deterrence and revenge have potentially opposite outcomes in terms of the behaviour of the targeted audience. This study identified five different messages that could be conveyed by the range of possible reprisals that could be taken in response to terrorist attacks: negotiation with terrorists; military action against terrorists; diplomacy with countries supporting terrorists; economic sanctions; and military action or use of weapons of mass destruction against countries supporting terrorists. All types of reprisal were understood as demonstrating that terrorism would not be tolerated, and none was interpreted as communicating that terrorism would be eliminated. Non-military responses of diplomacy and negotiation were interpreted as deterrence, whereas the more severe military sanctions were interpreted as revenge. It is suggested that there may be a discrepancy between intended and conveyed messages of government responses to terrorist action. Further research is required, but the findings of this study suggest that the nature of government responses to terrorism could have implications for public support for the war on terrorism and future counter-terrorism policies.

***

Rocha, Alberto Mario. “Undoing the Blindfold of Old Glory: Observations on 9/11 and the War on Terrorism From Lockdown USA.” In Cultural Studies ß à Critical Methodologies, 4:2 (2004).
http://csc.sagepub.com

Abstract

Written from the perspective of a wrongfully incarcerated young man of color in a California prison, this essay argues that the U.S. response to 9/11 parallels the ways local police forces have responded to inner city gang warfare, by acting out of vengeance and anger rather than critically examining the causes of the problem. Moreover, just as the "war on gangs" in California has led to more crime, more violence, and more imprisoned young men—hence creating precisely the context for the alienation that fuels gangs and gang violence—so the U.S. war on terrorism has triggered an international wave of anger and has increased the violence directed toward the U.S.

***

Schwartz, Stephen. “Security or Freedom First?” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 51 (May 2008).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The commentator, head of an international moderate Muslim network, criticizes the "security first" concept as an expression of revived American isolationism based on miscomprehension of the Islamic world and the aims of lawful Islamists, ignorance of the conflicts within Islam, and lack of clarity on democracy.

***

United States Department of State. “Country Reports on Terrorism” and “Patterns of Global Terrorism.”
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt.

***

United States Department of State. The National Security Strategy of the United States. March 2006.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/64884.pdf.

***

United States Department of State. “White House Counterterrorism Reports.”
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/wh/.

***

United States National Intelligence Council. National Intelligence Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland. Washington, D.C. (July 2007).

***

Van Ham, Peter. “War, Lies, and Videotape: Public Diplomacy and the USA’s War on Terrorism.” Security Dialogue, 34:4 (December 2003).
http://sdi.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article argues that the United States is not only fighting a war against international terrorism by classical, military means, but is also engaged in a battle over the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Muslim world. It examines the USA’s public diplomacy efforts to manage the after-shocks of 9/11, and identifies the key concepts that underlie public diplomacy. The article presents a brief overview of the main points of criticism that these policies have provoked. It concludes that although the USA’s public diplomacy is an essential (and still underdeveloped and undervalued) component of its overall policy towards the Middle East, it will take more than better communications to address the USA’s credibility and image problems in that region.

***

Walzer, Michael. “On Fighting Terrorism Justly.” In International Relations, vol. 21 (December 2007).
http://ire.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article is about the war on terror as an actual war and as police work — and then as something in between these two. The in-between space, where special forces operate, is critically important. We don't have clear standards that apply to it, and we need to begin to think about what those standards might look like.

***

Wheeler, Nicholas J. “Dying for ‘Enduring Freedom’: Accepting Responsibility for Civilian Casualties in the War Against Terrorism.” In International Relations, 16:2 (2002).
http://ire.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article examines what moral theories are available to justify the harming of the innocent in war. Focusing on US conduct of the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the article examines how far the US is responsible for the deaths of Afghan civilians. Although US actions have been justified in terms of respect for the Just War principle of non-combatant immunity, the article shows how this principle rested uneasily with alternative moral theories of war that influenced the process of target selection. These are the realist doctrine of necessity in war and Michael Walzer's theories of `supreme emergency' and `war is hell'. Just War theory, realism and `supreme emergency' acknowledge moral responsibility for a state's conduct of war. But the doctrine that `war is hell' seeks to transfer any responsibility for the cruelty of war to the enemy. The article argues that, whilst the Taliban and al-Qaeda are responsible for exposing Afghan civilians to US attacks, this does not absolve US political and military leaders of responsibility for their conduct of the war.

H.H.A. Cooper investigates the difficulty in defining terrorism within the context of the many different approaches to identifying the problem. Stathis Kalyvas offers a definitional analysis of the ethnic war model. In his discussion of legal conventions which address the problem of terrorism, Zdislaw Galicki investigates legalistic approaches to defining and dealing with terrorism. The U.S. Department of State and National Intelligence Council reports are useful reviews of the global terrorist environment.

Cooper, H.H.A.. “Terrorism: The Problem of Definition Revisited.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 44:6 (February 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

How can terrorism be defined when the process of defining is wholly frustrated by the presence of irreconcilable antagonisms? It is certainly not easy to define, much less comprehend. With respect to terrorism, there is among the many participants to the discussion no agreement on the basic nature of the fruit under consideration. In any case, the definition of terrorism has undergone a number of small refinements as experience has suggested. This article considers how to define terrorism or at least know it when it is seen in the coming decades.

***

Galicki, Zdzislaw. “International Law and Terrorism.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:6 (February 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

What important developments have occurred in multilateral international treaties between the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism of 1937 and the Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism of 2002? This article answers this question as well as whether these laws have been an effective legal response in combating terrorism. After differentiating between comprehensive and sectoral conventions and between universal and regional conventions, the article comparatively analyzes them based on definitions of offenses, the extent of criminalization, exceptions concerning scope of application, measures to be taken by the states parties, obligatory and optional jurisdiction, obligations of states in the sphere of legal cooperation and assistance, rights of the offender, extradition, exceptions from extradition or legal assistance, and issues not covered by the conventions. Solutions proved to be the most effective against international terrorism and discrepancies and overlaps between the conventions are discussed.

***

Kalyvas, Stathis N. “Ethnic Cleavages and Irregular War: Iraq and Vietnam.” In Politics & Society, 35:2 (June 2007).
http://pas.sagepub.com

Abstract

The conflict in Iraq has been portrayed as "ethnic" civil war, a radically different conflict from "ideological" wars such as Vietnam. We argue that such an assessment is misleading, as is its theoretical foundation, which we call the "ethnic war model." Neither Iraq nor Vietnam conforms to the ethnic war model's predictions. The sectarian conflict between Shia and Sunni militias is not simply the outcome of sectarian cleavages in Iraqi society, but to an important extent, a legacy of U.S. occupation. On the other hand, although Vietnam was a society riven by ethnic cleavages, the Vietnam War also fails to conform to the ethnic war model. We show that there is no necessary overlap between ethnic conflict and ethnic war. Some ethnic conflicts evolve into ethnic wars, and others develop dynamics virtually indistinguishable from those of ideological civil wars. We suggest that the state's role is essential in transforming conflicts into either ethnic or irregular wars. We conclude with an analysis of the current situation and future prospects in Iraq.

***

United States Department of State. “Country Reports on Terrorism” and “Patterns of Global Terrorism.” http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/

***

United States Department of State. The National Security Strategy of the United States. March 2006. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/64884.pdf.

***

United States Department of State. “White House Counterterrorism Reports.” http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/wh/.

***

United States National Intelligence Council. National Intelligence Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland. Washington, D.C. (July 2007).

Daniel Bar-Tal offers a conceptual framework for understanding intractable conflicts. Randy Blazak reports research on the targeted recruitment of youths by American hate groups. Brian Burgoon investigates the impact of social welfare policies on the causes of terrorism. Examining the case of U.S. neo-Nazi subcultures, Mark Hamm discusses subcultural conditions which make terrorism possible. Israel Michael’s article explores the ideological concept of free speech within the context of “assaultive” speech that offers little value to social discourse. Lauderdale and Oliverio’s essay summarizes the necessity for critical discussions on the subject of terrorism. Research on the effect of online hate group activity on adolescents is discussed by Elissa Lee and Laura Leets. Amartya Sen critically examines how the theories of the culture of societies and theories of political economy of power and inquality explain violence in global society. Tessler and Robbins explore why terrorist violence against the United States garners some sympathy among some members of the Arab populace. Wade and Reiter conduct quantitative tests on the hypothesis that a relationship exists between regime type and suicide terrorism. The association between mental illness and terrorist violence is reviewed by Watherston and Moran.

Bar-Tal, Daniel. “Sociopsychological Foundations of Intractable Conflicts.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 50:11 (July 2007).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The article presents a conceptual framework that concerns the sociopsychological foundation and dynamics of intractable conflict. First, it defines and characterizes the nature of intractable conflict, and then it describes how societies involved in this reality adapt to the conditions of intractable conflict. This adaptation meets three fundamental challenges: satisfying the needs of the society members, coping with stress, and withstanding the rival. In trying to confront them successfully, societies develop appropriate sociopsychological infrastructure, which includes collective memory, ethos of conflict, and collective emotional orientations. This infrastructure fulfills important individual and collective level functions, including the important role of formation, maintenance, and strengthening of a social identity that reflects this conflict. Special attempts are made to disseminate this infrastructure via societal channels of communication and institutionalize it. The evolved sociopsychological infrastructure becomes a prism through which society members construe their reality, collect new information, interpret their experiences, and make decisions about their course of action. This infrastructure becomes hegemonic, rigid, and resistant to change as long as the intractable conflict continues. It ends up serving as a major factor fueling the continuation of the conflict, thus becoming part of a vicious cycle of intractable conflict.

***

Blazak, Randy. “White Boys to Terrorist Men: Target Recruitment of Nazi Skinheads.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 44:6 (February 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

There is an important distinction between hate crimes and hate group activity. Although reported hate crimes appear to be declining, there is evidence that hate group activity is increasing. This includes hate group consolidation, the increase in hate Web sites, and more sophisticated recruitment of youth. This research explores how hate groups, specifically racist skinheads, target specific youth populations for recruitment. Using a layman's interpretation of Durkheim's "anomie," skinheads look for youth that live in a world of change. Based on ethnographic research and guided interviews, this research finds that older Nazi skinheads manipulate anomic teens and indoctrinate them into a world of terror.

***

Burgoon, Brian. “On Welfare and Terror: Social Welfare Policies and Political-Economic Roots of Terrorism.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50:2 (April 2006).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article argues that social welfare policies may reduce international and domestic terrorism. Social policies likely affect terrorism in offsetting ways but, on balance, should diminish preferences for terrorism by reducing economic insecurity, inequality, poverty, and religious-political extremism. Thus, countries with more generous welfare provisions should suffer fewer terrorist attacks on their soil and have fewer of their citizens perpetrate terrorism. Supporting this argument, cross-sectional estimation reveals that a country's welfare efforts negatively correlate with transnational or total terrorist incidents on its soil, as well as transnational terrorism perpetrated by its citizens. Pooled cross-section time-series estimation reveals that several measures of welfare effort reduce the incidence of transnational terrorism in countries, robust to a range of estimators and controls. Such findings suggest that strengthening social policies at home and abroad may not only serve redistributive or development goals but also help combat terrorist violence.

***

Hamm, Mark S. “Apocalyptic Violence: The Seduction of Terrorist Subcultures.” Theoretical Criminology, 8:3 (2004).
http://tcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article critically examines the concept of apocalyptic violence. Drawing on a wide range of methods, the study examines the social histories of some 40 neo-Nazi males. The network of knowledge that gives meaning to terrorist subcultures is examined in two case studies, showing a great diversity in the human conditions that adapt people to the subcultural products that makes terrorism possible. Yet the outcome is the same: terrorists use their products to reach for the same star that has attracted American terrorists since Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth—celebrity.

***

Israel, Michael. “Hate Speech and the First Amendment.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 15:1 (February 1999).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

A cornerstone of democracy is the First Amendment's protection of free speech. The founding fathers saw this as contributing to democratic government. Ironically, contemporary free speech protects groups such as Nazis, White and Black supremacists, pornographers, gangster rappers, TV violence, and gratuitous film profiteers; in short, these are agents of disorder, and have practically nothing of discourse value. This article argues that the harm of assaultive speech must be taken into account to define specific boundaries for what has been characterized as hate speech.

***

Lauderdale, Pat and Anamarie Oliverio. “Introduction: Critical Perspectives on Terrorism.” In International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 46:1-2 (2005).
http://cos.sagepub.com

Abstract

No abstract available

***

Lee, Elissa and Laura Leets. “Persuasive Storytelling by Hate Groups Online: Examining its Effects on Adolescents.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 45:6 (February 2002).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

Increasingly, hate groups have used the Internet to express their viewpoints, sell their paraphernalia, and recruit new members. This study explored the effectiveness of persuasive storytelling found on White supremacist Web pages. One hundred eight adolescents participated in a longitudinal study (pretest, Time 1, Time 2) conducted online. A 3 (receptivity: negatively inclined, neutral, predisposed) x 2 (narrative: high vs. low perceived) x 2 (message explicitness: implicit vs. explicit) factorial design found that immediately following exposure, high-narrative and implicit messages were more persuasive than low-narrative and explicit messages. Interestingly, high-narrative and implicit effects decayed, whereas low-narrative and explicit message effects endured or increased slightly over time. In addition, people's receptivity interacted with the message factors to further mediate persuasion. For example, disagreeing individuals resisted low-narrative, explicit messages significantly more than any other condition. The article concludes with a discussion of the social implications of these findings.

***

Sen, Amaryta. “Violence, Identity and Poverty.” In Journal of Peace Research, vol. 45 (January 2008).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

The article discusses two main approaches to explaining violence in contemporary global society. Theories based on the culture of societies, among which the theory of the clash of civilizations is the most influential, attempt to explain violence by referring to antagonisms between collective identities. Theories of the political economy of power and inequality seek the sole cause of violence in economic factors. While each approach has some plausibility, both are inadequate on their own. When applied as sufficient explanations, they may distort our understanding in a way that undermines the possibility for both alleviating poverty and reducing conflict. The causal mechanisms are more complex than economic reductionism is capable of accounting for. Poverty and inequality are importantly linked to violence, but must be seen together with divisions between factors such as nationality, culture and religion. In turn, these factors must not be based on a false image of solitary identities and unavoidable antagonisms between cultural groups. The article suggests that the coupling between cultural identities and poverty increases the significance of inequality and may contribute to violence. Approaches to explaining violence should avoid isolationist programmes that explain violence solely in terms of social inequality and deprivation or in terms of identity and cultural factors.

***

Tessler, Mark and Michael D. H. Robbins. “What Leads Some Ordinary Arab Men and Women to Approve of Terrorist Acts Against the United States?” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:2 (April 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Findings from representative national surveys in Algeria and Jordan show that neither religious orientations, judgments about Western culture, nor economic circumstances account for variance in approval of terrorist acts against U.S. targets. Alternatively, in both countries, approval of terrorism against the United States is disproportionately likely among men and women with negative judgments about their own government and about U.S. foreign policy. Taken together, these findings suggest that approval of terrorism is fostered by negative attitudes toward actors considered responsible for the political and economic status quo. Given that Algeria and Jordan have had different experiences with respect to terrorism and also differ in demographic, political, and economic structure, identical findings from these dissimilar countries suggest that the observed relationships are not country specific and may apply more generally.

***

Wade, Sara Jackson and Dan Reiter. “Does Democracy Matter? Regime Type and Suicide Terrorism.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:2 (April 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article conducts quantitative tests on the relationship between regime type and suicide terrorism for 1980 to 2003. We present the recently popularized argument that democracies are more likely to experience suicide terrorism and a new hypothesis that mixed regimes are especially likely to experience suicide terrorism. We offer several improvements in research design, including using more controls, the nation-year as the unit of analysis, and more appropriate statistical techniques. Using both Freedom House and Polity data, we find that in general, regime type is uncorrelated with suicide terrorism. We do find that there is a statistically significant interaction between regime type and the number of religiously distinct minorities at risk (MARs) with suicide terrorism, but the statistical significance of this finding is limited, and its substantive impact is marginal. We also find that national size, Islam, national experience with suicide terrorism, and global experience with suicide terrorism affect the likelihood of suicide terrorism.

***

Weatherston, David and Jonathan Moran. “Terrorism and Mental Illness: Is There a Relationship?” In International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47:6 (2003).
http://ijo.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article examines the connections between mental illness and terrorism. Most social scientists have discounted a causal relationship between mental illness and terrorism. This is not necessarily always the case within terrorism studies, the media, or political circles where the psychology of terrorism is often expressed in the language of mentalisms, and theories of pathologisation continue to exist. This article reaffirms the view that apart from certain pathological cases, there is no causal connection between an individual’s mental disorder and engagement in terrorist activity. The individual terrorist’s motivations can be explained by other factors, including behavioural psychology. However, there may be a connection between an individual engaging in terrorist activity and developing a mental disorder[s]. Certain stressors that occur because of terrorist activity may result in psychological disturbance in terrorist individuals. These factors may partially explain terrorist group instability and should be taken into account when detaining and interrogating terrorist suspects.

The case of Libya’s renunciation of weapons of mass destruction is analyzed by Gawdat Bahgat. Alex Bellamy discusses the moral and ethical justifications for initiating the war in Iraq. Caprioli and Trumbore analyze the role of “rogue states” in international disputes during the years leading through the new millennium. Using the cases of Ethiopian and Sudanese state terrorism, Asafa Jalata compares commonalities in the origin and effect of terrorism by these governments.

Bahgat, Gawdat. “Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Case of Libya.” In International Relations, vol. 22 (March 2008).
http://ire.sagepub.com

Abstract

In December 2003, the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) issued a statement announcing that it had agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. Some policymakers in Washington and London were quick to establish connection between Libya's decision and the US-led war in Iraq (2003). Since then, Libya has been presented as a model for other potential proliferators to follow. This article rejects these two propositions. Instead, it argues that the dramatic transition in Libya's stand on WMD can be explained by a cluster of factors — leadership and ideology, economic and political domestic developments, relations with Western powers, and security considerations. The combination of these factors is unique. It is unlikely that the Libyan experience will be repeated in other countries.

***

Bellamy, Alex J. “Ethics and Intervention: The ‘Humanitarian Exception’ and the Problem of Abuse in the Case of Iraq.” In Journal of Peace Research, 41:2 (March 2004).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article investigates the ethics of intervention and explores the decision to invade Iraq. It begins by arguing that while positive international law provides an important framework for understanding and debating the legitimacy of war, it does not cover the full spectrum of moral reasoning on issues of war and peace. To that end, after briefly discussing the two primary legal justifications for war (implied UN authorization and pre-emptive self-defence), and finding them wanting, it asks whether there is a moral ‘humanitarian exception’ to this rule grounded in the ‘just war’ tradition. The article argues that two aspects of the broad tradition could be used to make a humanitarian case for war: the ‘holy war’ tradition and classical just war thinking based on natural law. The former it finds problematic, while the latter it argues provides a moral space to justify the use of force to halt gross breaches of natural law. Although such an approach may provide a moral justification for war, it also opens the door to abuse. It was this very problem that legal positivism from Vattel onwards was designed to address. As a result, the article argues that natural law and legal positivist arguments should be understood as complementary sets of ideas whose sometimes competing claims must be balanced in relation to particular cases. Therefore, although natural law may open a space for justifying the invasion of Iraq on humanitarian terms, legal positivism strictly limits that right. Ignoring this latter fact, as happened in the Iraq case, opens the door to abuse.

***

Caprioli, Mary and Peter F. Trumbore. “Human Rights Rogues in Interstate Disputes, 1980-2001.” In Journal of Peace Research, 43:2 (2006).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Rogue states have typically been characterized as those states that consistently violate accepted international norms of behavior. While US foreign policymakers and policy analysts have identified rogue states as those violating a narrow set of international norms of external conduct, specifically terrorism sponsorship and illicit pursuit of banned weapons, this article proposes an alternative understanding of rogue state status that harks back to earlier notions of international pariah states, isolated from the rest of international society, owing to their egregious treatment of their own citizens. Building on Galtung's concept of structural violence and feminist insights concerning the interconnectedness of violence at all levels of human society, the authors develop a rogue state index to identify human rights rogues, based on ethnic and gender discrimination and the violation of personal integrity rights. An important part of the rogue state formula developed by policymakers over the recent decades is the expectation that such states represent dangers to international peace and stability. Focusing on the recognized international human rights norms of non-discrimination and security of person, and informed by the causal mechanisms inherent in the normative explanation for the democratic peace, this article tests whether human rights rogues are more likely to become involved in militarized interstate conflicts and violent interstate conflicts. The results of the analysis show that human rights rogues are more likely to become involved in militarized interstate disputes in general, and violent interstate disputes specifically, than other states during the period 1980–2001, suggesting that policymakers must keep a close watch on serial human rights abusers, while seeking to identify future threats to international security.

***

Jalata, Asafa. “State Terrorism and Globalization: The Cases of Ethiopia and Sudan.” In International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 46:1-2 (2005).
http://cos.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article compares the essence and effects of Ethiopian and Sudanese state terrorism by focusing on the commonalities between the two states. These peripheral African states have used global and regional connections and state terrorism as political tools for creating and maintaining the confluence of identity, religion, and political power. Ethiopia primarily depends on the West, and Sudan on the Middle East, since Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions in these African states respectively. While the Ethiopian state was formed by the alliance of Abyssinian (Amhara-Tigray) colonialism and European imperialism, the Sudanese state was created by British colonialism known as the Anglo-Egyptian condominium. Massive social and cultural destruction and violence have produced and maintained these colonial political structures. These structures, in turn, have racialized identities by facilitating the processes of Abyssinianization and Christianization in Ethiopia, Arabization and Islamization in Sudan, and Africanization and marginalization of indigenous Africans in both states. Furthermore, each state has been involved in ethnonational cleansing, which has been disguised rhetorically as a move toward national self-determination and democracy. Consequently, the racialization and ethnicization of these states, external dependency, and domestic terrorism have prevented the implementation of national self-determination and the construction of legitimate multinational democracies that could solve the political, social, cultural, and economic crises in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Enders and Su present a discussion of how terrorist networks inevitably restructure themselves in response to proactive counterterrorist policies. Margaret Gonzalez-Perez analyzes the roles of women within internationalist and domestic guerrilla organizations. An interesting comparison of Colombia’s FARC and paramilitaries is presented by Francisco Gutierrez-Sanin. Kevin Siqueira discusses strategic interactions between governments and terrorist groups as they compete for public support. The article by Eli Somer, et. al., reports qualitative research on the effect of stress on Israeli hospital workers who treat civilian casualties. Spencer and croucher present a study which tests “spiral of silence” theory as it pertains to ETA in Spain and France. Anna Lisa Tota presents a cultural discussion of commemorative rituals, using three train bombings as case studies. West and Orr evaluate the effects of perception and emotion during incidents of urban terrorism.

Enders, Walter and Xuejuan Su. “Rational Terrorists and Optimal Network Structure.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:1 (February 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

After the events of 9/11, U.S. counterterrorism became more proactive in that the Patriot Act allowed the authorities far more freedom to directly attack terrorist network structures. We argue that rational terrorists will attempt to thwart such policies and restructure themselves to be less penetrable. We model the trade-off between security and intragroup communication faced by terrorists. The model is used to derive the anticipated changes in network structure and the consequent changes in the type, complexity, and success rate of potential terrorist attacks.

***

Gonzalez-Perez, Margaret. “Guerrilleras in Latin America: Domestic and International Roles.” In Journal of Peace Research, 43:3 (2006).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This analysis identifies two different categories of guerrilla organizations and the roles of women within each. Guerrilla movements with ‘international’ agendas typically oppose US imperialism, capitalist expansion, or Western culture in general. ‘Domestic’ guerrilla organizations usually take action against perceived forces of oppression within their own nation. These different agendas have a direct impact on the role of women within them. Internationally oriented guerrilla groups assign traditional, limited gender roles to their female members, while domestic guerrilla organizations challenge domestic prohibitions, including those imposed on women, and encourage full and active participation of female members at all levels of guerrilla activity. This hypothesis is supported by comparative case studies of the groups in question. The study of women's roles within guerrilla movements provides insight into modern political issues, such as insurgencies and other non-traditional methods of warfare. The support of half a population can enable a guerrilla organization to further its objectives considerably, and as female participation increases, the group itself gains power. Thus, an in-depth understanding of women and their relationship to guerrilla movements contributes substantially to peace and conflict studies as well as studies of non-traditional warfare.

***

Gutierrez Sanin, Francisco. “Telling the Difference: Guerrillas and Paramilitaries in the Colombian War.” In Politics Society, vol. 36 (March 2008).
http://pas.sagepub.com

Abstract

The effort to build a political economy of war without politics is finding its limits. The question now is what comes next. How to put politics back in? This article compares systematically two non-state armed groups that participate in the Colombian conflict, the main guerrilla (FARC) and the paramilitary. It shows that despite their similar financial bases, they appear to exhibit systematic differences— regarding both their social composition and their internal/external behavior—and claims that the key to understanding them is the set of organizational devices that each group crafts in its process of survival and growth. All this suggests that a main tenet of the early political economy of war, that all non-state armed groups can be understood as being strategically identical, is flawed. It also poses a classificatory challenge.

***

Siqueira, Kevin and Todd Sandler. “Terrorists Versus the Government: Strategic Interaction, Support, and Sponsorship.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50:6 (December 2006).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article focuses on the strategic interaction between a terrorist group and a government as both vie for grassroots support. When terrorists and the government act contemporaneously, the equilibrium outcome depends on the effectiveness of the government’s countermeasures and the ability of the government to curb popular support of the terrorists through public spending. In two alternative scenarios, the authors establish that leadership may improve both adversaries’ well-being while reducing terrorism. The leader changes in the two cases, with the weaker player going first to the advantage of both players. State sponsorship and franchising of terrorists augment violence as both adversaries expend more effort. Sponsors can offset some strategic limits to violence that competition for supporters offers.

***

Somer, Eli, Eli Buchbinder, Maya Peled-Avram, and Yael Ben-Yizhack. “The Stress and Coping of Israeli Emergency Room Social Workers Following Terrorist Attacks.” In Qualitative Health Research, 14:8 (October 2004).
http://qhr.sagepub.com

Abstract

The authors of this qualitative study analyze Israeli hospital social workers’ emotional responses to working with civilian casualties in the wake of an unprecedented surge of terrorist violence. Data are based on four focus groups conducted with 38 hospital social workers in relation to their experience with clients in the emergency room. Three themes were identified: (a) Restoring a lost sense of personal security as a necessary stepping-stone toward resuming professional performance, (b) Meeting the families’pain and responding to it, and (c) Disconnecting emotionally in the service of the professional self. The authors discuss the findings in light of the literature on peritraumatic dissociation among helpers.

***

Spencer, Anthony T. and Stephen M. Croucher. “Basque Nationalism and the Spiral of Silence: An Analysis of Public Perceptions of ETA in Spain and France.” In International Communications Gazette, vol. 70 (April 2008).
http://gaz.sagepub.com

Abstract

This study represents a test of the spiral of silence theory across national boundaries regarding the Basque separatist group, ETA. Approximately 200 participants were surveyed for this study in France and Spain. The study found a stronger spiral of silence effect the closer participants were to the Basque homeland both geographically and culturally. This test of the spiral of silence is consistent with previous research in finding a need for cross-cultural applications of the theory.

***

Tota, Anna Lisa. “Terrorism and Collective Memories: Comparing Bologna, Naples and Madrid 11 March.” In International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 46:1-2 (2005).
http://cos.sagepub.com

Abstract

Commemorative rituals are opportunities for civil and political society to contribute to the values of democracy. They also are significant to the process of hegemony. This article compares the processes of civil society in remembering collectively or in forgetting events defined as terrorism in three major train explosions in Bologna, Naples and Madrid. The Bologna case is an example of the perfect memorial. The incident is commemorated on the anniversary day, same time and place of the attack and includes rituals by both government and private groups. The second incident, the explosion of train 904 in Val di Sambro, between Bologna and Naples, represents a case of imperfect oblivion, even if ironically this event is commemorated twice every year. Despite attempts by various groups to organize a more successful on-site ritual as in the case of Bologna, chronic fear of retaliation by the Camorra (the Naples ‘Mafia’) over the years has silenced political and civil institutions. Attempts to memorialize the event are fragmented at best and almost forgotten. The third case, in Madrid, exemplifies a commemoration in the making. Comparison of these three cases shows that the continual remembrance of terrorist victims has helped families to heal. Local and political outrage is expressed - through art, culture, and mass media - against the terrorists from whom the state is unable to defend its citizens. But, when processes of remembering are fragmented, interrupted or silenced, the state prevents citizens from organizing and systematically presenting their ideas, opinions and challenges in a peaceful but effective form, an essential element of a democracy.

***

West, Darrell M. and Marion Orr. “Managing Citizen Fears: Public Attitudes Toward Urban Terrorism.” In Urban Affairs Review, 41:1 (September 2005).
http://uar.sagepub.com

Abstract

The authors examine public attitudes toward urban terrorism, focusing on whether emotion or reason is a more important determinant of how people feel. Using the results of a public opinion survey in a large, northeastern city, the authors find that both emotion and reason affect people’s reactions to terrorist attacks. However, this relationship is affected by personal conversation. The more people talk about terrorism, the greater the chance reason rather than fear will dictate reactions. These results have important ramifications for how urban officials deal with homeland security and assuage citizens whose excessive concerns about terrorism have led to costly security expenditures.

Baumgartner, et. al. argue that American public opinion on foreign policy is significantly affected by religious beliefs. Brian Levin discusses the origin and current state of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism in the United States. The psychology and motivations of violent Islamist radicals are examined by Andrew Silke. Pnina Werbner discusses the impact of Islamist tendencies on Muslim emigrants to the United Kingdom.

Baumgartner, Jody C., Peter L. Francia, and Jonathan S. Morris. “A Clash of Civilizations? The Influence of Religion on Public Opinion of U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East.” In Political Research Quarterly, vol. 61 (June 2008).
http://prq.sagepub.com

Abstract

The authors argue in this study that religious beliefs play a significant role in predicting American public opinion on foreign policy issues in the Middle East. Their findings reveal that Evangelical Christians have remained strong supporters of a hawkish foreign policy toward the Middle East, even as overall public support for the Iraq War declines. They also find that Evangelicals are among the strongest supporters of Israel and hold more negative views of Islam than others. These results reinforce the growing importance of the "faith factor" in public opinion and American politics as a whole.

***

Levin, Brian. “History as a Weapon: How Extremists Deny the Holocaust in North America.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 44:6 (February 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The North American Holocaust denial movement attracts a broad range of extremists who subscribe to right-wing and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Because mainstream society and academia have rejected the denial movement's theories, key figures in it have created their own stealth pseudoacademic entities. Using many of their own words, this article examines the evolution of the relationship between anti-Semitic extremists and others who became central figures in the promotion of a historical lie that is spread to this day.

***

Silke, Andrew. “Holy Warriors: Exploring the Psychological Processes of Jihadi Radicalization.” European Journal of Criminology, vo. 5 (January 2008).
http://euc.sagepub.com

Abstract

This paper aims to provide an overview of the psychology of individuals who join and engage in terrorism, and in particular of individuals who engage in jihadi-motivated terrorism such as that carried out by al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Based on the most reliable available evidence, this paper gives an account of the psychology and motivations of such individuals and the processes that facilitate and develop violent radicalization.

***

Werbner, Pnina. “The Predicament of Diaspora and Millennial Islam: Reflections on September 11, 2001.” In Ethnicities 4:4 (2004).
http://etn.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article considers the production of an Islamic utopian or millennial discourse by British South Asian Muslims in the diasporic public sphere and its possible impact on the younger generation of Muslims growing up in the UK. Associated with such a discourse, the article considers the vulnerability of diasporas – the process whereby global events can precipitate radical diasporic estrangement, leading to self-estrangement. Such estrangement is fed by moral panics, expressed in the speeches of politicians, in newspaper columns and global news reports. This exposes the fragility of multicultural discourses in the public sphere in the UK.

Stephen Chan interprets and discusses the theoretical writings of Frantz Fanon and links his theories to modern suicide bombings. Brian Levin discusses the origin and current state of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism in the United States. An ideological perspective of 9/11—in this case, a Marxist perspective—is offered by Peter McLaren. Cas Mudde’s article is a comparative analysis of rightist racial extremism in Europe. Steve VanderHeiden explores the case for classifying attacks against inanimate targets—often practiced by ecological extremists—as acts of terrorism. Meredith Watts’ article examines xenophobic and neo-fascist tendencies within German youth cultures.

Chan, Stephen. “Fanon: The Octogenarian of International Revenge and the Suicide Bomber of Today.” In Cooperation and Conflict, 42:2 (2007).
http://cac.sagepub.com

Abstract

Frantz Fanon has always been read as an apostle of violence — much of this owed to Sartre's Preface to Fanon's work, The Wretched of the Earth. There are, however, more nuanced possible readings of Fanon, readings that allow the possibility of new understandings of contemporary violence emanating from the Middle East. In this article, Fanon's intellectual trajectory is traced back to his first writings postulating an equality in which no slaves existed by virtue of there being no longer any masters. The psychological dimensions of Fanon's work are discussed and a hypothesis put forward about a moment of pure psychological lucidity and calm before the suicide bomber of today explodes his or her device. The work of Lacan and Kristeva is discussed in relation to a nuanced reading of Fanon, and an excursion into the Palestine of Hamas helps complete a complex meditation on Fanon's life and work.

***

Levin, Brian. “History as a Weapon: How Extremists Deny the Holocaust in North America.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 44:6 (February 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The North American Holocaust denial movement attracts a broad range of extremists who subscribe to right-wing and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Because mainstream society and academia have rejected the denial movement's theories, key figures in it have created their own stealth pseudoacademic entities. Using many of their own words, this article examines the evolution of the relationship between anti-Semitic extremists and others who became central figures in the promotion of a historical lie that is spread to this day.

***

McLaren, Peter. “The Dialectics of Terrorism: A Marxist Response to September 11 (Part Two: Unveiling the Past, Evading the Present).” In Cultural Studies ß à Critical Methodologies, 3:1 (2003).
http://csc.sagepub.com

Abstract

No abstract available

***

Mudde, Cas. “Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe.” In East European Politics and Societies, 19:2 (2005).
http://eep.sagepub.com

Abstract

Based in part on the results of a unique, comparative research project, the aim of this article is threefold: (1) to provide a comparative summary of racist extremism in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE); (2) to compare the situation of racist extremism in CEE to that in Western Europe; and (3) to come to some further insights about racist extremism in the region. It concludes, in contrast to many of the alarming statements on the topic, that CEE is neither a hotbed of racist extremism nor a safe haven for racist extremists. In fact, if one compares the state of racist extremism in CEE to that in Western Europe, the differences seem less striking than is often assumed. Yet while the impact of racist extremism in CEE might not be as great as is often assumed, a lot remains to be done, particularly now that these countries are or will soon be members of the European Union.

***

VanderHeiden, Steve. “Eco-terrorism or Justified Resistance? Radical Environmentalism and the ‘War on Terror’.” In Politics & Society, 33:3 (September 2005).
http://pas.sagepub.com

Abstract

Radical environmental groups engaged in ecotage—or economic sabotage of inanimate objects thought to be complicit in environmental destruction—have been identified as the leading domestic terrorist threat in the post-9/11 "war on terror." This article examines the case for extending the conventional definition of terrorism to include attacks not only against noncombatants, but also against inanimate objects, and surveys proposed moral limits suggested by proponents of ecotage. Rejecting the mistaken association between genuine acts of terrorism and ecotage, it considers the proper moral constraints upon ecotage through an examination of just war theory and nonviolent civil disobedience.

***

Watts, Meredith W. “Aggressive Youth Cultures and Hate Crime: Skinheads and Xenophobic Youth in Germany.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 45:4 (December 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

Contemporary bias crime in Germany increased dramatically after unification and remained at a relatively high, though fluctuating, level for the decade. Right-wing skinheads and neo-Nazis played a significant role in the violence, but at least one third of the violent incidents came from informal groups of young males who were not affiliated. This represents a shift in anti-Semitic and antiforeigner violence from the 1980s and earlier, when the perpetrators were likely to be older and affiliated with identifiable ideological groups. Contemporary xenophobia is not only linked to aggressive elements of youth culture but appears to be increasingly connected to local and international ideological networks. Electronic media such as the Internet have given both the political and commercial entities of skinhead and right-wing culture a means of support and growth.

Drakos and Kutan’s article examines the effect of terrorism directed against tourism industries in several Mediterranean countries. Harvey Glickman presents a discussion of African politics within the context of the war on terrorism. Quan Li reports research on the effect of democratic participation on the incidence of terrorism. The financial consequences of terrorism in the post-9/11 world are discussed by Peter Rosendorff and Todd Sandler. Wojciech Stankiewicz discusses the threat of seaborne terrorism, arguing that it is an overlooked threat.

Drakos, Konstantinos and Ali M. Kutan. “Regional Effects of Terrorism on Tourism in Three Mediterranean Countries.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 47:5 (October 2005).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

A consumer-choice theoretical model is developed to test the regional effects of terrorism on competitors' market shares in the tourism sector where involved countries enjoy significant tourism activities but are subject to a high frequency of terrorist attacks. Using data for three Mediterranean countries—Greece, Israel, and Turkey—for the period from January 1991 to December 2000, results show significant own and spillover effects of terrorism on market shares. Terrorist incidents are decomposed to better identify the impacts of terrorism on tourism. Significant contagion effects of terrorism on market shares in the region are documented, as is evidence of the effect of terrorism on the substitutability between countries.

***

Glickman, Harvey. “Africa in the War on Terrorism.” In Journal of Asian and African Studies, 38:2-3 (June 2003).
http://jas.sagepub.com

Abstract

Locating the African political scene within the new global paradigm of the war on terrorism, we inquire into the impact of the events of 9/11 on the international relations of African states within emerging new transnational forces, centering on American foreign policy toward Africa and on possible scenarios of African responses. We explore pressures and opportunities emerging and contemplate practical reactions by a new generation of African leaders. Africans have a stake in resisting terrorism and playing a role in a winning coalition. Their interests in development, security, open societies, and decent governance are enhanced by cooperation in the war on terrorism that also include elements of the African diaspora and the North American Africanist community.

***

Li, Quan. “Does Democracy Promote or Reduce Transnational Terrorist Incidents?” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49:2 (April 2005).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article studies the various mechanisms by which democracy affects transnational terrorism. New theoretical mechanisms are identified that either complement or encompass existing arguments. Different effects of democracy on transnational terrorism are assessed for a sample of about 119 countries from 1975 to 1997. Results show that democratic participation reduces transnational terrorist incidents in a country, while government constraints increase the number of those incidents, subsuming the effect of press freedom. The proportional representation system experiences fewer transnational terrorist incidents than either the majoritarian or the mixed system.

***

Rosendorff, Peter B. and Todd Sandler. “The Political Economy of Transnational Terrorism.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49:2 (April 2005).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

No abstract available

***

Stankiewicz, Wojciech. “International Terrorism at Sea as a Menace to the Civilization of the 21st Century.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:6 (February 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article posits that the menace of terrorism at sea has traditionally been overlooked, especially since the events of September 11 in New York that were perpetrated by air. Beginning with a general discussion of what motivates a terrorist and the different kinds of terrorism, the article then moves on to maritime terrorism and piracy and their legal and practical distinctions. The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation of 1988, which made great strides in detailing and codifying terrorism at sea, is discussed, as well as the role of the UN International Maritime Organization in combating terrorism at sea. Finally, the article sums up the current state of affairs and what still remains to be accomplished to effectively battle international maritime terrorism, which the author sees as the world’s next great threat.

Patricia Bibes assesses political violence emanating from Colombia’s multifaceted political groupings.

Bibes, Patricia. “Transnational Organized Crime and Terrorism: Colombia, a Case Study.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 17:3 (August 2001).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article deals with the complex relationships that exist among drug traffickers, insurgent guerrilla groups, paramilitary forces, peasants, and the government's military and police agencies in Colombia and the use of violence and terrorism among them to achieve disparate ends. Colombia was chosen as a case study because of its importance as a key source country for coca leaf and as an incubator for organized crime. The article also focuses on the narco-terrorist nexus, which for years has threatened the sovereignty of the country, and on strategies and institutional initiatives to combat drug production, trafficking, and terrorism.

Bunn and Wier evaluate the important question of the feasibility of nuclear weapon construction by terrorists. Charles Curtis addresses the question of whether demand for WMDs can be reduced. Karen Douglas, et. al. investigated online self-enhancement strategies by White supremacist groups. Similarly, Margaret Duffy presents an analysis of the online activities of American hate groups, as does Brian Levin in his article. Iqbal and Zorn examine the political consequences of assassinations of heads of state. Continuing the thread of discussion on nuclear terrorism, Simon Saradzhyan offers a case study of potential nuclear terrorism in Russia, and in her article Lynne Snowden explores the potentiality that violent extremists will attempt to develop or otherwise obtain nuclear weapons. Micah Zenko presents an historical review of intelligence estimates of nuclear terrorism.

Bunn, Matthew and Anthony Wier. “Terrorist Nuclear Weapon Construction: How Difficult?” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

The likelihood of a nuclear terrorist attack depends in part on the ability of terrorist groups to acquire, construct, and detonate a nuclear device. This article attempts to determine the difficulty of such an endeavor by examining the underlying physical facts about nuclear fission, nuclear materials, and nuclear weapons design. The facts bear out a simple conclusion: while the danger should not be exaggerated, a nuclear terrorist attack is potentially within the capabilities of a well-organized and sophisticated terrorist group. A nuclear attack might be one of the most difficult missions a terrorist group could hope to try, but if a highly capable group acquired a stolen nuclear bomb or enough nuclear material to make one, there can be few grounds for confidence that they would be unable to use it.

***

Curtis, Charles B. “Curbing the Demand for Mass Destruction.” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

We live in an age when the supply of weapons and materials of mass destruction easily meets the demand of Islamist extremists all too willing to use them. It is essential but not enough to reduce and secure the supply of weapons and materials of mass destruction. A comprehensive approach to catastrophic terrorism requires that we manage both the supply and demand for weapons of mass destruction. Nonproliferation strategies that focus solely on supply are merely buying us time.

***

Douglas, Karen M., Craig McGarty, Ana-Maria Bliuc, and Girish Lala. “Understanding Cyberhate: Social Competition and Social Creativity in Online White Supremacist Groups.” In Social Science Computer Review, 23:1 (Spring 2005).
http://ssc.sagepub.com

Abstract

This study investigated the self-enhancement strategies used by online White supremacist groups. In accordance with social identity theory, we proposed that White supremacist groups, in perceiving themselves as members of a high-status, impermeable group under threat from out-groups, should advocate more social conflict than social creativity strategies. We also expected levels of advocated violence to be lower than levels of social conflict and social creativity due to legal constraints on content. As expected, an analysis of 43 White supremacist web sites revealed that levels of social creativity and social conflict were significantly greater than were levels of advocated violence. However, contrary to predictions, the web sites exhibited social creativity to a greater extent than they exhibited social conflict. The difference between social creativity and social competition strategies was not moderated by identifiability. Results are discussed with reference to legal impediments to overt hostility in online groups and the purpose of socially creative communication.

***

Duffy, Margaret E. “Web of Hate: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of the Rhetorical Vision of Hate Groups Online.” In Journal of Communication Inquiry, 27:3 (July 2003).
http://jci.sagepub.com

Abstract

The development and growth of the Internet and World Wide Web have provided a new and persuasive medium for business, education, and social interaction. Examination of hate group Web sites reveal world views that cast organizations' aims in mainstream and traditionally American terms. This article uses Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis to examine hate group Web sites as a means to understand the world views expressed and the resulting potential for persuasion.

***

Iqbal, Zaryab and Christopher Zorn. “The Political Consequences of Assassination.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 52 (June 2008).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

The assassination of a political leader is among the highest-profile acts of political violence, and conventional wisdom holds that such events often have substantial political, social, and economic effects on states. We investigate the extent to which the assassination of a head of state affects political stability through an analysis of all assassinations of heads of state between 1952 and 1997. We examine the political consequences of assassination by assessing the levels of political unrest, instability, and civil war in states that experience the assassination of their head of state. Our findings support the existence of an interactive relationship among assassination, leadership succession, and political turmoil: in particular, we find that assassinations' effects on political instability are greatest in systems in which the process of leadership succession is informal and unregulated.

***

Levin, Brian. “Cyberhate: A Legal and Historical Analysis of Extremists’ Use of Computer Networks in America.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 45:6 (February 2002).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

American extremists have traditionally cultivated technology to enhance efficiency and promote goals. This article concentrates on how domestic right-wing and other extremists have used computer networks to these ends. Although the concept of a guerrilla insurgency through "leaderless resistance" became a factor in right-wing extremist movements before the Internet's advent, cyberspace hastened its popularity. The Internet has been useful to hatemongers and extremists because it is economical and far reaching, and online expression is significantly protected by the First Amendment. Various court decisions have established that not all communication is protected, in cyberspace or elsewhere. Although the government cannot regulate Internet expression because it offends sensibilities, it can regulate expression that constitutes crimes that fall under various unprotected areas of speech. Courts have convicted hatemongers who use the Internet to communicate threats rather than merely ideas. Private service providers and foreign governments have greater latitude to prohibit offensive and hateful expression that does not constitute a threat.

***

Saradzhyan, Simon. “Russia: Grasping the Reality of Nuclear Terror.” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

Radical separatists based in the North Caucasus have the motive and are seeking the means to commit an act of nuclear terrorism as well as allies to help them carry it out. Their proximity to insufficiently secured Russian nuclear facilities and their contents makes the prospect of nuclear terror in Russia very real. This article assesses the magnitude of this threat, considers possible attack scenarios, and suggests ways to reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic attack on Russian soil.

***

Snowden, Lynne L. “How Likely are Terrorists to Use a Nuclear Strategy?” In American Behavioral Scientist, 46:6 (February 2003).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

Are terrorists likely to use the nuclear strategy given today’s technology? The following article explores whether terrorists are likely to strategically utilize weapons and material such as atom bombs and radioactive waste. After discussing various nuclear strategies, the article then focuses on ways that law enforcement officers and government agencies can use probability to develop a list of terrorists who are most likely to use a radioactive dispersal device.

***

Zenko, Micah. “Intelligence Estimates of Nuclear Terrorism.” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

Nuclear terrorism is not a post-9/11 or even post-cold war phenomenon. In fact, this review of declassified intelligence estimates spanning the past five decades reveals that the prospect of a clandestine nuclear attack on the United States—be it from the Soviet Union, China, or al Qaeda—has been a regular concern for U.S. officials since the advent of nuclear weapons. Although the estimates themselves have been a mixed bag of quiet successes and failures, this article’s key findings suggest that the threat of nuclear terrorism is very real and that the U.S. government remains ill prepared to counter that treat.

Sean Aday, Steven Livingston, and Maeve Hebert analyze the objectivity of several broadcast news organizations in their reporting of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Amy Fried evaluates contextual reporting of terrorism in print media. News magazine photographic coverage of the “war on terrorism” in Afghanistan and Iraq is assessed in Michael Griffin’s article. The public relations strategies of the Pentagon and extremists are discussed and compared by Eric Louw. Frank Möller discusses the importance of visual imagery in the post-9/11 era. Describing an interesting perspective on the media, Kirsten Morgensen argues that television coverage of terrorist attacks is a specific genre of journalism. In their article discussing communication and the terrorist threat, Mythen and Walk critique media and government assessments and distortions of the threat. Michelle Slone reports research on differential stress responses to terrorism reporting by the public in Israel. In a polemical article, Philip Taylor argues that the West can win the “propaganda war” against terrorism. Wolfsfeld, et. al. explore how different journalistic routines theoretically lead to the reportage of ethnocentric news. Joshua Woods analyzes press coverage of terrorism during an eight-year period spanning the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Aday, Sean. Steven Livingston, and Maeve Hebert. “Embedding the Truth: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Objectivity and Television Coverage of the Iraq War.” In The Harvard Journal of Press/Politics, 10:1 (Winter 2005).
http://hij.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article reports on a cross-cultural analysis of television coverage of the 2003 Iraq War that seeks to assess and understand the dimensions of objectivity in the news during wartime. A total of 1,820 stories on five American networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel [FNC]) and on the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera were included in the study. The study assessed bias on two levels:tone of individual stories and the macro-level portrait of the war offered by each network. Results showed that at the story level, the overwhelming number of stories broadcast by Al Jazeera and the American networks other than FNC were balanced. Yet the data also revealed a strong bias in support of the American-led war effort at FNC and important differences in how the various networks covered the war. Also, broadcasters showed a war devoid of blood, dissent, and diplomacy, focusing instead on a sanitized version of combat. Overall, the study found evidence that the news norm of objectivity is defined in large part by culture and ideology more than events, as the norm would imply. The study also explored in detail the coverage of embedded reporters to assess their objectivity and compare their coverage to other types of reporters, especially "unilaterals" with whom they shared the battlefield.

***

Fried, Amy. “Terrorism as a Context of Coverage Before the Iraq War.” In The Harvard Journal of Press/Politics, 10:3 (Summer 2005).
http://hij.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article examines terrorism as a context in the major newsmagazines’ coverage of Iraq in the prewar period. Contexts and associated issues help create news frames, which can affect judgments of events and policies. This investigation relies on the issues of Time and Newsweek published in September 2002 and from the first issue of January 2003 through the March 24, 2003, issue and includes analysis of the issues’ cover art, graphics within news stories, and Iraq and terrorism stories. During this period, newsmagazines frequently juxtaposed terrorism and Iraq and used graphics that linked Iraq to terrorism and terrorists.

***

Griffin, Michael. “Picturing America’s ‘War on Terrorism’ in Afghanistan and Iraq: Photographing Motifs as News Frames.” In Journalism, 5:4 (2004).
http://jou.sagepub.com

Abstract

Following research on depictions of the Persian Gulf War of 1991, this article discusses the nature of US news-magazine photo coverage of the ‘War on Terrorism’ in Afghanistan and the military invasion of Iraq. The analysis suggests that news-magazine photographs primarily serve established narrative themes within official discourse: that published photographs most often offer prompts for prevailing government versions of events and rarely contribute independent, new or unique visual information. Despite claims of ‘live’ and spontaneous coverage, photographs from Afghanistan and Iraq, like those from the Gulf War in 1991, are characterized by a narrow range of predictable, recurrent motifs. Repetitive images of the mustering and deployment of the American military arsenal overshadow any fuller or more complex range of depiction. And when dominant news narratives, such as the fall of the Taliban or the fall of Baghdad, come to a close, photographic coverage of continuing events in Afghanistan and Iraq falls off sharply.

***

Louw, Eric P. “The ‘War Against Terrorism’: A Public Relations Challenge for the Pentagon.” In Gazette: The International Journal for Communications Studies. 63:3 (2003).
http://gaz.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between warfare and the media, arguing that both terrorists and conventional warfare planners in the Pentagon factor communications and public relations into their planning. In this regard, the article sketches out how the Pentagon developed a new genre of `public relations-ized' warfare - warfare planned, not only as a military exercise, but as a televisual media event. Similarly, it will be argued that those attacking the World Trade Center deployed an understanding of terrorism as a `media event', and a grasp of how USA politics (and warfare) has been `media-ized'. This understanding was used by al-Qaeda to provoke the USA into the `War against Terrorism'. This war created a number of public relations problems for the Pentagon. The Pentagon's response to these problems is examined.

***

Möller, Frank. “Photographic Interventions in Post-9/11 Security Policy.” In Security Dialogue, 38:2 (2007).
http://sdi.sagepub.com

Abstract

Regardless of its cultural and discursive turn, the field of security studies has not yet paid sufficient attention to visual culture. In particular, approaches that focus on the articulation of security have been quite inattentive to images. With respect to post-9/11 security policy, it is argued here that the images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center have become not only a legitimacy provider for security policy but also part of every person's visual reservoir and pictorial memory, on which the successful articulation of security in part depends. It is therefore suggested to link the study of securitization with the study of both images and pictorial memory. The present article, by discussing three visual projects revolving around 9/11, looks for desecuritizing potential in photography and examines the extent to which photography can offer oppositional interventions in security policy. However, the surplus meaning that images inevitably carry with them, while limiting the securitizing potential of images, also reduces the extent to which opposition can rely on images.

***

Morgensen, Kirsten. “Television Journalism During Terror Attacks.” Media, War & Conflict, vol. 1 (April 2008).
http://mwc.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article views television news coverage of ongoing terrorist attacks and their immediate aftermath as a special genre within journalism, and describes norms connected with the genre. The description is based on qualitative analyses of the coverage on the major American networks in the first 24 hours after the events on September 11, 2001, and on semi-structured personal interviews with 37 journalists who covered the events for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and FOX News. In accordance with legal and moral philosopher Alf Ross, each of the norms was expressed as a directive in the interviews and also reflected in the journalistic practices. The described norms form a coherent pattern if safeguarding the existing democracy and the general public is considered to be the main purpose. A coverage based on this pattern of norms can be compared to other forms of crisis management following attacks because it counteracts well known symptoms of national crisis.

***

Mythen, Gabe and Sandra Walklate. “Communicating the Terrorist Risk: Harnessing a Culture of Fear?” In Crime, Media, Culture, 2:2 (2006).
http://cmc.sagepub.com

Abstract

Following the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, Madrid and London, state agencies have been bound up with the problem of how to effectively communicate the risk of terrorism to the general public. This article charts the UK government's attempts to engage in this process and illustrates how the communication of the terrorist risk meshes into broader cultural formations of crime and (in)security. Our analytical framework utilizes the risk society as the scene in which governmental strategies are parcelled up and unpacked. It is posited that the framing of the terrorist problem through the political discourse of ‘new terrorism’ has built upon and escalated a cultural climate of fear and uncertainty. At the level of political communication, it will be elucidated that media representations of the terrorist threat have served to further embed discourses of responsibilization. In our view such processes not only articulate a reduced notion of safety, they also pave the way for the simplistic construction of a non-white ‘terroristic other’ that has negative consequences for ethnic minority groups in the UK.

***

Slone, Michelle. “Responses to Media Coverage of Terrorism.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44:4 (August 2000).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Differential anxiety responses to television coverage of national threat situations and terrorism in Israel were examined. A total of 237 participants were evenly divided into two groups, each exposed to an experimental or control condition. The experimental condition involved exposure to television news clips of terrorism and threats to national security. The control condition involved equivalent-length exposure to news clips unrelated to national danger situations. Results supported the anxiety-inducing effect of the experimental condition and indicated differential demographic and dispositional responses to the footage according to gender, religiousness, and level of dogmatism. These results support the powerful effect of the mass media and advocate further exploration of links between media broadcasting of political violence and psychological processes.

***

Taylor, Philip M. “Can the Information War on Terror Be Won?” In Media, War & Conflict, vol 1. (April 2008).
http://mwc.sagepub.com

Abstract

This polemical essay argues that, despite many presentational mistakes in the West’s information war on terror since 9/11, the `propaganda’ war is not yet lost. Indeed, it tentatively suggests that although those mistakes have made the task of `winning hearts and minds’ in the Islamic world harder and longer, the root cause of failure to date lies with a failure to `know yourself’ — i.e. to address those elements, such as foreign policy decisions, which fuel support for Al Qaida. Although the terrorist `organization’ has proved exceptionally adept in its own propaganda, it is not just inept western propaganda that lies at the heart of the problem. It is the inability to see yourself as others see you, even if — or perhaps — you disagree with `them’.

***

Wolfsfeld, Gadi, Paul Frosh, and Maurice T. Awabdy. “Covering Death in Conflicts: Coverage of the Second Intifada on Israeli and Palestinian Television.” In Journal of Peace Research, vol. 45 (May 2008).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

This exploratory study attempts to explain how journalistic routines for covering violent conflict lead to the construction of ethnocentric news. A distinction is made between two sets of routines. One set is permanent and ensures ethnocentric control over the flow of information, while a second set varies as journalists construct coherent narratives for particular events. This latter set of routines is further broken down into what are labeled the `Victims Mode' and `Defensive Mode' of reporting. The Victims Mode is used when one's own citizens have suffered an especially tragic loss of life, while the Defensive Mode is employed when one's forces have carried out an attack that has inflicted a similar loss on the enemy. It is argued that each of these modes of reporting parallels psychological reactions that have been found in individuals. The ideas raised in the theoretical discussion are investigated by comparing coverage of two events by Israeli and Palestinian television. Two events were chosen for analysis: a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 19 Israelis, and the killing of Hamas leader Sheik Salach Shehadeh in which 16 Palestinians were killed. An in-depth reading of the six news broadcasts provides important insights into how journalists' routines ensure a steady flow of culturally acceptable news stories that reinforce hatred between enemies.

***

Woods, Joshua. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Terrorism: Elite Press Coverage of Terrorism Risk from 1997 to 2005.” In The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 12:3 (Summer 2007).
http://hij.sagepub.com

Abstract

The risk of terrorism in the United States has gained a great deal of attention from researchers, policy makers, the public, and the press. This article focused on how one of these actors—the press—portrayed the risk during an eight-year period centered on the attacks of 9/11. The three goals of this study were to identify the dimensions of terrorism risk that are most likely to increase public perceptions of the danger, describe how these dimensions were portrayed in newspaper content, and explain how these portrayals were associated with other important news topics including the use of military force, the protection of civil liberties, and the image of the Muslim religion.

Michelle Byng engages in an examination of the redefinition of identity among Muslim Americans since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Christian Davenport presents a case study of the use of undercover investigations by government authorities of the nationalist organization Republic of New Africa during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Carl Davidson and Jerry Harris examine the rise of the so-called Christian Right and tendencies within the movement. Christian Erickson assesses themes presented in American popular culture on the topic of terrorism. Research on the extremist right wing is presented by Raphael Ezekiel, including discussions of their tactics and ideologies. Michael Katz explores why, with very few exceptions, American cities do not experience violent civil disorders. The ideology and membership of the modern militia movement are evaluated by Mark Pitcavage. Tanya Sharpe examines the potentiality of terrorist violence emanating from adherents of the Christian Identity movement.

Byng, Michelle D. “Complex Inequalities: The Case of Muslim Americans After 9/11.” In American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 51 (January 2008).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have redefined the meaning of religious minority identity for Muslim Americans. When religious identities are central to U.S. political conflicts, they shift from supporting adaptation to American society to facilitating inequality. Using newspaper articles published in the northeastern region of the United States and The Washington Post between May 2002 and May 2003, the following analysis investigates how Muslim religious identity comes to mimic the inequality of race identity via essentialist images of Islam, government policies, and experiences of discrimination. Benign markers of difference no longer exist in American society; instead, any identity that designates a group boundary can be used to organize social inequality. The religious minority identity of Muslim Americans following 9/11 signals the complexity of social inequality and, therefore, the difficulty of achieving social justice.

***

Davenport, Christian. “Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government Against the Republic of New Africa.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49:1 (February 2005).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Although overt repression has been studied extensively (e.g., mass arrests), there have been no rigorous investigations of covert repressive action (CRA; e.g., electronic and physical surveillance). To better understand the latter behavior, the author uses newdata about U.S. domestic intelligence activity directed against a Black Nationalist organization in Detroit, Michigan, during the late 1960s and early 1970s (N= 3,136, by neighborhood-month). In line with existing research, evidence reveals that CRA responds to dissent, lagged repression, and the level of economic development within a neighborhood. Differing from existing literature, however, results also disclose thatCRAresponds to where dissidents live and, most important, in accordance to the racial characteristics of the neighborhood within which potential targets are located. Wiretaps and tails are thus prompted by numerous factors, but the identity of challengers (i.e., political "profiling") proves to be an essential part of the explanation.

***

Davidson, Carl and Jerry Harris. “Globalisation, Theocracy and the New Fascism: The US Right’s Rise to Power.” In Race & Class, 47:3 (2006).
http://rac.sagepub.com

Abstract

The Christian Right is an increasingly powerful phenomenon in US politics. Extremely influential in the current administration, it has been building a mass base across the nation. This analysis of a movement that has been growing over the past four decades reveals the complex interrelationships between its different strands, their reach into the mass media, their war of attrition against socially liberal legislation and the opportunistic links with elements of the pro-Israel lobby. Also examined are the contradictions and potential contradictions within its different facets. Most alarming are those elements which revile, as anti-Christian, the very concept of a democratic society in their aim at overall ‘dominion’.

***

Erickson, Christian W. “Counter-Terror Culture: Ambiguity, Subversion, or Legitimization?” In Security Dialogue, 38:2 (2007).
http://sdi.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article examines themes of terrorism and counter-terrorism in US popular culture, focusing on eight cinematic or televisual works from the pre- and post-9/11 environment. Each of these works explores the dilemmas posed by terrorism, counter-terrorist mobilization, and occupation and resistance in fictional spaces. Three of the works — 24, The Agency, and The Grid — are narratives that attempt to simulate the activities of counter-terrorist operations in, respectively, a wholly fictional Counter Terrorist Unit; the Central Intelligence Agency; and ad hoc intelligence and tactical groups combing CIA, FBI, NSC, and MI5 agents. The other five works are more removed from an explicit attempt to mimic `reality': The X-Files, The Matrix Trilogy, Alias, The 4400, and Battlestar Galactica. In all of these works, the dangers to human rights posed by both overt and covert security operations lie at the core of their narrative structures.

***

Ezekiel, Raphael S. “An Ethnographer Looks at Neo-Nazi and Klan Groups: The Racist Mind Revisited.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 46:1 (September 2002).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The author re-examines his fieldwork with neo-Nazi and Klan leaders and followers. He first reviews primary findings: official movement ideology expressed crude social Darwinism and an apocalyptic struggle between Whites (humans) and Jews (children of Satan); everyday beliefs of members spoke more of a fear that they, as Whites, were going to be economic losers; leaders were intelligent, shallow men, and at core were political beings motivated more by a drive for power than by racism; members were male, young, dropouts without work skills, with a deep fear of personal annihilation—social isolates whose membership expressed personal needs that might be satisfied equally by alternative engagements. The article next asks how a working-class youth becomes a neo-Nazi activist and identifies social and personal factors, relating them to other research. It draws implications for prevention, looking at community organizing and education, and then at the relation of militant White racism to ordinary White racism.

***

Katz, Michael B. “Why Don’t American Cities Burn Very Often?” Journal of Urban History, vol. 34 (January 2008).
http://juh.sagepub.com

Abstract

Prompted by the 2005 urban riots in France, this article asks why, with very few exceptions, American cities have not experienced widespread civil disorders since the late 1970s, especially when many of the conditions underlying the earlier disorders persist or have worsened. The answer lies in three factors: the changing ecology of power, techniques for managing marginalization, and distinctive U.S. approaches to the incorporation and control of immigrants.

***

Pitcavage, Mark. “Camouflage and Conspiracy: The Militia Movement from Ruby Ridge to Y2K.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 44:6 (February 2001).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

The militia movement is a right-wing movement that arose following controversial standoffs in the 1990s. It inherited paramilitary traditions of earlier groups, especially the conspiratorial, antigovernment Posse Comitatus. The militia movement claims that militia movement claims that militia groups are sanctioned by law but uncontrolled by government; in fact, they are designed to oppose a tyrannical government. Adherents believe that behind the "tyranny" is a left-wing, globalist conspiracy known as the New World Order. The movement's ideology has led some adherents to commit criminal acts, including stockpiling illegal weapons and explosives and plotting to destroy buildings or assassinate public officials, as well as lesser confrontations.

***

Sharpe, Tanya Telfair. “The Identity Christian Movement: Ideology of Domestic Terrorism.” Journal of Black Studies, 30:4 (March 2000).
http://jbs.sagepub.com

Abstract

No abstract available

Michael Byers discusses the legal argument proposed by the United States for waging the war on terrorism. Kelly Damphousse evaluates what effect terrorism events have on subsequent prosecution strategies. Marieke De Goede examines European opposition to the doctrine of pre-emption in the war on terrorism. Similarly, an examination is made of the Bush administration’s pre-emptive strike doctrine by Sanjay Gupta. Martin Innes evaluates the impact of terrorist attacks on counterterrorist strategies among UK police. Bonnie Jenkins presents the case for focusing on the ambitions of nonstate actors in combating nuclear terrorism. The debates and evolution of legal responses to terrorism is discussed by Brian Levin. Kessler and Werner examine extrajudicial killing from the perspective of risk management. The moral and ethical aspects of torture are discussed by Douglas McCready. McGarrell, et. al. recommends an approach and application of the intelligence-led policing (ILP) model for counterterrorism policies. In his article, Rein Müllerson argues that a human rights perspective is needed when the world community responds to terrorist threats. Important U.S. Fifth Amendment constitutional perspectives on torture are discussed by Geoffrey Skoll. Brent Steel investigates how the treatment of terrorist suspects affects the American sense of honor and self-identity. James Stever argues that the new era of terrorism requires a reevaluation of previous models of intergovernmental management. Geir Ulfstein assesses new legal issues presented by the use of force against terrorists and terrorist governments. Shields, Kamphousse, and Smith present an assessment and analysis of guilty pleas among terrorists.

***

Damphousse, Kelly R. “The Morning After: Assessing the Effect of Major Terrorism Events on Prosecution Strategies and Outcomes.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

A major terrorism event has several important consequences for officials involved in the investigation and prosecution of terrorist activities. Such events are likely to bring increased scrutiny by both public policy officials and the media. The article uses data from the American Terrorism Study to compare the period before and after two of the most dramatic terrorist events on U.S. soil: the Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks. The results suggest that whether intentional or not, major terrorism events result in the government's pursuing cases that are generally less serious and less complicated, and those cases are treated much more like "traditional" crimes by the prosecution. Following the aftermath of a major event, terrorist defendants are more likely to behave like traditional offenders and are less likely to be convicted as a result of a trial than are terrorists who are indicted before major events.

***

De Goede, Marieke. “The Politics of Preemption and the War on Terror in Europe.” In European Journal of International Relations, vol. 14 (March 2008).
http://ejt.sagepub.com

Abstract

In the midst of the war on terror and unilateral US security politics, many observers look to Europe for alternatives. It is argued that Europe is particularly opposed to preemptive security practice, and prefers instead to rely on the rule of law. This article examines the meaning of preemption in the war on terror, and analyses three aspects of European counter-terror policy. It becomes clear that, with respect to a number of policies that play a key role in preemptive security practice, including criminalizing terrorist support, data retention, and asset freezing, the European Union is world leader rather than reluctant follower. Instead of relying on images that position Europe as inherently critical of preemptive security, debate concerning the legitimacy and desirability of such practices must be actively fostered within European public space.

***

Gupta, Sanjay. “The Doctrine of Pre-Emptive Strike: Application and Implications During the Administration of President George W. Bush.” In International Political Science Review, vol. 29 (March 2008).
http://ips.sagepub.com

Abstract

During the Iraq war, the Bush administration justified its preemptive military strike against Iraq on grounds of national security. The strike, carried out under the administration's National Security Strategy, asserts the right of the USA to take unilateral military action against rogue states and terrorist organizations so as to prevent or mitigate a presumed attack by such nations or organizations against the United States. However, the administration's action has been widely criticized as not being in conformity with international law, customary law, and UN Security Council resolutions. The doctrine's implications are serious as it may encourage other states, such as India, to take unilateral action against their adversaries. The failure of the UN to prevent US aggression against Iraq has also given rise to the suggestion that the UN is redundant in such circumstances, a view seen by US and Indian foreign policy ideologues as a favorable development.

***

Innes, Martin. “Policing Uncertainty: Countering Terror Through Community Intelligence and Democratic Policing.” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605 (May 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article explores how counterterrorism policing strategies and practices in the United Kingdom have changed in the face of recent terrorist attacks. It considers the evident limitations of these developments and how a local, democratic style of neighborhood policing could be used to manufacture the community intelligence "feed" that offers the best probability of preventing and deterring future forms of such violence. These substantive concerns are set against a theoretical backdrop attending to how policing can respond to risks where the contours of the threat are uncertain. The analysis is informed by interviews with U.K. police officers involved in intelligence and counterterrorism work conducted during the early part of 2005.

***

Jenkins, Bonnie. “Combating Nuclear Terrorism: Addressing Nonstate Actor Motivations.” In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).
http://ann.sagepub.com

Abstract

Yesterday’s nonproliferation efforts were successful, in part, because they addressed the motives of aspiring state proliferants. Today’s efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism should take a similar approach. Understanding—and addressing—the motivations of nonstate actors should be as important as locking down nuclear weapons and materials. The international community has a variety of tools at its disposal for addressing the demand for nuclear weapons. This article suggests a multifaceted approach for understanding, and reducing, the nuclear ambitions of nonstate actors.

***

Kessler, Oliver and Wouter Werner. “Extrajudicial Killing as Risk Management.” In Security Dialogue, vol. 39 (April 2008).
http://sdi.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article analyses legal aspects of the `war on terror'. It argues that, by making recourse to a semantic of risk, danger and, in particular, precaution, the `war on terror' blurs crucial political and legal categories of public and private, of peace and war, of combatants and civilians, thus redefining the relationship between political responsibility, time and security. As a consequence, the extrajudicial killing of individuals becomes a form of risk management that takes place beyond established mechanisms of accountability.

***

Levin, Brian. “Trials for Terrorists: The Shifting Legal Landscape of the Post-9/11 Era.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

In the post—9/11 period, the United States government employed alternate methods to deal with those accused of pursuing terrorism or aiding the nation's enemies. In an effort to thwart terror attacks, officials employed both civilian and military authority to investigate, apprehend, detain, and prosecute terror suspects. At first the Bush administration was granted considerable deference by the public and other branches of government on a wide variety of measures, including detainments. Eventually, both the courts and Congress reasserted themselves to limit the broad authority that the administration initially wielded over suspected terrorists. In particular, the ability of the military to detain American citizens in most circumstances was all but eliminated, and its near complete authority over noncitizens was significantly restricted as well.

***

McCready, Douglas. “When is Torture Right?” In Studies in Christian Ethics, vol. 20 (December 2007).
http://sce.sagepub.com

Abstract

Despite nearly universal condemnation, torture remains a tool for interrogation, intimidation, and punishing. Even many who abhor torture are willing to consider its use in extraordinary situations. Both the deontological absolute prohibition of torture and the consequentialist justification of torture are inadequate ethics to address the issue. Dershowitz, Walzer, and Elshtain, among others, have attempted to redress the problem with more finely-tuned approaches, of which Elshtain's rejection of justification in favor of grace and forgiveness appears the most promising. Confronting the practice of torture is also difficult because there is no generally accepted definition of what constitutes torture. Not all coercion is torture, and some coercion is both legal and moral. Torture, in any case, remains a wrongful act.

***

McGarrell, Edmund F., Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven Chermak. “Intelligence-Led Policing As a Framework for Responding to Terrorism.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

Leading police associations in the United States and the United Kingdom have advocated that law enforcement adopt an intelligence-led policing model (ILP). Much like the situation with community policing, there does not appear to be a commonly accepted definition of ILP nor of the practical implications for police agencies' mission, structure, and processes. This article presents a model of ILP that builds on community policing, problem solving, and continuous improvement business models that have been adopted by police departments. Examples of these practices are reviewed as a method of illustrating the promise of an ILP approach. A broad conceptualization of ILP is presented under the belief that ILP will be most likely integrated into law enforcement and will have the greatest impact if it is adopted from an "all crimes" perspective. The article concludes with illustrations of the utility of ILP for addressing threats of domestic and international terrorism.

***

Müllerson, Rein. “Being Tough on Terrorism or Respecting Human Rights: A False Dilemma of Authoritarian and Liberal Responses.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:12 (August 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

Today the world has become too small to remain too different—liberal-democratic and authoritarian-totalitarian, rich and poor, healthy and mired in epidemics. Such variations also constitute a fertile ground for terrorism. The concepts of East and West, South and North have all emerged as Homo sapiens, starting from an African village, spread throughout the world. Today we are creating the global village of planet Earth. In this village, differences acquired during the millennia of separation and isolation not only enrich humankind but some also can serve as a cause, a catalyst, or a pretext for conflicts, including terrorism. Having dissimilated for millennia, humankind is slowly and often reluctantly assimilating. However, sustainable integration, whether economic or political, is not possible without some kind of assimilation taking place (i.e., integrating entities becoming in some respect similar to each other).

***

Shields, Christopher A., Kelly R. Damphousse, and Brent L. Smith. “Their Day in Court: Assessing Guilty Plea Rates Among Terrorists.” In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 22:3 (August 2006).
http://ccj.sagepub.com

Abstract

Individuals who are charged for traditional crimes are substantially more likely to plead guilty than individuals who are charged under the same statutes but who are officially involved in terrorism (Smith & Damphousse, 1998). Relying on a structural–contextual theory framework, a quantitative analysis not only confirmed that terrorists plead guilty more often than traditional offenders but that the defendant’s age and number of counts in the indictment are important predictors. Directions for future research are suggested.

***

Skoll, Geoffrey R. “Torture and the Fifth Amendment: Torture, the Global War on Terror, and Constitutional Values.” In Criminal Justice Review, vol. 33 (March 2008).
http://cjr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Over the past several years, military and intelligence personnel of the United States have tortured captives, gained information from others' torture of captives, or sent captives to be tortured. Even aside from statutory law and international treaties and conventions to which the United States is party, prohibition of torture by agents of the state is implicit in the very fabric of U.S. political society as embodied in the Constitution, especially the Fifth Amendment. The rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment derive from English common law, with its long and venerable history. Furthermore, common-law rights and protections permeate all of Anglo-American law. The Fifth Amendment plays a central role in these legal safeguards. Historical and analytic accounts of both the Fifth Amendment and torture may shed light on recent revelations of the use of torture.

***

Steele, Brent J. “’Ideals That Were Really Never In Our Possession’: Torture, Honor and US Identity.” In International Relations, vol 22 (June 2008).
http://ire.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article addresses how the recent US treatment of suspects detained in its War on Terror relates to the issues of US self-identity and US honor. Both the abuse of these individuals, and the shock which such abuse engenders (when revealed to the US public), are manifested by punishment drives that reinforce a nation's sense of internal honor, which is constructed and connected to a nation's self-identity. While professing commitments to human rights, on the one hand, and interrogation and torture, on the other, are contradictory practices — they are similar in the sense that both are forms of discipline which uphold internally constituted ontological visions of the US Self. Drawing upon a Foucauldian view of ethics, `the relation to oneself', the article avers that precisely because these disciplinary mechanisms are driven by self-identity and protecting the `honor' of the US nation-state, domestic and international actors can use two tactics — `reflexive discourse' and self-interrogative imaging — to stimulate US agents to reform such practices in the future.

***

Stever, James A. “Adapting Intergovernmental Management to the New Age of Terrorism.” In Administration & Society, 37:4 (September 2005).
http://aas.sagepub.com

Abstract

Twentieth century progressivism produced intergovernmental models that do not work in this era of terrorism. Their shortcomings surfaced during the Gulf War, with efforts to involve the National Guard in disaster relief, and are now quite apparent. Four assumptions should guide the adaptation of existing intergovernmental models: (a) recognizing the new linkage between intergovernmental relations and the military; (b) mastering new proactive methods rather than waiting on the slow processes of incremental reform; (c) accepting new values (timeliness, flexibility, and containment of the deadly consequences of terrorism) to constrain 21st century intergovernmental relations; and (d) rebuilding the shattered intergovernmental context.

***

Ulfstein, Geir. “Terrorism and the Use of Force.” Security Dialogue, 34:2 (June 2003).
http://sdi.sagepub.com

Abstract

There exist today a number of conventions aimed at combating terrorism. These treat acts of terrorism as criminal acts. However, the events of 11 September 2001 introduced a new dimension into the debate on the use of force in addressing the problem of terrorism. This article discusses whether the UN Security Council has given its approval for the USA's use of force in the wake of 11 September 2001 and whether this use of force can be justified under the right of self-defence. The article's conclusion is that the Security Council has not given its approval. Nevertheless, the USA may invoke the right of self-defence on the basis of the Taliban's support for the terrorists. However, it is important to remember that acts of terrorism ought as far as possible to be addressed through criminal prosecution. Furthermore, any use of force ought to take place under the control of the UN. And we must be on our guard against any erosion of the prohibition against the use of force in international law.

Clauset, Young, and Gleditsch report and discuss research on the frequency and severity of terrorist events since 1968. A longitudinal historical dataset on domestic terrorism in Europe is presented and discussed by Jan Oskar Engene. Karin Jordan assesses two crisis intervention techniques available to counselors when catastrophic events occur. Policy alternatives to the war on terrorism are presented and evaluated by Arnd Jürgensen. In Matthew Kemp’s article, an interesting analysis is made of parallels between the modern war on terrorism and the French war in Algeria (1954-1962). Jo Morgan analyzes and critiques the utility of American approaches to hate crime legislation as they pertain to Australia. Oliverio and Lauderdale suggest avenues for future research on terrorism. According to Jacek Salij moral suasion, rather than legalistic reactions, is the best approach for counteracting terrorism. Patricia Sullivan discusses the question of why seemingly powerful nations lose limited wars.

Clauset, Aaron, Maxwell Young, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. “On the Frequency of Severe Terrorist Events.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:1 (February 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

In the spirit of Lewis Richardson’s original study of the statistics of deadly conflicts, we study the frequency and severity of terrorist attacks worldwide since 1968. We show that these events are uniformly characterized by the phenomenon of "scale invariance," that is, the frequency scales as an inverse power of the severity, P(x) Ax-. We find that this property is a robust feature of terrorism, persisting when we control for economic development of the target country, the type of weapon used, and even for short time scales. Further, we show that the center of the distribution oscillates slightly with a period of roughly 13 years, that there exist significant temporal correlations in the frequency of severe events, and that current models of event incidence cannot account for these variations or the scale invariance property of global terrorism. Finally, we describe a simple toy model for the generation of these statistics and briefly discuss its implications.

***

Engene, Jan Oskar. “Five Decades of Terrorism in Europe: The TWEED Dataset.” In Journal of Peace Research, 44:1 (2007).
http://jpr.sagepub.com

Abstract

The article presents a regional dataset on internal terrorism, Terrorism in Western Europe: Event Data (TWEED), covering the period 1950 through 2004 for 18 West European countries. As the dataset covers internal terrorism, the distinction between this form of terrorism and international terrorism is discussed. In demarcating international from internal terrorism, the former is usually taken to mean terrorism involving nationals or territory of more than one state. In TWEED, however, terrorism is regarded as internal when terrorists act within their own political systems. Terrorists originating from outside Western Europe, but committing acts of terrorism inside the region, are excluded from TWEED. Next, the article discusses the selection of sources from which the coding is done. With its combination of continuous coverage and good reporting of Western Europe, Keesing’s was chosen as the source for TWEED. The article discusses problems of source coverage related to relying on a single source. Finally, the article presents the structure of the dataset. The coding unit is the event related to terrorism, whether acts of terrorism or government acts directed against terrorists. A total of 11,245 events are recorded in TWEED, of which 86.5% are actions initiated by terrorist groups or non-state agents. TWEED records activities by 214 named terrorist groups. Events are coded for a range of 52 variables falling into two groups: attributes of the action, including basic information such as date and country of the terrorist attack, the agent (group) responsible and the number of deaths and injuries inflicted; and attributes of the agent, which records their ideological profile, regional context and attitude towards the state.

***

Jordan, Karin. “Providing Crisis Counseling to New Yorkers After the Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center.” In The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 10:2 (April 2002).
http://tfj.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article provides an overview of two crisis intervention techniques used by a marriage and family counselor who served as a crisis counselor in New York City after the September 11th terrorist attack. The intervention techniques described are Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and one-on-one crisis counseling. An overview of both techniques as well as the actual application are described.

***

Jürgensen, Arnd. “Terrorism, Civil Liberties, and Preventive Approaches to Technology: The Difficult Choices Western Societies Face in the War on Terrorism.” In Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 24:1 (February 2004).
http://bst.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article explores public policy alternatives to the current war on terrorism. Western society’s vulnerability to terrorism has been dealt with primarily by expanding the law enforcement and surveillance authority of governments at the expense of the freedoms and civil liberties of the public. This approach threatens to undermine the prerequisites to meaningful democratic institutions. An alternative public policy might target high-risk technologies (civilian airlines, nuclear reactors, etc.) as the source of vulnerability to terrorism, thereby protecting civil liberties by reducing or eliminating the use of such technologies.

***

Kemp, Matthew A. “Re-Readings of the Algerian War During the US ‘War on Terror’: Between Recognition and Denial.” In Journal of European Studies, vol. 38 (June 2008).
http://jes.sagepub.com

Abstract

In the light of the Iraq insurgency and the revelations of torture by American soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison, an increasing volume of academic and media commentary has drawn parallels between France's experience during the Algerian War (1954—62), and the current situation facing the United States in Iraq and in its broader `war on terror'. It has been argued that the Algerian War — now viewed by most as a catastrophe which has left an indelible scar on the French national psyche — provides a useful template for understanding the tactical and ideological flaws of the Bush administration today. The aim of this article is twofold: firstly to analyse the main contours of the Algerian War/`war on terror' parallel as it has been debated in academic and media circles, and secondly to examine an aspect of this debate which has attracted less direct scholarly attention, namely the respective attitudes of the French and US governments towards these parallels.

***

Morgan, Jo. “US Hate Crime Legislation: A Legal Model to Avoid in Australia.” In Journal of Sociology, 38:1 (2002).
http://jos.sagepub.com

Abstract

Analysis of US hate crime legislation reveals a significant overall trend involving: (1) the inclusion of a notion of hate motivation on the part of the offender; (2) the provision for enhanced penalties; and (3) the identification of particular victimized groups who are listed in state and federal hate crime statutes. Whether or not a person is recognized as a hate crime victim in US statutes has been shown to be heavily influenced by the strength of social movements based on politicized identities. It is argued that this alignment problematizes the position of victims who are the targets of hate crimes yet who fail to organize on the basis of identity politics, lack political clout, have insufficient moral status, or who see hate crime legislation as an ineffective way of dealing with their particular concerns. This paper examines the barriers to achieving hate crime victim status for persons who are targeted because of their occupations or sexual orientation. The specific examples I will use are doctors and other workers in abortion clinics, sex workers and paedophiles. These widely disparate groups have been selected as examples to highlight some of the moral status, politicized identity and social movement and lobbying strength issues that are currently involved in being recognized as a victim of hate in the US. It is argued that Australia should not proceed down the track of introducing hate crime legislation. Hate crime legislation is the source of serious social disquiet and acrimony in the US. There are inequities built into the alignment between proving hate intent and the enhanced penalty approach that involve giving higher symbolic status to some bodies and not others. As the experience in the US shows, this has a dangerous potential to undermine social cohesion and community faith in equality before the law as well as creating a breeding ground of resentment.

***

Oliverio, Annamarie and Pat Lauderdale. “Terrorism as Deviance or Social Control: Suggestions for Future Research.” In International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 46:1-2 (2005).
http://cos.sagepub.com

Abstract

The political character of terrorism is most clearly manifested when new categories of terrorism are being created or old categories are being transformed. Historical and comparative analyses of terrorism demonstrate its diverse, complex nature. This complexity creates numerous problems for researchers who attempt to examine terrorism as an analytical construct rather than a polemical construct. We suggest that because the state exists in a symbiotic relationship to terrorism, responses to terrorism by any state, particularly at the definitional stage, appear to maintain a fairly consistent pattern. It is important to utilize a political process approach to the definition of terrorism to produce systematic and precise explanations. For future research, we suggest the importance of examining the term’s latent structure of politicality, the role of hegemony, the low participation of one of the largest oppressed groups in the world and the art of statecraft.

***

Salij, Jacek. “The Significance of ‘Ineffective’ Methods of Fighting Terrorism.” In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:6 (February 2005).
http://abs.sagepub.com

Abstract

This article offers the thesis that the root cause of terrorism—that is, the terrorists’ mistaken beliefs—should be sought out and then cured by means of moral persuasion and that simply using justice and punishment will not change terrorists’ hearts. The author believes that applying legal methods by themselves will ultimately fail in eradicating terrorism and laments the development of genocidal techniques from 1870 onward and the arms race as well as the mistaken justification for killing civilians en masse in war. Even justifying an evil as "lesser" to prevent a greater evil is not permissible and only strengthens the immoral climate that leads to terrorists’ justification for their actions. The article concludes that terrorism is always evil and can never be justified under any circumstances.

***

Sullivan, Patricia L. “War Aims and War Outcomes: Why Powerful States Lose Limited Wars.” In Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51:3 (June 2007).
http://jcr.sagepub.com

Abstract

Why are states with tremendous advantages in capabilities and resources often unable to attain even limited objectives vis-à-vis much weaker adversaries? The theory I develop focuses on how the nature of a strong state's war aims affects prewar uncertainty about the cost of victory. I argue that the relative magnitude of the effect of military strength and resolve on war outcomes varies with the nature of the object at stake and that strong states become more likely to underestimate the cost of victory as the impact of resolve increases relative to that of war-fighting capacity. I evaluate the empirical implications of this theory against the historical record provided by the universe of major power military interventions since World War II. The results challenge both existing theories and conventional wisdom about the impact of factors such as military strength, resolve, troop commitment levels, and war-fighting strategies on asymmetric war outcomes.

***

Wilke, Christiane. “War v. Justice: Terrorism, Enemy Combatants, and Political Justice in U.S. Courts.” In Politics & Society, 33:4 (December 2005).
http://pas.sagepub.com

Abstract

What mechanisms led to the intractable legal situation of "enemy combatants" detained by the U.S. government in Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere? And what does the role of the judiciary in the enemy combatants cases suggest about politically contentious court cases in general? This article develops a two-stage theory of political justice that is based on the U.S. post-9/11 terrorism cases. It demonstrates mechanisms by which politically contentious cases turn into political justice. Political justice in these cases is mainly the result of violations of the separation of powers that are legitimized by portraying the defendants/detainees as enemies beyond the law.