On learning terrorism

Abstract

The complex phenomenon of terrorism has been explained in a variety of ways, ranging from the narrowly psychological to the broadly political. Many of these hypotheses appear to have merit, although, standing alone, each tends to be inadequate or incomplete. Focusing on the psychological explanations of root cause, the instant discussion proposes that the hitherto neglected or taken‐for‐granted principles of human learning, particularly those of cognitive‐behavioral conditioning, can provide a useful and significant component to these explanations. The competence and commitment to the ways and means of terror are in large measure produced, intensified, and sustained through learning. Evidence, chiefly from psychological studies, is adduced to support this hypothesis. A few formal, sometimes state‐sponsored training programs based more or less on conditioning are briefly described. Some of the doctrines, particularly those that underpin Middle East terrorism and provide the justification and substantiation of what is taught, are also mentioned. It is suggested that the same procedures by which terrorism is indoctrinated may, in conjunction with other procedures, be employed to prevent and combat it. Although this strategy, in the present uncongenial socio‐cultural and geopolitical environments, will doubtless be difficult if not impossible to implement, it deserves to be explored as another potentially effective tool in the developing armamentarium of counter‐terrorism.