The Psychology of Terrorism: “Syndrome” Versus “Tool” Perspectives

ABSTRACT

Two psychological perspectives on terrorism are distinguished, approaching it as a “syndrome” and as a “tool,” respectively. According to the “syndrome” view, terrorism represents a psychologically meaningful construct with identifiable characteristics on individual and group levels of analysis. According to the “tool” perspective, terrorism represents a strategic instrument that any party in a conflict with another may use. Research thus far has found little support for the “syndrome” view. Terrorists do not seem to be characterized by a unique set of psychological traits or pathologies. Nor has research uncovered any particular “root causes” of terrorism. The vast heterogeneity of terrorism's users is consistent with the “tool” view, affording an analysis of terrorism in terms of means-ends psychology. The “tool” view implies conditions under which potential perpetrators may find terrorism more or less appealing, hence offering guidance for the “war on terrorism.”     

A Review of: “The Take”

This study uses four waves of panel data to analyze inadvertent learning—that is, learning in the absence of interest or motivation—from watching public service television channels. Previous research suggests that motivation-based gaps in political knowledge are at least partly a function of the political information opportunities provided by the major television channels in a country, which influence the likelihood of being inadvertently exposed to news and current affairs programs. The present study puts the inadvertent learning hypothesis to a thorough empirical test by analyzing individual-level growth in knowledge over time, based on panel data collected during five months leading up to the Swedish 2010 national election. Using multilevel growth curve modeling and an extensive battery of surveillance knowledge questions, the results show not only (a) that public service channel viewing was related to learning, but also (b) that knowledge growth occurred among public service viewers independently of their political motivation and news attention, and (c) that such learning was even more pronounced among viewers lacking an interest in politics. The findings are discussed in light of ongoing media environmental transformations as well as cross-national comparative media systems research.     

“Tibetan Independence” Means Restoration of Theocracy

The theocratic system of government, a political form featuring the marriage of state power and religious authority, has been cast off by history as it is in conflict with such values as political democracy, civil rights, individual freedom as well as science and civilization, pursued by modern society. In essence, “Tibetan independence” or “autonomy of a Greater Tibet region”, advocated by the Dalai clique, means none other than the restoration of the theocratic system that reigned in Tibet 59 years ago to deprive the emancipated Tibetan serfs and slaves of their political rights and individual freedom and negate the results achieved in the democratic reform launched in Tibet after the Dalai Lama fled abroad in 1959, a reform designed to separate church from government. It is an attempt to bring about a retrogression of history in Tibet against the historical trend of human progress.     

Ten “Rs” of Social Reaction: Using Social Media to Analyse the “Post-Event” Impacts of the Murder of Lee Rigby

This article provides a case study analysis of social reactions to the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013. Informed by empirical data collected by systematic monitoring of social media platforms, the analysis identifies a number of online behaviours with offline effects—labeled the ten “Rs”—that collectively constitute the process of social reaction to the crime. These are defined as: reporting; requesting; responding; recruiting; “risking”; retaliating; rumouring; remembering; reheating; and “resiliencing”. It is argued that the ability to observe these behaviours through the application of qualitative social media analysis has considerable potential. Conceptually, the analysis provides new insight into the complex and chaotic processes of sense-making and meaning attribution that arise in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. It illuminates how patterns of social reaction on social media are nuanced and complicated, with different segments of the public interpreting the same developments very differently. In addition, the findings and the conceptual framework outlined have implications for policy and practice development in terms of establishing a more effective and evidence-based approach to the consequence management of “post-event” conflict dynamics and social reactions.     

The Strategic Cultures of “Old”; and “New”; Europe

Old Europe, new Europe and the transatlantic security agenda / edited by Kerry Longhurst and Marcin Zaborowski. ‐London and New York : Routledge, 2005. ‐ vii, 213 p. ‐ ISBN 0–415–34820‐X     

“New Particles” of the Changing World Situation

The world situation, as always complicated and volatile, has seen some “new particles” after the war on Iraq. This is a special war that has affected the whole world. The course and consequences of the war have exemplified the fever pitch of the U.S. unilateralism and the heavy cost thus paid by the U.S. They have also resulted in the changes of relations between major powers,     

“Ethnic polarization and the limits of democratic practice”

While several scholars have speculated that ethnic bipolarity, as a particular type of diversity, is related to the weakness of democracy in multiethnic states there exist few studies that test this relationship. This article suggests that ethnic bipolarity, measured as the size difference of the largest politically relevant ethnic communities and as ethno-political polarization, is related to whether a state exhibits tendencies to limit democratic participation. In cases where the size difference between groups is small or polarization is high there exist incentives to limit full democratic contestation. In the face of international and domestic pressures to politically liberalize, numerically dominant yet demographically insecure groups will seek to democratize only enough to satisfy the minimum needs of transparency while preserving their incumbent position. Using a panel of 121 countries between 1991 and 2014, the results of this analysis suggest that ethnic bipolarity and polarization are a strong predictor of whether a state institutionalizes procedures associated with competitive authoritarian regimes.     

A “German Paperchase”: The “Scrap of Paper” Controversy and the Problem of Myth and Memory in International History

abstract

Anglo‐Russian relations during the period 1894–1914 were filled with incidents in large part stemming from the very different social and political frameworks of the two countries. The two countries had sharply differing traditions concerning individual liberty, freedom of the press and other such matters usually covered by the rubric of human rights. While the realities of great power politics forced the two countries to work together, it is not surprising that their collaboration was often marred by clashes of political and social sensibilities.     

Delegation of Civil Association “Polish House” Visits China

At the invitation of Chinese Association for International Understanding （CAFIU）, a 5-member delegation of Civil Association ＂Polish House＂ headed by Mr. Jerzy Siwiec, the First Deputy Chairman of the association visited China from June 20 to 28. In Beijing, both sides co-sponsoredthe seminar themed ＂Twenty Years of Transition in Central and Eastern Europe and Poland＂, exchanging in-depth views on the historical background, experiences and lessons of the transition in Central and Eastern Europe and Poland. Mr. Li Jinjun,     

The “Chinese Dream ”in a World of Nightmares

正Those who visit China with some frequency usually exclaim,in a mixture of surprise and admiration,that it is a country that changes with each passing year.Modernity and development have lightening speed here,and it is a phenomenon that exceeds the observation or simple perception of the visitor.From one of the planet’s poorest and most backward countries,in     

A Preliminary Analysis of Roh Moo-hyuns “Balancer Diplomacy”

AsanimportantstateofNortheastAsia,theinfluenceofROK sdiplomaticconceptionandpoliciesonregionalsecuritysituationshouldneverbeunderestimated.In2005,PresidentRohMoo hyunstressedthat“ROKshouldbeabalancingpowerinNortheastAsia”andclaimedthat“themapofinfluenceinNortheastAsiawillbe changingwithROK sstrategicselection.”Allthesehavearousedhighattentionininternationalsociety.Thisarticletriestoexamine andanalyzethemaincontentsoftheROK s“balancerdiplomacy,”thecausesoftheformulationofthepolicy…     

A Review of: “Israeli and Palestinian Postcards: Presentations of National Self”

Recent studies suggest that what the political talk radio hosts say on the air can shape the political orientations of their audiences. Drawing on data from a panel survey conducted in 1996, I examined the "Limbaugh effect" during the GOP presidential nomination campaign. My findings cast doubt on popular assumptions about the power of Limbaugh's words. Despite weeks of listening to Limbaugh criticize Pat Buchanan, members of the audience were no more likely to harbor negative feelings toward the candidate than were nonlisteners.     

The “Who” Matters: Types of Interpersonal Relationships and Avoidance of Political Disagreement

Research consistently finds that we discuss politics most often with our strong ties (i.e., our close, intimate others). As our strong ties tend to be more politically similar to us than not, the conclusion is that everyday political discussions are overwhelmingly characterized by real or perceived political agreement. However, this scenario may paint only a partial portrait of everyday political discussion. Neglected is the distinction between politically similar discussion partners, on the one hand, and similarity of views expressed during conversation, on the other. Although our strong ties may be more politically similar to us than not, they may, paradoxically, be just the people with whom we are likely to express disagreement. Indeed, this study illustrates that although discussion with strong ties increases the probability of agreement, it simultaneously increases the likelihood of discussing disagreement.     

People-to-people Diplomacy of China under the background of The “Belt and Road” Initiative

正Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core,China has made great achievements,in social and economic development with rapidly rising comprehensive national strength growing international influence and the expansion of diplomatic work.China’s diplomacy is stepping into a whole new era,in which opportunities and     

The aesthetics of “everyday” violence: narratives of violence and Hindu right-wing women

“Right-wing” movements see significant participation by women who espouse their exclusionary and violent politics while at the same time often contest their patriarchal spaces. Women also serve as discursive and symbolic markers that regularly form the basis of the rhetoric, ideology, actions and policies of the right-wing. However, even as women’s roles and politics within the right-wing remain diverse and important, dominant feminist scholarship has had uneasy encounters with right-wing women, labelling them as monolithic pawns/victims/subjects of patriarchy with limited or no agency. This article aims to question this notion by examining the aesthetics and visual and oral imagery appropriated, (re)constructed, transformed and mediated by right-wing women. Based on ethnographic and visual research conducted in 2013–2014 with women in the cultural nationalist Hindu right-wing project in India, I argue that right-wing women use a variety of visual and oral narratives (from images to storytelling) to negotiate with spatialities and carve out independent “feminine” discourses within the larger language of the right-wing. I also argue that these narratives are “ritualised” and performed in various spaces and styles and remain crucial to the “everyday” politics and violence of right-wing women. The “everyday” politics of right-wing women often contest, subvert and bargain with the patriarchal goals of the larger projects, rendering narratives as sites of examining agency. Using specific examples of visual and oral narratives from the aforementioned movement, this article articulates how everyday violence is shaped by the aesthetics of the nation and the body, and how these aesthetics shape everyday violence.     

“New Terrorism” = Higher Brutality? An Empirical Test of the “Brutalization Thesis”

This article focuses on the so-called “brutalization” of terrorism. The brutalization thesis as part of the larger theoretical concept of “new terrorism” argues that “new terrorism” is more brutal than “old terrorism.” Many scholars claim that the 9/11 attacks mark the beginning of a new era of terrorism that has lifted international as well as domestic terrorism to a new level of violent brutality. Others argue that this process had already started in the early 1990s. After discussing possible ways to operationalize a brutalization of terrorism, for example focusing on suicide bombings or terrorist attacks against soft targets, this article tests the empirical credibility of the brutalization thesis regarding both potential starting points. Data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) shows that only three out of nine indicators increased significantly during the 1990s, partially backing the idea of a general brutalization, whereas increasing numbers of suicide attacks and beheadings after 9/11 support the notion of a qualitative change in terrorism and its brutality connected with the idea of maximizing media and public attention. Yet, these developments are regionally limited and the brutality of this “new terrorism” exceeds the levels known from the zenith of “old terrorism” in the 1970s and 1980s in only a few cases.     

Delegation of the “Moral Re-armament”（Initiatives of Change） Swiss Foundation Visiting China

At the invitation of the Chinese Association For International Understanding (CAFIU), a delegation of the “Moral Re-armament” (MRA) Swiss Foundation headed by Mr. Cornelio Sommarnga, former President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and President of the International Association of MRA,