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INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLES

The study of terrorism and political violence is a challenging field of study that requires experts, students, and members of society to understand the underlying reasons for the growth of terrorist environments, as well as the characteristics of these environments.  Those who examine terrorism must necessarily study data and theories grounded from a variety of disciplines, including political science, conflict resolution, history, psychology, sociology, and the administration of justice.

Societies and the international community are perennially challenged by the problems of dissident and state-sponsored terrorism.  These problems are not new, and have historically posed very serious policy and human challenges for governments and resident populations.  Unfortunately, these are problems that have not been solved, and which continue to be present on a global scale. Political violence is found in many regions, and exists across many ethno-national, religious, and ideological belief systems.  There are no ideal political, national, or social profiles that guarantee immunity from the possibility of being touched by terrorist violence. 

The purpose of this online resource is to stimulate critical discussion about the attributes and idiosyncrasies of terrorism and terrorist environments.  This resource is organized into thematic parts which correspond to the textbook’s chapters.  Articles have been selected from reputable scholarly journals, and additional articles are recommended for further study.

The study of terrorism and political violence is a challenging field of study that requires experts, students, and members of society to understand the underlying reasons for the growth of terrorist environments, as well as the characteristics of these environments.  Those who examine terrorism must necessarily study data and theories grounded from a variety of disciplines, including political science, conflict resolution, history, psychology, sociology, and the administration of justice.

Societies and the international community are perennially challenged by the problems of dissident and state-sponsored terrorism.  These problems are not new, and have historically posed very serious policy and human challenges for governments and resident populations.  Unfortunately, these are problems that have not been solved, and which continue to be present on a global scale. Political violence is found in many regions, and exists across many ethno-national, religious, and ideological belief systems.  There are no ideal political, national, or social profiles that guarantee immunity from the possibility of being touched by terrorist violence. 

The purpose of this online resource is to stimulate critical discussion about the attributes and idiosyncrasies of terrorism and terrorist environments.  This resource is organized into thematic parts which correspond to the textbook’s chapters.  Articles have been selected from reputable scholarly journals, and additional articles are recommended for further study.

TEN CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

• Does a central cause exist which explains terrorist violence?
• Is it possible to accurately predict the likelihood of terrorist violence?
• What are the policy implications of research that indicates an association between political repression and subsequent terrorist violence?
• Do “hard line” approaches effectively reduce the incidence of terrorism?
• Are particular socio-economic environments responsible for the formation of terrorist environments?
• Are innovations such as peace processes effective?
• How popular is the current “war on terrorism?”  What explains different public opinions in different countries?
• What are some of the challenges faced by reformers who sincerely seek to redress grievances that are championed by violent extremists?
• How important are international organizations such as the United Nations for preventing terrorist violence?
• Has enough research been conducted on the sociological and psychological causes of extremist behavior?

Chapter Ten: Counterterrorism and the War on Terrorism

            Bentz, Blumenthal, and Potter discuss the data needed to enable emergency responders to effectively respond to CBRN incidents.  Betz and Stevens “attempt to interrogate some of the predominant forms of analogical reasoning within current cyber-security discourse, with a view to clarifying their unstated premises, major strengths and, vitally, points of conceptual failure.”  Michael Byers discusses the legal argument proposed by the United States for waging the war on terrorism.  Kelly Damphousse evaluates what effect terrorism events have on subsequent prosecution strategies.  Marieke De Goede examines European opposition to the doctrine of pre-emption in the war on terrorism.  Enders and Jindapon compare the “Big 4” game (name, rank, serial number, date of birth) to a two-stage game the “Little Fish” game in which detainees are permitted to reveal lower level information to interrogators.   Similarly, an examination is made of the Bush administration’s pre-emptive strike doctrine by Sanjay Gupta.  Martin Innes evaluates the impact of terrorist attacks on counterterrorist strategies among UK police.  Bonnie Jenkins presents the case for focusing on the ambitions of nonstate actors in combating nuclear terrorism.  The debates and evolution of legal responses to terrorism is discussed by Brian Levin.  Kessler and Werner examine extrajudicial killing from the perspective of risk management.  Lankford and Gillespie examine the explanations for terrorist indoctrination to discuss the effectiveness of Saudi Arabia's rehabilitation program.  Grant Martin explores the future configuration and utility of U.S. special operations forces.  The moral and ethical aspects of torture are discussed by Douglas McCready.  McGarrell, et. al. recommends an approach and application of the intelligence-led policing (ILP) model for counterterrorism policies.  McGuffin and Mitchell explore the military domain of cyberspace and its role in warfighting and planning.  In his article, Rein Müllerson argues that a human rights perspective is needed when the world community responds to terrorist threats.  Important U.S. Fifth Amendment constitutional perspectives on torture are discussed by Geoffrey Skoll.  Brent Steel investigates how the treatment of terrorist suspects affects the American sense of honor and self-identity.  James Stever argues that the new era of terrorism requires a reevaluation of previous models of intergovernmental management.  Geir Ulfstein assesses new legal issues presented by the use of force against terrorists and terrorist governments.  Shields, Kamphousse, and Smith present an assessment and analysis of guilty pleas among terrorists.

Bentz, Julie A., Daniel J. Blumenthal, and Bradley A. Potter.  “It’s All About the Data: Responding to International Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Incidents.”  In Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 70:4 (2014).

Betz, David J. and Tim Stevens.  “Analogical Reasoning and Cyber Security.”  In Security Dialogue.  (April 2013).

Byers, Michael.  “Terrorism, the Use of Force and International Law After 11 September.”  In International Relations, 16:2 (2002).

Damphousse, Kelly R.  “The Morning After: Assessing the Effect of Major Terrorism Events on Prosecution Strategies and Outcomes.”  In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).

De Goede, Marieke.  “The Politics of Preemption and the War on Terror in Europe.”  In European Journal of International Relations, vol. 14 (March 2008).

Enders, Walter, and Paan Jindapon.  “On the Economics of Interrogation: The Big 4 Versus the Little Fish Game.”  In Journal of Peace Research, vol. 48 (May 2011).

Gupta, Sanjay.  “The Doctrine of Pre-Emptive Strike:  Application and Implications During the Administration of President George W. Bush.”  In International Political Science Review, vol. 29 (March 2008).

Innes, Martin.  “Policing Uncertainty: Countering Terror Through Community Intelligence and Democratic Policing.”  In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605 (May 2006).

Jenkins, Bonnie.  “Combating Nuclear Terrorism: Addressing Nonstate Actor Motivations.”  In The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 607 (September 2006).

Kessler, Oliver and Wouter Werner.  “Extrajudicial Killing as Risk Management.”  In Security Dialogue, vol. 39 (April 2008).

Lankford, Adam, and Katherine Gillespie.  “Rehabilitating Terrorists Through Counter-Indoctrination: Lessons Learned From The Saudi Arabian Program.” In International Criminal Justice Review, vol. 21 (June 2011).

Levin, Brian.  “Trials for Terrorists: The Shifting Legal Landscape of the Post-9/11 Era.”  In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).

Martin, Grant.  “Zero Dark Squared: Does the US Benefit from More Special Operations Forces?”  In International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis, 69:3 (2014).

McCready, Douglas.  “When is Torture Right?”  In Studies in Christian Ethics, vol. 20 (December 2007).

McGarrell, Edmund F., Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven Chermak.  “Intelligence-Led Policing As a Framework for Responding to Terrorism.”  In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23:2 (May 2007).

McGuffin, Chris and Paul Mitchell.  “On Domains: Cyber and the Practice of Warfare.”  In International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis, 69:3 (2014).

Müllerson, Rein.  “Being Tough on Terrorism or Respecting Human Rights: A False Dilemma of Authoritarian and Liberal Responses.”  In American Behavioral Scientist, 48:12 (August 2005).

Shields, Christopher A., Kelly R. Damphousse, and Brent L. Smith.  “Their Day in Court: Assessing Guilty Plea Rates Among Terrorists.”  In Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 22:3 (August 2006).

Skoll, Geoffrey R.  “Torture and the Fifth Amendment: Torture, the Global War on Terror, and Constitutional Values.”  In Criminal Justice Review, vol. 33 (March 2008).

Steele, Brent J.  “’Ideals That Were Really Never In Our Possession’: Torture, Honor and US Identity.”  In International Relations, vol 22 (June 2008).

Stever, James A.  “Adapting Intergovernmental Management to the New Age of Terrorism.”  In Administration & Society, 37:4 (September 2005).

Ulfstein, Geir.  “Terrorism and the Use of Force.”  Security Dialogue, 34:2 (June 2003).