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Understanding Terrorism
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Understanding Terrorism
Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

Eighth Edition
  • Gus Martin - California State University, Dominguez Hills, USA
July 2024 | 696 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues offers a multidisciplinary, comprehensive exploration of domestic and international terrorism that helps students develop the knowledge and skills needed to critically assess the expressions and underlying causes of terrorism. Martin explores theory and provides in-depth analysis in an accessible, engaging manner that helps readers develop the knowledge and skills they need to engage meaningfully with this robust course. 
 
About the Author
 
Acknowledgments
 
Introduction and Rationale
 
Part I • Terrorism: A Conceptual Review
 
Chapter 1 • Terrorism: First Impressions
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 2 • The Nature of the Beast: Defining Terrorism
Understanding Extremism: The Foundation of Terrorism

 
Defining Terrorism: An Ongoing Debate

 
A Definitional Problem: Perspectives on Terrorism

 
The Political Violence Matrix

 
 
Chapter 3 • Beginnings: The Causes of Terrorism
Political Violence as Strategic Choice

 
Political Violence as the Fruit of Injustice

 
Moral Justifications for Political Violence

 
 
Part II • Terrorist Environments and Typologies
 
Chapter 4 • Terror From Above: Terrorism by the State
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 5 • Terror From Below: Terrorism by Dissidents
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 6 • Violence in the Name of the Faith: Religious Terrorism
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 7 • Violent Ideologies: Terrorism From the Left and Right
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 8 • Terrorist Spillovers: International Terrorism
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 9 • Emerging Terrorist Environments: Gender-Selective Political Violence and Criminal Dissident 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

 
 
Part III • The Terrorist Trade and Counterterrorism
 
Chapter 10 • Tools of the Trade: Tactics and Targets of Terrorists
The Purpose: Terrorist Objectives

 
The Means: Terrorist Methods

 
The Focus: Terrorist Targets

 
The Outcome: Is Terrorism Effective?

 
 
Chapter 11 • The Information Battleground: Terrorist Violence and the Role of the Media
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 12 • The American Case: 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

 
Postscript: Nonterrorist Mass Violence in the United States

 
 
Chapter 13 • Counterterrorism: The Options
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

 
 
Part IV • Securing the Homeland
 
Chapter 14 • A New Era: Homeland Security
Homeland Security in Perspective

 
The American Case: Homeland Security in the United States

 
Civil Liberties and Securing the Homeland

 
 
Chapter 15 • What Next?: The Future of Terrorism
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

 
 
Appendix A: Map References
 
Appendix B: Prominent Persons and Organizations
 
Appendix C: Two Thousand Years of Terror
 
Glossary
 
Notes
 
Index
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.

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