Understanding Terrorism
Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

Seventh Edition

Gus Martin - California State University, Dominguez Hills, USA

Courses:
Terrorism | Terrorism & Homeland Security | Terrorism & Political Violence | Terrorism & Political Violence |

August 2020 | 592 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of domestic and international terrorism that helps students develop the knowledge and skills needed to critically assess the underlying causes of modern terrorist violence.
The Seventh Edition includes new or expanded discussions of critical topics in terrorism, such as the evolution of right-wing extremism in Western countries, as well as analysis of recent events and updated terrorist tactics, weapons, and methods.

Included with this title:

The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides. Learn more.

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About the Author

Acknowledgments

Introduction and Rationale

PART I. TERRORISM: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW

CHAPTER 1. Terrorism: First Impressions

Opening Viewpoint: The Ideology of Al-Qa’ida

First Considerations

Conceptual Considerations: Understanding Political Violence

The Past as Prologue: Historical Perspectives on Terrorism

Terrorism and Criminal Skill: Three Cases From the Modern Era

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 2. The Nature of the Beast: Defining Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: Are “Hate Crimes” Acts of Terrorism?

Understanding Extremism: The Foundation of Terrorism

Defining Terrorism: An Ongoing Debate

A Definitional Problem: Perspectives on Terrorism

The Political Violence Matrix

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 3. Beginnings: The Causes of Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: The Case of Carlos

Political Violence as Strategic Choice

Political Violence as the Fruit of Injustice

Moral Justifications for Political Violence

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

PART II. TERRORIST ENVIRONMENTS AND TYPOLOGIES

CHAPTER 4. Terror From Above: Terrorism by the State

Opening Viewpoint: State Terrorism as Domestic and Foreign Policy

The State as Terrorist: A State Terrorism Paradigm

Violence Abroad: Terrorism as Foreign Policy

Violence at Home: Terrorism as Domestic Policy

The Problem of Accountability: Monitoring State Terrorism

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 5. Terror From Below: Terrorism by Dissidents

Opening Viewpoint: The Tupamaros

The Rebel as Terrorist: A Dissident Terrorism Paradigm

Warring Against the State: Antistate Dissident Terrorism

Warring Against a People: Communal Terrorism

Operational Shifts: Dissidents and the New Terrorism

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 6. Violence in the Name of the Faith: Religious Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: The Journey of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Primary and Secondary Motives: The Idiosyncratic Quality of Religious Terrorism

Historical Cases in Point: Fighting, Dying, and Killing in the Name of the Faith

State-Sponsored Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era

Dissident Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era

The Future of Religious Terrorism

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 7. Violent Ideologies: Terrorism From the Left and Right

Opening Viewpoint: Racist Skinheads as a Supportive Environment

Reactionaries and Radicals: The Classical Ideological Continuum

Left-Wing Ideologies and Activism

Class Struggle and National Liberation: The Terrorist Left

Right-Wing Activism and Extremism

Race and Order: The Terrorist Right

Violent Ideologies in the New Era of Terrorism

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 8. Terrorist Spillovers: International Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: Terrorism in the Age of Globalization

Defining International Terrorism

Globalized Revolution: Reasons for International Terrorism

Globalized Solidarity: International Terrorist Networks

The International Dimension of the New Terrorism

Postscript: The “Stateless Revolutionaries”

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 9. Emerging Terrorist Environments: Gender-Selective Political Violence and Criminal Dissident Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: ISIS Gender-Selective Terrorism

Culture and Conflict: Gender-Selected Victims of Terrorist Violence

Protecting the Enterprise: Criminal Dissident Terrorism

A Global Problem: Regional Cases of Criminal Dissident Terrorism

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

PART III. THE TERRORIST TRADE AND COUNTERTERRORISM

CHAPTER 10. Tools of the Trade: Tactics and Targets of Terrorists

Opening Viewpoint: Actionable Intelligence—Israel and the Hunt for the Engineer

The Purpose: Terrorist Objectives

The Means: Terrorist Methods

The Focus: Terrorist Targets

The Outcome: Is Terrorism Effective?

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 11. The Information Battleground: Terrorist Violence and the Role of the Media

Opening Viewpoint: Media-Oriented Terror and Lebanon’s Hezbollah

Two Perspectives: The Media and Governments

Understanding the Role of the Media

A New Battleground: The War for the Information High Ground

The Public’s Right to Know: Regulating the Media

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 12. The American Case: Terrorism in the United States

Opening Viewpoint: Lynching—Vigilante Communal Terrorism in the United States

An Introduction to the American Case

Background to Terrorism: Left-Wing Activism and Ideological Extremism in America

Left-Wing Terrorism in the United States

Background to Terrorism: Right-Wing Activism and Ideological Extremism in America

Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States

International Terrorism in the United States

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 13. Counterterrorism: The Options

Opening Viewpoint: The Death of Osama bin Laden

Responding to Terror: The Scope of Options

Warlike Operations: Counterterrorism and the Use of Force

Operations Other Than War: Repressive Options

Operations Other Than War: Conciliatory Options

Applying the Rule of Law: Legalistic Options

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

PART IV. SECURING THE HOMELAND

CHAPTER 14. A New Era: Homeland Security

Opening Viewpoint: International Collaboration on Surveillance and Data Mining

Homeland Security in Perspective

The American Case: Homeland Security in the United States

Civil Liberties and Securing the Homeland

Chapter Summary

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

CHAPTER 15. What Next? The Future of Terrorism

Opening Viewpoint: Carnivore and the Dawn of Internet Surveillance

An Overview of Near-Term Projections

The Future of Terrorism: Terrorist Environments in the 21st Century

The Future of Terrorism: New Threats

Controlling Terrorism: Ending Terrorist Campaigns and New Challenges

Final Considerations

Chapter Summary

A Final Thought on Reform and Revolution

Key Terms and Concepts

Prominent Persons and Organizations

Recommended Readings

Appendix A: Map References

Appendix B: Prominent Persons and Organizations

Glossary of Terms

Notes

Index

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site
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Online resources included with this text

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“The writing is clear, the content is accurately explained, and the tone of the book is engaging. The book features a wide array of pedagogical activities that will help students to learn the material. Moreover, the book does a good job of linking content to current events and contemporary issues related to terrorism and terrorists.”

Kevin Beaver

Florida State University

“Very well done and an excellent resource for students.”

Gary Maynard

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

“Very thorough, well thought out to benefit student knowledge and growth on the topic, and clear.”

Misti Kill

Columbia Southern University

“This book has a comprehensive understanding of terrorism and violence. It is very content-oriented.”

Mitsunori Misawa

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

A new introduction to nationalism and sociological explanations of terrorism explains the importance of understanding nationalist sentiment as a reason for political violence.
Expanded discussions include nationalism activism, scapegoating tactics, and the use of social media by terrorist networks.
New examinations cover asymmetrical warfare, characteristics of right-wing terrorists and the terrorist right in the new era, and terrorist attacks against the United States.
New movements are added, including Boko Haram’s use of child soldiers and female suicide bombers, radical socialism, the use of gender-selective terrorism within ISIS, and stochastic terrorism.
Contemporary events are added, including the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, and 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings in Sri Lanka.
A new introduction to historical perspectives on terrorism clarifies the historical scope of violence.
Chapter objectives are summarized at the beginning of each discussion using Bloom’s taxonomy.
Updated tables and figures are introduced and discussed within the body of the text, creating a deeper understanding of concepts for students.

KEY FEATURES:

Opening Viewpoints boxes grab readers’ attention by presenting relevant examples of theories and themes discussed in the upcoming chapter.
Chapters incorporate focused presentations in special interest boxes that explore people, events, organizations, and movements that are relevant to the content.
Each chapter concludes with Discussion Boxes that highlight controversial issues and pose challenging questions to stimulate critical thinking and debate.
A variety of photos, charts, graphs, and maps help students appreciate and understand the events and people covered in the book.