Inside the terrorist mind: The relevance of ideology

Abstract

The extremely violent activities perpetrated by terrorists initially led to attempts to analyse terrorism as a form of psychopathology. This approach has been quickly replaced by a perspective on terrorism as a group activity propelled to action by an ideology. Ideologies differ in their strength, in turn determined by ideological contents and the adherents' motivations in embracing those contents. Ideological strength may, in turn, determine the extremity of actions (including terrorism) warranted by the ideology in question. Based on this analysis, a broad view on counter-terrorist possibilities is offered related to (1) undermining the perception that terrorism is an effective tool for attaining the group's objectives, and (2) its replacement by a credible alternative (and peaceful) means for doing so.