Terrorist Decision-Making

Terrorist Decision-Making
Author: Alex Mintz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2019-12-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 042951543X

This book analyzes a series of decisions by leaders of three major terrorist organizations and identifies a unique "Decision DNA" for each of them. The authors use the Applied Decision Analysis methodology to examine organizational and operational decisions made by the leaders of three major groups: Hezbollah (Hassan Nasrallah), Hamas (Khaled Mashal), and al-Qaeda (Osama bin Laden). Decisions that were of critical importance to each organization are identified and anaylzed, to uncover the particular decision rule employed by the leader in question and to establish their "Decision DNA." A Decision DNA is unique to each leader and can be used to explain previous decisions or predict future choices. The authors demonstrate that the findings presented can be used to promote effective counterterrorism measures, and they provide a series of policy implications that arise from their examination of each leader. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorist studies, political violence, security studies, and Middle Eastern politics.

Understanding Terrorism: Analysis of Sociological and Psychological Aspects

Understanding Terrorism: Analysis of Sociological and Psychological Aspects
Author: S. Ozeren
Publisher: IOS Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2007-07-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1607502526

Terrorism is a multi dimensional phenomenon and this publication aims at comprehending it. This book has unique characteristics in terms of its focus on different issues; it has a comprehensive focus on the conceptualization of terrorism and understanding of it. It does not only explain the concept, it also addresses the important issues which help us to really understand why and how individuals commit such an act. Issues range from social and psychological analysis of a terrorist behavior to extremist subcultures and globalization. This publication also successfully reviews and analyzes underlying causes of terrorism and what really makes it valuable is that the chapters present the topics with relevant data which is current and up-to-date. Issues such as inequality, globalization, immigration, gender, and democracy are analyzed with research involving comprehensive data analysis. Furthermore, the book has both theoretical discussion and practical experience which makes this study a source book for the academicians and practitioners. It reflects the experience and knowledge of the authors most of whom have both academic and practical experience in the field. The chapters have the analysis based on professional experience and successful academic research.

The Counter-terrorism Puzzle

The Counter-terrorism Puzzle
Author: Abraham Kaplan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2017-07-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351484419

The expansion and escalation of global terrorism has left populations across the world and decision-makers responsible for contending with it unprepared. This book, now in paperback, is the first attempt of its kind to create a manual of counter-terrorism measures on all the relevant operational levels. The author's main purpose is to give decision-makers the tools to make rational and effective decisions in both preventing and countering terrorism. The need to contend with terrorism can be found in almost every sphere of life: security, prevention and suppression of terrorism, legal and ethical dilemmas regarding democratic issues, such as the individual's human rights, intelligence interrogations, the right of the public to know, as well as coping with social, psychological, and media-related issues.

Psychology of Terrorism

Psychology of Terrorism
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2007
Genre:
ISBN:

In compiling this annotated bibliography on the psychology of terrorism, the author has defined terrorism as "acts of violence intentionally perpetrated on civilian noncombatants with the goal of furthering some ideological, religious or political objective." The principal focus is on nonstate actors. The task was to identify and analyze the scientific and professional social science literature pertaining to the psychological and/or behavioral dimensions of terrorist behavior (not on victimization or effects). The objectives were to explore what questions pertaining to terrorist groups and behavior had been asked by social science researchers; to identify the main findings from that research; and attempt to distill and summarize them within a framework of operationally relevant questions. To identify the relevant social science literature, the author began by searching a series of major academic databases using a systematic, iterative keyword strategy, mapping, where possible, onto existing subject headings. The focus was on locating professional social science literature published in major books or in peer-reviewed journals. Searches were conducted of the following databases October 2003: Sociofile/Sociological Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts (CJ Abstracts), Criminal Justice Periodical Index (CJPI), National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts (NCJRS), PsycInfo, Medline, and Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS). Three types of annotations were provided for works in this bibliography: Author's Abstract -- this is the abstract of the work as provided (and often published) by the author; Editor's Annotation -- this is an annotation written by the editor of this bibliography; and Key Quote Summary -- this is an annotation composed of "key quotes" from the original work, edited to provide a cogent overview of its main points.

The Mind of the Terrorist

The Mind of the Terrorist
Author: Jerrold M. Post
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2007-12-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230608590

In contrast to the widely held assumption that terrorists as crazed fanatics, Jerrold Post demonstrates they are psychologically "normal" and that "hatred has been bred in the bone". He reveals the powerful motivations that drive these ordinary people to such extraordinary evil by exploring the different types of terrorists, from national-separatists like the Irish Republican Army to social revolutionary terrorists like the Shining Path, as well as religious extremists like al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo. In The Mind of the Terrorist, Post uses his expertise to explain how the terrorist mind works and how this information can help us to combat terrorism more effectively.

Resolving Terrorism

Resolving Terrorism
Author: Karen Feste
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre:
ISBN:

Conflicts between terrorists and target governments are asymmetric situations of power, disputes over ethics and values, with emotional feelings of revenge existing on both sides. Bargaining theory predicts that parties fight to buildup strength and attempt to alter the relative balance of power in their favor before entering negotiations to produce a non-violent settlement of their differences. In this analysis, two different decision-making models, strategic interaction, adopted by the terrorist side, and cognitive framing, applied by the target government, are described to explain how the parties make choices that affect the progression of their dispute and the conditions leading to negotiated settlement. A cognitive framework-who are the terrorists and what they hope to accomplish-influences strategic thinking in response policies for target governments. The focus is on the opponent since the group is not accorded political legitimacy status. A bargaining framework with its attendant cost and benefit assessments in opening arenas for political change, determines the moves for the terrorists who focus on the power game, seeking engagement. While both sides engage in strategic operations, both sides are affected by cognitive influences, and both reflect forms of communication, from verbal demands to threatening acts to subsequent processes that brings them toward formal negotiations, their primary decision-making strategy is derived from opposite ends of a continuum ranging from strict analysis to intuition. Turning points change the course of their conflict, resetting critical features of each decisional model towards convergence as parties edge toward agreement.

Terrorists' Target Selection

Terrorists' Target Selection
Author: C. Drake
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 286
Release: 1998-08-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230374670

The author examines the factors which influence terrorists' target selection. In particular he looks at the influence of the ideologies, strategies and tactics of terrorist groups, and describes how these are restricted by the terrorists' resources, by protective and anti-terrorist measures, by the society within which the terrorists operate, and by the nature of the terrorists and their supporters. He concludes that terrorists' target selection is often both explicable and logical.

Psychology of Terrorism

Psychology of Terrorism
Author: Bruce Michael Bongar
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2007
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0195172493

Publisher description

Social Science for Counterterrorism

Social Science for Counterterrorism
Author: Paul K. Davis
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2009
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0833047604

Employs an interdisciplinary, social science approach to various counterterrorism questions, problems, and policies.