Understanding Terrorism
Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

Eighth Edition

Gus Martin - California State University, Dominguez Hills, USA

Other Titles in:
Terrorism | Terrorism

September 2024 | 696 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

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

Supplements

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Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 2. The Nature of the Beast

Chapter 1. Terrorism

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Understanding Terrorism
Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

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