What is terrorism and can psychology do anything to prevent it?

Terrorism has a long history, which continues to unfold, and takes many forms. Notwithstanding these facts, there is no generally accepted definition of terrorism. I set forth the definitional issues that underlie the current debate about terrorism. By comparing terrorism with various forms of violence, I argue that it is plausible to construe terrorism as crime and, in support of this, I demonstrate why terrorism cannot be morally justified. Next, I cluster various immediate and long-term approaches intended to prevent terrorism, highlighting psychologically based strategies, such as behavioral profiling, teaching tolerance and citizenship, modifying media images of terrorism, and building peace. In order to understand and respond more effectively to 21st-century terrorism, I advocate adoption of a multidisciplinary, contextually sensitive approach.     

What Is Terrorism?

ABSTRACT My aim in this paper is not to try to formulate the meaning the word ‘terrorism’has in ordinary use; the word is used in so many different, even incompatible ways, that such an enterprise would quickly prove futile. My aim is rather to try for a definition that captures the trait, or traits, of terrorism which cause most of us to view it with moral repugnance. I discuss the following questions: Is the historical connection of terrorism with terror to be preserved on the conceptual level, or relegated to the psychology and sociology of terrorism? Does mere infliction of terror qualify as terrorism, so that we can speak of non-violent terrorism? If terrorism is a type of violence, does it have to be against persons, or should violence against property also count? In what sense can terrorism be described as indiscriminate violence? Should we use the word only in a political context? In such a context, can we speak of ‘state terrorism’, or should the word be restricted to actions not sanctioned by law? Is the terrorist necessarily oblivious to moral considerations, as those who define terrorism in terms of antinomianism imply? My answers to these questions lead up to the following definition: terrorism is the deliberate use of violence, or threat of its use, against innocent people, with the aim of intimidating them, or other people, into a course of action they otherwise would not take.     

An investigation of an Expanded Encapsulate Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA) including perception of threat and intergroup contact to understand support for Islamist terrorism in Indonesia

Although there have been many empirical studies of terrorism within the psychology literature, relatively few studies have theorized terrorism from the perspective of collective action theory. The present study aimed to understand factors that predict support for Islamist terrorism by using the Encapsulate Model of Social Identity in Collective Action (EMSICA) perspective. To extend previous studies, we added perception of threat and intergroup contact to the model. A correlational study using 66 terrorism detainees in Indonesia as participants found solid support for our expanded EMSICA. The models extending EMSICA with perception of threat and quantity of contact as predictors had improved fit indices and explained more variance in the dependent variable support for Islamist terrorism, as compared to the standard model. Social identity had a significant direct effect on support for Islamist terrorism and mediated the effect of intergroup contact, perception of threat, perceived injustice, and group efficacy on support for Islamist terrorism.     

Domestic Abuse as Terrorism

A number of philosophers and feminist authors have recently equated domestic abuse with the ubiquitous and ill‐defined concept of “terrorism.” Claudia Card, for instance, argues that domestic abuse is a frequently ignored form of terrorism that creates and maintains “heterosexual male dominance and female dependence and service” (Card 2003). Alison Jaggar, in a recent article, also concludes that an acceptable definition of terrorism will find rape and domestic violence to be terrorist acts (Jaggar 2005). Yet there seem to be several obstacles to any simple appropriation of the term “terrorism” for cases of domestic abuse. In this paper I will address what I take to be three significant problems that might be raised with regard to any attempt to identify domestic abuse as an act of terrorism. These problems include the fact that a) definitions of terrorism usually require clear political motivations, b) definitions of terrorism normally require that the terrorist intend to create a climate of terror, and c) adopting the term terrorism for cases of domestic abuse might appear simply inappropriate or unhelpful. I will argue, however, that each of these possible objections can be answered effectively and that domestic abuse rightly falls under the rubric of terrorism.     

Reasons for Conflict: Political Implications of a Definition of Terrorism

This essay analyzes the U.S. political situation before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and ties this conflict to the events of 9/11. The guiding thread of the discussion is the definition of “terrorism” that has led to George W. Bush's declared “war on terrorism.” By means of Hegel's dialectic logic, the essay exposes the problem offered by the category of causality involved in the definition of terrorism: Is terrorism the original “cause” of the war declared on it by the United States (as the Bush administration claims) or is terrorism rather the very “consequence” of that war?     

A Multi‐Method,Multi‐Hazard Approach to Explore the Uniqueness of Terrorism Risk Perceptions and Worry1

Developing ways to manage terrorism effectively requires a better understanding of how the public perceives this threat. In the present study, Canadians' perceptions of terrorism risk and 4 other hazards were assessed using a word‐association technique and rating scales reflecting key cognitive dimensions of risk (threat, uncertainty, control) and worry reactions. Data were collected in a national telephone survey. Canadians perceived terrorism as posing a lower threat, as more uncertain, and as less controllable, compared to the other hazards. Positive associations of perceived threat and of perceived uncertainty with worry about terrorism were observed. However, perceived control was unexpectedly positively associated with worry about terrorism. The findings also suggest that additional social contextual factors should be examined in future research.     

‘Freedom/Ignorance’: Buddhist-Ontological Non-Duality and Metaethics in an Age of Terror

This essay considers some meta-ethical questions that emerge from a consideration of the phenomena of terrorism in the context of Buddhist metaphysics: what, in the Buddhist view, ultimately causes terrorism (and its subsidiary effects)? What resources do the Buddhist metaphysical claims of no-self, karma, emptiness and related concepts bring to a meta-ethical understanding of terrorism and its effects?     

The Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century

Research on political terrorism, which began in the early 1970s, faces some persistent problems. These involve defining the concept, collecting empirical data, building integrative theory, and avoiding the attribution of terrorism to personality disorders or "irrationality." Furthermore, analysis risks being driven by events or the concerns of policymakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that psychological explanations of terrorism must take multiple levels of analysis into account, linking the individual to the group and to society. Future research should critically examine the assumption that a "new terrorism" has appeared at the end of the 20th century. Analysts should also take advantage of 30 years of history to develop comparisons and developmental studies that look not only at the causes of terrorism but at changes in terrorist strategy, the termination of terrorist campaigns, government decision-making, and policy effectiveness.     

Terrorism research and the diffusion of ideas

The diffusion of ideas about contemporary terrorism is analyzed using a sociology of science methodology. One of the most common means of creating understandings of a phenomenon is the development and diffusion of ideas that influence the positions adopted by a wide range of actors, including government bureaucrats and decision makers, legislative and corporate bodies, and the public. How did terrorism researchers interact with these actors to construct, maintain, and modify the development and perception of contemporary terrorism? How were the ideas diffused and what impact did they have on policymakers? Did the invisible college of terrorism researchers function as an epistemic community? These questions are analyzed using an integrated research strategy that employs a number of techniques and data sources such as bibliometrics, content analysis, and citation analysis of selected terrorism research publications, biographies, and conferences, and on-line tracing of researchers’ affiliations, participations, and collaborations.     

Self–Serving Perceptions of Terrorism Among Israelis and Palestinians

Definitions of political violence as terrorism are often tainted by self–serving motivations. Groups in conflict in particular tend to justify the use of indiscriminate violent means by highly regarded political ends. This study explores such self–serving perceptions of terrorism in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In two surveys during December 2001, Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians were asked whether 11 local and international incidents were acts of terrorism in their view, and whether they were considered acts of terrorism by the international community. Self–serving judgments on both sides were expected, but their extent is striking, and they extend also to the international incidents. Israeli Arabs judge all acts of violence as terrorism in high percentages. Israeli Jews and Palestinians' definitions present a mirror image; however, they do not project these definitions to the international community. Instead, they perceive an international norm largely divergent from their own point of view, inflating world judgment of their own acts of violence as terrorism and underestimating world judgment of the other side's violence, in what amounts to a hostile–world phenomenon.     

Terrorism as a process: a critical review of Moghaddam's "Staircase to Terrorism"

This study reviews empirical evidence for Moghaddam's model "Staircase to Terrorism," which portrays terrorism as a process of six consecutive steps culminating in terrorism. An extensive literature search, where 2,564 publications on terrorism were screened, resulted in 38 articles which were subject to further analysis. The results showed that while most of the theories and processes linked to Moghaddam's model are supported by empirical evidence, the proposed transitions between the different steps are not. These results may question the validity of a linear stepwise model and may suggest that a combination of mechanisms/factors could combine in different ways to produce terrorism.     

Fully Committed: Suicide Bombers' Motivation and the Quest for Personal Significance

A motivational analysis of suicidal terrorism is outlined, anchored in the notion of significance quest . It is suggested that heterogeneous factors identified as personal causes of suicidal terrorism (e.g. trauma, humiliation, social exclusion), the various ideological reasons assumed to justify it (e.g. liberation from foreign occupation, defense of one's nation or religion), and the social pressures brought upon candidates for suicidal terrorism may be profitably subsumed within an integrative framework that explains diverse instances of suicidal terrorism as attempts at significance restoration , significance gain , and prevention of significance loss . Research and policy implications of the present analysis are considered.     

Americans respond politically to 9/11: understanding the impact of the terrorist attacks and their aftermath

The 9/11 terrorist attacks have had profound effect on U.S. domestic and foreign security policy, leading to several expensive wars and the erosion of civil liberties (under the USA PATRIOT Act). We review evidence on political reactions to the 9/11 attacks and conclude that subjective reactions to terrorism played an important role in shaping support for national security policy in the wake of 9/11. Support for a strong national security policy was most pronounced among Americans who perceived the nation as at threat from terrorism and felt angry at terrorists. In contrast, Americans who were personally affected by the attacks were more likely to feel anxious about terrorism, and this anxiety translated into less support for overseas military action. In addition, Americans who felt insecure after the 9/11 attacks and perceived a high future threat of terrorism were more likely than others to support strong foreign and domestic national security policies. Overall, research on American political reactions to 9/11 suggests that support for a strong government response to terrorism is most likely when members of a population perceive a high risk of future terrorism and feel angry at terrorists.     

Primoratz on Terrorism

ABSTRACT In ‘What is Terrorism?’ Igor Primoratz defines terrorism as “the deliberate use of violence, or the threat of its use, against innocent people, with the aim of intimidating them, or other people, into a course of action they would not otherwise take”. In this article I argue that Primoratz is wrong (a) to posit a necessary connection between terrorism and terror or intimidation, (b) to argue that terrorism is directed solely against people, and not, for example, property, and (c) to argue that the targets of terrorism proper are ‘the innocent’.     

The relation between actual exposure to political violence and preparatory intervention for exposure to media coverage of terrorism

This laboratory study examined differential effects of television broadcasts of terrorism on viewers' anxiety according to their actual exposure history, and differential efficacy of a preparatory intervention in moderating elevated anxiety for high or low actual exposure. Participants were 80 young Israeli adults, randomly allocated to a terrorism or non-terrorism media broadcast, and for each type of exposure, to a preparatory or control intervention. Actual political violence and terrorism exposure history was assessed, and anxiety measured explicitly and indirectly prior and subsequent to the intervention and media exposure manipulation. Results showed that in the terrorism media exposure, participants with high more than low actual political life events (PLE) exposure showed higher post-test levels of indirectly measured anxiety. Clinical intervention before the terrorism media exposure moderated indirectly measured anxiety among participants with high PLE exposure, but increased anxiety for low PLE. Findings outline preparatory measures that could maximize coping for the high PLE actual exposure at-risk sector.     

The psychology of extremism and terrorism: A Middle-Eastern perspective

The recent surge of terrorism and issues related to its causes are reviewed in this paper from a Middle-Eastern perspective. First, important related issues such as the definition, ideologies, environment, political, and social reasons that are linked to terrorism are briefly reviewed. Second, and the main focus in this paper, is a review of the psychological variables associated with terrorism. Finally suggestions for possible solutions and research projects are offered.     

基于恐怖分子的恐怖主义心理学述评

关于恐怖主义的定义至今仍没有达成共识。文章中的恐怖主义是指任何个体、团体或组织为了达成某种政治、宗教或社会目的, 而对无辜者非法使用暴力或其他胁迫性手段, 企图引起目标对象或公众的注意, 并制造恐怖气氛的行为。其形成和发展可以用综合症模型、自恋–攻击模型、挫折–攻击模型、工具模型、社会情境模型和其他综合性模型来解释。作者对这些模型进行了述评并提出了相应的防止恐怖主义的心理学策略。心理学界对于恐怖主义的实证研究较少, 而且侧重于描述和解释, 在预测和应用上有待进一步发展。     

朝向正义与德性——反恐战略的最终选择

恐怖实际上是人类历史上一种被普遍使用并且适用的政治手段,但在美国基本掌握了恐怖主义话语权的背景下,反恐战争积聚着越来越大的仇恨。正义与德性成为反恐战略的最终选择是一个符合逻辑的命题,如果国际社会要想从根本上消灭恐怖主义,那就必须建立一种“道义相归服”的“人类关系趋同”走向,美国也应该从根本上摒弃道德优越感和全球使命感,并以包容的心态和宽容的精神对待异质明。     

Fundamentalism,Radicalization and Terrorism. Part 1: terrorism as dissolution in a complex system

In the first of two papers in this Special Issue, Lord Alderdice draws on his personal experience of living and working in Northern Ireland and other countries that have suffered from terrorism, and describes from a psychoanalytic and systemic perspective the history of national, cultural and political conflicts which form the backdrop to the struggles against fundamentalism, radicalization and terrorism in current times. By examining and understanding the group dynamics and collective experiences of minority populations that have suffered generations of subjugation, humiliation and injustice at the hands of others, Lord Alderdice demonstrates how terrorism is not an individual but a group phenomenon and that any successful intervention aimed at reducing fundamentalism, radicalization and terrorism needs to identify and take into account the complex relational processes and experiences in all parties involved in the current global conflict.     

In the Face of Terrorism: Evidence that Belief in Literal Immortality Reduces Prejudice Under Terrorism Threat

Based on terror management theory, previous research has shown that terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims and is mediated by death‐related thoughts. Because this effect was found on a correlational level, it remains unclear whether terrorism threat increases prejudice against Muslims because of enhanced death‐related thoughts or the opposite: terrorism threat increases death‐related thoughts because of stronger prejudice against Muslims. To disentangle this shortcoming, we varied death‐related thoughts by systematically manipulating the belief in literal immortality. Using two studies, we found that participants exposed to terrorism pictures (vs. controls) had increased prejudice against both Muslims (Study 1) and immigrants (Study 2) when they were led to believe that literal immortality does not exist but not when they were led to believe that it does exist. Mediation analysis indicated that this effect was mediated by death‐related thoughts. This provides further evidence that terrorism threat increases prejudice because of death‐related thoughts.