TERRORISM - PATHWAYS

Terrorism - Use or threat of

indiscriminateviolenceto create terror
orfear for political, religious, psychological or
ideological aims violating Intl Law incl 4th GW

All movements whether indl, gps or states,

and terms; radicalism, fundamentalism,
extremism, Islamic or others, measuring
above criterions taken as terrorism

Scope : Causal and contributing factors

discussed only
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Dr Khuram Iqbal The Making of Pakistani
Human Bomb
Ltd utility of existing theories to explain
phenomena
Pak human bombs, far less educated than
Palestinian, Lebanese, Turkish, Chechen and Sri
Lankan ctr-parts
Single factor theories are NA. Multi-causality at
indl, org, envmt
Motivating Factors Vengeance, perceived
eff of terror tactics, poverty, religious
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Dr Khuram Iqbal The Making of Pakistani

Human Bomb

Islamist fundamentalism Salafism together with

other factors are credible ideological justification for
such acts
Suicide bombings perceived as eff against a
stronger side
Relative/absolute poverty contributes to human
bombs
Vengeance a primary motivating factor in Pak
Nationalist fervour not a primary impetus to
conduct suicide bombing in Pak
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Martha Crenshaw : The Causes of
Terrorism
Permissive/Indirect Globalization (Xmn of
terror knowledge, cargo and human bombs
across borders made easy)
Direct States inability to address ethnic,
cultural, social, religious and political issues of
extremists gps/orgs
John Burton : Conflict Resolution
Indl Inherent nature and behaviour of
terrorists
Societal Incapacity of institutions and norms
to address terrorists needs (beyond material
needs, e.g. identity)
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Maria Marejke Keet Causes of
Terrorism
Ethnicity/Nationalism/Separatism unfairness,
rivalry, competition, perception of subordinated or
disadvantaged in economic opportunity, social
status, political voice and rights, or cultural
expressions. Ethnic conflicts are a complex comb of
class, inequality, political opportunity and resources
Non-democracy
Disaffected intelligentsia
Dehumanization
Religion

Above causes are true for Indls, Orgs, Regions

and States
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Galtung (2002) Third World First
World dichotomy - class conflict based
on structural level analysis

Galtung lecture at the University of Melbourne Peace Studies Group 1989.

Johan Galtung, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 27, No. 3, Aug 1990 pp. 291-
305
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS

A.Silke Internet & Terrorism: PWs to

Terrorism & CT
RQ - Why Internet is an Effective Tool for
Terrorists?
Economical and far reaching effs, simple, int
gathering easy
Chaotic structures good for anonymity,
lethal speed and deeply impacts psychology
of general masses
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Dr Babu Suseelan Pathways to Jihadi
Terrorism
Social Reasons : economic deprivation, interference
by non-Muslim countries, protest against pol & social
injustice, reaction to reductionist policies

Main Causes : Religious, Psychological, Educational,

Hist

Static Variables : Age, Ethnicity, Religious

background

Dynamic Variables : Cognitive distortions, thinking

errors, negative emotions, community networks,
rigidity
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Dr Babu Suseelan Pathways to Jihadi
Terrorism
Islamic Thinking Errors : Rigid Madrassas trg
infuses irrational thinking of Islam being Correct Vs
all other religions IC

Disturbed Jihadi Mind : Rejection/failure leads to

maladaptive explosive disorder & dogmatic Islamic
belief conjures to suicidal & Jihadi mindset
phenomena not linked to level of education

Deviance Amplify Islamic NWs :

Madrassahs - Religious Orgs - State - shape
explosive pub behaviour to justify Jihad
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Randy Borum : Psy of Terrorism by Dir USF,
USA

RQ - A psy apch to trace terrorism pathways w/o social

factors
Ppl turn terrorists in diff Ways, Roles and for diff Reasons

Find reasons b/w terrorists Joining - Remaining & Leaving

Perceived injustice, identity crisis/SOB; are main vulns

Psychopaths mentally ill behaviour - not a critical factor

No permanent terrorists personality profile linked to psy

reasons
Childhood abuse, perceived injustice & humiliation imp
factors
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS

Randy Borum : Psy of Terrorism by Dir

USF, USA
Terrorist gps have internal (mistrust, competition) and
external (support, inter-gp conflict) vulns to existence
Recruitment gen from deprived/dissatisfied
communities
Eff terrorists ldrship - instill a collective belief sys,
estb/maint org routines; con flow of info; manipulate
incentives, deflect conflicts and keep terrorists
actions going

RQ : Whether ideology, driven by Cause or

Destruction
Natural human barriers to killing - eroded by outside
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Clark McCauley & Sophia Moskalenko:
Mechanism of Political Radicalization: Pathways
Towards
LevelTerrorism
of Mechanism
Radicalizat
ion
Individual 1. Personal victimization
2. Political grievance
Group 3. Joining a radical group,
slippery slop, love
Mass 4. Extremity shift in like minded
groups
5. Extreme cohesion under
isolation/threat
6. Competition for the same base
of support
 TERRORISM - PATHWAYS
Take Home Recipe ()
Terrorists' character changes over time from
cty to cty

No single general theory on terrorism (indls,

state, org, religion, cast, ethnicity, vengeance,
region, time, space )

Terrorism character, motive/cause change as do

terrorists

Spectrum of terrorist gps & orgs is broad; each

has diff psy, motivation and decision-making
structures