The Sociology And Psychology Of Terrorism - Who Becomes A Terrorist And Why?

At a glance..

The purpose of this study is to focus attention on the types of individuals and groups that are prone to terrorism (see Glossary) in an effort to help improve U.S. counter-terrorist methods and policies.

The details..

"The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism" is an in-depth analysis that examines the psychological and sociological dynamics of terrorist groups to help improve U.S. counterterrorist methods and policies. The study was commissioned by the National Intelligence Council in June 1999, delivered in September 1999, written by experts on terrorism both inside and outside government, including Rex A. Hudson as editor with Marilyn Majeska as co-editor.

With new recruitment patterns emerging among some groups such as recruiting suicide commandos or female terrorists capable of developing weapons of mass destructions; this book provides case studies for about a dozen foreign terrorist individuals/groups to assess trends, motivations likely behavior/actions that might deter such behavior while revealing vulnerabilities aiding combat against these groups/individuals.

Due to time constraints/data availability limitations regarding individual leaders/members within each group studied here; analysis will necessarily be incomplete. However much information about their mindset can still be gleaned from autobiographies/group communiques/news media interviews etc. Moreover there are many variations in transliteration for Arabic/Persian languages which may cause discrepancies between academic/popular versions used herein.

It should also be noted that terrorism databases quickly become outdated hence periodic updates are necessary so they remain current.