The Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century

Abstract

Research on political terrorism, which began in the early 1970s, faces some persistent problems. These involve defining the concept, collecting empirical data, building integrative theory, and avoiding the attribution of terrorism to personality disorders or “irrationality.” Furthermore, analysis risks being driven by events or the concerns of policymakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that psychological explanations of terrorism must take multiple levels of analysis into account, linking the individual to the group and to society. Future research should critically examine the assumption that a “new terrorism” has appeared at the end of the 20th century. Analysts should also take advantage of 30 years of history to develop comparisons and developmental studies that look not only at the causes of terrorism but at changes in terrorist strategy, the termination of terrorist campaigns, government decision‐making, and policy effectiveness.

Motives of terrorist acts

“…To su nutrašnji činioci koji stimulišu lič-nost na određeno ponašanje i postepeno je usmeravaju i upravljaju ka odabranim ciljevima u njenom okruženju (Žiropađa, 2006). Oni predstavljaju esencijalnu energiju i podsticaj volje koji je dubinski dimenzioniran i sa naučnog aspekta još neosvetljen (Crenshaw, 2000).…”

“…Najprikladniji odgovor je da u tome učestvuju sva tri faktora, ali u različitoj meri, (Cragin, 2009) mada, većina analitičara terorizma smatra da faktori ličnosti nisu povod za teroristič-ko ponašanje. Zaključak mnogih istraživanja je da terorizam predstavlja pre svega grupnu aktivnost, a zajednička ideološka posvećenost i solidarnost grupe su mnogo važnije determinante terorističkog ponašanja nego individualne karakteristike (Crenshaw, 2000). Teroristi koriste nasilјe za postizanje politič-kih promena i cilјeva i dok motivacija i pobude ovih pojedinaca znatno variraju od grupe do grupe, njihove glavne metode ostaju izuzetno slične (Horgan, 2005).…”

Psychosocial analysis of ETA's violence legitimation discourse

“…Therefore, the study of the violence legitimation discourse using statements can be useful to identify points and structures related to social representations and, also, to help defining terrorist strategies (Crenshaw, 2000).…”

Terror Management and Twitter: The Case of the 2016 Berlin Terrorist Attack

“…Moreover, terrorists are frequently willing to commit suicide and use weapons of mass destruction. The organization of terrorism is often decentralized and diffuse, with its purveyors united by common goals and/or experiences rather than through direct personal interaction (Crenshaw, 2000). Further, the internet makes it particularly easy for terrorists to receive critical information, such as bombmaking tutorials, which increases the threat of lone actors (Cohen et al, 2013).…”