Global Terrorism

Lutz, Brenda J.; Lutz, Jack H.

doi:10.4324/9780203895030

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Most people do not change their religion, and even when they are not active followers they may still perceive religion as part of their own cultural identity. In contrast, political affiliation -whether based on left-wing, right-wing or specific policy preferences -involves a much more conscious choice on the part of individuals to share a given set of political beliefs and ideals which can eventually be changed without necessarily affecting other aspects of someone's life (Lutz & Lutz, 2008). Unlike many ethnic organizations, who can count on a natural and relatively cohesive constituency among members of the ethnic group, from which they can draw resources and support, both leftist and rightist organizations (and similar policy-oriented groups) 'must actively proselytize among the politically aware and/or the radicals, though often uncommitted, for recruits and support' (Hoffman, 2006: 243).…”

Section: Relative Preferences and The Value Of Targetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quality of terrorist violence: Explaining the logic of terrorist target choice

Polo

2019

Journal of Peace Research

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Existing research on terrorism as a strategy has largely neglected the apparent differences in what groups target. Whereas some organizations primarily target undefended civilians, other attack mainly official and hard targets. I develop an explanation of terrorist groups' relative target preferences based on how a group's ties to its constituency and specific government repressive strategies either constrain or incentivize terrorist attacks against soft civilian vs. hard/official targets. Specific sources of support and the degree of out-group antagonism in their constituency shape terrorist groups' primary targeting strategy. While groups with transnational support are generally more likely to target primarily undefended civilians, not all groups with local support are restrained. Groups with low out-group antagonism and local civilian support incur high political costs for targeting civilians and focus primarily on official targets. Instead, groups with domestic support but high out-group antagonism have mixed incentives. When facing indiscriminate government repression these groups become more likely to target primarily undefended civilians, because they can justify such a response to their audience, direct attacks against out-group civilians, and radicalize local constituents. Indiscriminate repression, however, does not change the targeting strategy of groups who face high political costs for attacking civilians. I examine the observable implications of the theory in a comparative analysis of terrorist organizations (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) as well as an over-time analysis of repression and targeting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004), and find strong support for the theoretical argument.What explains these differences in terrorist targeting strategies? And when are undefended civilians more likely to be targeted in terror attacks? The primary purpose of this article is to answer these related questions from an actor-level perspective.Extant terrorism research has mainly focused on structural causes and determinants of attack frequency and lethality. While providing substantial insights, this approach cannot explain who is targeted in terrorist attacks and why. These are important questions because they tell us when specific targets are most at risk, and thus improve counterterrorism efforts, as well as mitigate the human costs of terrorism. 2 Of course, conflict scholarship has analyzed attacks against civilians, but it has typically looked at civilian targets in isolation, without considering the choice of such targets in the context of other available options (e.g., public officials, police, and low-casualty targets such as property). 3 This exclusive focus on soft civilian targets has several shortcomings. First, it has little to say about more discriminate terrorist strategies such as those of the NPA or FSA, and whether different targets ar...

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Section: Relative Preferences and The Value Of Targetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quality of terrorist violence: Explaining the logic of terrorist target choice

Polo

2019

Journal of Peace Research

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“…62 No cost is too high: the death toll stands at 30,000 annually, the injury toll at 2.3 million, the direct cost of automobile travel is 1.4 trillion dollars annually, greater than the total expenditure on education or health. 63 The three big killers -alcohol, rollovers and speed -are quickly being replaced by the driver distraction embedded in people talking on the phone, putting on makeup, drinking coffee or coke, smoking, reading, listening to music with headphones, watching TV, changing their clothes. Whites are twice as likely as Latinos to own a car, three times as likely as Blacks.…”

Section: He Married Gracementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whites are twice as likely as Latinos to own a car, three times as likely as Blacks. 64 These are not just facts but each the tip of an iceberg of worlds taking place through and on the road.…”

Section: He Married Gracementioning

confidence: 99%

Road registers

Stewart

2014

cultural geographies

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This article is an outline of a method to approach an object of analysis as generative, compositional, and immanent to ordinary ways of living and proliferating worlds. Using the case of the American road as an emergent assemblage, I trace its singular forms and the ways in which these forms register forces of all kinds. Road registers are material-symbolic composites charged with potentiality. They form links between disparate phenomena, scales, and compositional modes from literature to state thinking, structure to fantasy. I use creative non-fiction writing as a mode of critique that can follow the lines of diverging tendencies and events in which a range of elements throw together. I present a series of snapshots of the road's bodies and rhythms, orientations, and atmospheres. Road Registers is a middle-range concept used to rethink designations such as macro and micro, big and small, official and everyday. I elaborate affect theory's insight that structures of living have not just effects or conditions of possibility, but also capacities to affect and to be affected, or an energetics.

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“…There have been numerous incidents of terrorism and violent extremism on a global scale, in the past decade (Lutz and Lutz, 2008). The increase in the prevalence of suicide bombers, radical extremists and “devoted” terrorists has lead to an amplified threat of violence in today's society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large scale attacks on commuter trains in Madrid in 2004, on a Russian middle school in 2004, and the suicide bombings in America on September 11 in 2001 and London in 2005 all demonstrate the continuing threat that terrorism can pose (Lutz and Lutz, 2008). In order to combat these events, the “South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC) was established in 1995 and the International Criminal Court was established in 2002 to cultivate an acceptance for truth‐seeking and understanding, as alternatives to criminal trials, in the aftermath of acts of mass violence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrorists meeting their victims: a case study of psychologists' experiences of former terrorists meeting survivors

Gargan¹,

Meldon²,

Aherne³

et al. 2012

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research

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PurposeActs of violent extremism have become more regular in the past decade. Little research has managed to analyse the interplay between the individuals who have carried out these acts and those who have experienced them. By bringing two such groups together in direct contact with each other, The Summit Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) offered a unique opportunity to explore the experiences of former violent extremists and victims of terrorist acts. This article aims to focus on this initiative.Design/methodology/approachThe article is designed to take the reader through the discussions of three senior psychologists who attended SAVE to offer support to all involved. Their experiences and insights were gathered, within a focus group, to develop themes with the aim to discuss and share.FindingsPsychologists outlined social development, self‐identity, family and peer groups as critical to the development of extremist views and to the de‐radicalisation of such views. It was reported that the summit gave survivors a chance to express their anger in a positive setting but that this setting could be improved for future summits. Challenges that faced the psychologists included the multi‐lingual environment and confidentiality issues.Practical implicationsThe summit was seen as a successful means for developing an understanding of those who have taken part in acts of extreme violence and terror. The psychologists provide practical suggestions for future de‐radicalisation of people in extremist groups.Originality/valueThe role of therapeutic psychologists in such a summit was viewed as critically important as a support to both formers and survivors.

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Global Terrorism

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

The quality of terrorist violence: Explaining the logic of terrorist target choice

The quality of terrorist violence: Explaining the logic of terrorist target choice

Road registers

Terrorists meeting their victims: a case study of psychologists' experiences of former terrorists meeting survivors

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