Sociology of Terrorism - Abstracts
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THE SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY OF TERRORISM: WHO BECOMES A TERRORIST AND WHY?
PURIFICATION AND POWER: THE PSYCHO-POLITICAL ROOTS OF RELIGIOUS TERRORISM
Richard E. Rubenstein
Invited Paper Presented at the Annual Convention of the
American Psychological Association, June 2002, Chicago, Illinois. ABSTRACT
In the wake of terrorist attacks, the victims of terrorist violence tend to portray their
adversaries’ activities as purely expressive – that is, as a form of emotional
“acting out” devoid of political rationality. Alternatively, they may portray
the attackers as acting instrumentally, but within the framework of a political or
religious ideology that is utterly alien and divorced from reality. In either case,
terrorism is characterized as an incomprehensible destructive activity that implicates the
victim only as victim. Moving beyond the “expressive/ instrumental” dichotomy,
much modern religious terrorism (like much secular terrorism) can best be understood as
the response of groups and individuals to a situation in which (a) they are dominated by
expansionist global or regional powers; (b) the opportunities for violent or nonviolent
mass resistance are limited; and (c) their oppression is perceived as desecration,
demanding purifying action.
Terrorism and Freedom: An Outside View
Luis Rubio, General Director, Center for Research for Development (CIDAC), Mexico
City ssrc.org/sept11/essays/rubio.htm
Nothing is more telling about the recent terrorist attacks in the United States than the
nature of their targets. The Twin Towers in New York City represented the future,
modernity, America’s optimistic outlook of the world and, more recently, of
globalization. The terrorist attacks constitute a direct hit against those values, which
is the main reason why the whole Western world immediately rallied in support. But
that’s not the whole story. Many people around the world outside the traditionally
defined Western nations showed profound consternation, but others clearly did not. Many
citizens of Third World nations did not jump out in solidarity with America and most of
those governments, even when outwardly supportive, were less than wholeheartedly committed
to their words.
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Terrorism:
cloning the enemy
Vincenzo Ruggiero - School of Social Science, Middlesex University, Queensway
Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4SF, London, UK
Available online 5 August 2003. - International Journal of the Sociology of Law.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/
Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Epileptics and neophiles
3. Definitional relativism
4. Controversial characteristics
5. Plethoric causes
6. Relational dynamics
7. Animus belli
8. Conclusion
References
How We Can Defeat Terrorism by Reacting to It More
Rationally
Suppose we had reacted to 9/11 as we did to last September's auto deaths. That wouldn't
have lessened the destroyed property, lost lives and livelihoods, and personal bereavement
of family and associates of the WTC victims. But no billions would have been needed to
prop up airlines. Local charities wouldn't have suffered as donations were redirected to
New York City. Congress might have enacted prescription drug benefits, as it was poised to
do before 9/11. Battalions of National Guardsmen needn't have left their jobs to provide a
visible "presence" in airports. The nation might not have slipped into
recession, with resulting losses to businesses, workers, and consumers alike. And the FBI
might still be focusing on rampant white-collar crime (think Enron) rather than on
terrorism. While some modest measures (e.g., strengthening cockpit doors) were easy to
implement, may have inhibited some "copycat" crimes, and may even lessen future
terrorism, we believe that much of the expensive effort is ineffective, too costly to
sustain, or wholly irrelevant. - csicop.org/si/2002-09/9-11.html
State Terrorism and Counterterrorism
(PDF)
Paper Number 2002/3Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) Melbourne
Canberra Department of Philosophy - GPO Box A260
philosophy.unimelb.edu.au/cappe/working_papers/Primorat.pdf
Defend Politics Against Terrorism
Peter Alexander Meyers, Chercheur Associé of the Groupe de Sociologie Politique et Morale
(EHESS, Paris); Maître de Conférences at the Université de Lille. -
ssrc.org/sept11/essays/meyers.htm
Each season of popular discussion has its special topics. “Certainty” is again
in fashion. The way has been paved by more than a generation of contest about
“relativism,” “social construction,” and “multiculturalism.”
We are barely through with the Sokal Affair. Now, following the attacks of September 11,
our screens, pages, and airwaves are again filled with demands for unimpeachable
knowledge, and overheated by those who pretend to offer it. “It’s time now to
tell the truth” writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. “Has there ever
been a time when the distinction between good and evil was more clear?” writes
Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post. One need not accept the nonsense offered to
understand the impulse to seek certainty.1 Certainty is not an abstract concern. It is
closely related to the desire for security. In times of particular insecurity, people
reassess their knowledge in light of their projects and purposes.
Terrorism and Cosmopolitanism
Daniele Archibugi, Technological Director, Italian National Research Council
ssrc.org/sept11/essays/archibugi.htm
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a symbolic event that raised hopes for a more united
world, founded on the values of international legality and democracy. The idea was put
forward that, at last, human rights would be respected planet-wide and that violent
conflict would gradually disappear. In just over a decade, many such hopes have been swept
away by Realpolitik. In the same decade, we have witnessed the birth of a new generation
of civil wars, the resumption of traditional-type wars between states and the birth of
humanitarian interventionism under the banner of self-interested charity.
Trading Sites - Destroyed, Revealed, Restored
Daniel Beunza, Stern School of Business, New York University and Center on
Organizational Innovation, Columbia University, and David Stark, Russell Sage Foundation,
Center on Organizational Innovation, Columbia University and Santa Fe Institute
ssrc.org/sept11/essays/beunza.htm
Abstract: How did companies at the Trade Center respond to the destruction brought about
by the attack on September 11th? In this paper we look through the concrete and glass
facade of the twin towers into the socio-technical networks of people, machines, and ideas
that constituted the trading rooms. We follow the traders of an investment bank adjacent
to the Trade Center in their escape away from Ground Zero to a makeshift trading room in
New Jersey. We accompany them in their efforts at restoring trading operations, which
revealed a socio-technical network of relations, connections, bandwidth politics, and
time-critical data normally hidden from view. We support these findings with interview
materials from a focus group with heads of technology of major Trade Center companies.
Successful recovery, we found, was a combination of planning and spontaneity, of
redundancy and self-organization, typical of firms with non-bureaucratic and
non-hierarchical forms. With these findings in hand, we visit the debate on the
redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, and propose for the district at large the same recipe
that worked for the firms: rather than pursue top-down detailed urban planning based on
the world of finance that we know today, we propose instead to emphasize lateral ties and
promote organizational diversity as a basis for innovation.
Anti-Americanisms, Thick Description, and
Collective Action
Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, Professor of History, University of Indiana
ssrc.org/sept11/essays/wasserstrom.htm
Recent events have shown all too clearly that one form of anti-Americanism, the virulent
and apocalyptic version that inspired the terrorists responsible for September 11, can
lead to horrors of enormous magnitude. It would be foolish to assume, though, that every
time an individual shouts an anti-American slogan or takes part in an anti-American
protest he or she is expressing support for these vile acts, or feels the same brand of
hatred for everything associated with the U.S. that led to them. Throughout the 1900s,
after all, many groups espoused some form of anti-Americanism, yet did not engage in or
condone violence of any sort. And within the subset of violent anti-American actions of
the past, one finds many examples of demonstrations in which no people were harmed, let
alone killed, though a building was defaced or a purely symbolic act of violence was
committed, such as the burning of a flag. In addition, many participants in anti-American
protests of the last century were motivated by something more specific than a wholesale
disdain for all aspects of the culture of the U.S. and contempt for all of its residents.
Some objected to particular U.S. economic policies, yet loved Hollywood films. Some were
disturbed by what they saw as the McDonaldization of global culture, yet were uninterested
in diplomatic issues. Still others were angered by the presence of American troops in
their country, but not bothered that U.S. fast food chains had arrived. And so on. History
shows, then, that we should not think of a single unified anti-Americanism but rather
think in terms of widely varying anti-Americanisms. These are decidedly plural, differing
from place to place as well as from group to group within a given place, and susceptible
to change over time. And they vary greatly as well in their levels of intensity. Since the
vast literature of the social sciences is filled with works that provide tools to help us
distinguish between things that seem similar at first glance, we should be able to find
some guidance when trying to come to terms with this variation.
Comparison Is Key - New learning is a victory for the human spirit. So is empathy. By Mary Catherine Bateson - The moments when individuals experience a change in perception are moments of opportunity, most especially if we can remember the thoughts and feelings that preceded the shift, and understand the nature of their continuing validity. Comparison is key. When Kennedy was assassinated, most people remembered thinking of him living as a great president, even if only days before they had been ambivalent. Couples that divorce sometimes describe their marriages as having been uniformly unhappy, but usually there was a time in the past that was happy, a time that might be worth remembering. It is useful to have the experience of seeing the same person, situation, or idea in more than one way, since both may be true, or neither. Sometimes yet a third vision may be more useful. - wholeearthmag.com/ArticleBin/446.html
A Human Rights Approach to Sept. 11
Kathryn Sikkink, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota
ssrc.org/sept11/essays/sikkink.htm
As we try to come to grips with the tragedy of September 11, as individuals and as social
scientists, a human rights approach can provide some guidance. A human rights approach
always begins with, and has as its essence a concern with individual victims of rights
abuses. We turn first to the victims of the September 11 attack and their families and
friends. The enormity of the loss of life, and the premeditated nature of the attacks on
September 11th justifies calling them a crime against humanity. Murder, when
"committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian
population" is a crime against humanity.1 The victims of this crime are entitled not
only to our deepest sympathy, but also to justice, either in the our courts or in an
international tribunal.
Books On Sociology of Terrorism
Understanding
Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues
Packaging
Terrorism: Co-opting the News for Politics and Profit (Communication in the Public
Interest)
"This is a sober and timely analysis of the toxic mix of politics, terrorism and the
media since 9/11. It lays bare the price paid by the West, but also points to a better way
forward." Richard Sambrook, Director, BBC Global News
The
Spread of Islamikaze Terrorism in Europe: The Third Islamic Invasion
Mass-Mediated
Terrorism: The Central Role of the Media in Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Terrorism,
Organised Crime and Corruption: Networks and Linkages
On
Nuclear Terrorism
"We wish that the current and incoming national security advisor and secretaries of
State, Defense and Homeland Security read Michael Levi's On Nuclear Terrorism." --
Los Angeles Times, January 1, 2008
Terrorism
in the 21st Century (5th Edition) Cynthia C. Combs (Aug 9, 2008)
Terrorism
and Homeland Security: An Introduction Jonathan R. White (2008)
Middle
Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11 by Mark Ensalaco
(Hardcover - Nov 30, 2007)
Terrorism
in Perspective Sue G. Mahan and Pamala L. Griset (Sep 10, 2007)
The
Terrorism Reader (Routledge Readers) by D. Whittaker (Aug 3, 2007)
What's Wrong With Terrorism? (Paperback) (May 31, 2006) Book by Robert E. Goodin
Beyond the Spectacle of Terrorism: Global Uncertainty And the Challenge of the New Media (Radical Imagination Series) (March 2006 Book) Book by Henry A. Giroux
In the Wake of Disaster : Religious Responses to Terrorism and Catastrophe (June 1, 2006 Book) Book by Harold G Koenig
With God on Our Side : Politics and Theology of the War on Terrorism (Paperback) (June 1, 2006 Book) Book by John L. Esposito (Foreword), Aftab Ahmad Malik (Editor), Khaled Abou el Fadl (Introduction)
Pathways
Out of Terrorism and Insurgency : The Dynamics of Terrorist Violence and
Peace Processes in Divided Societies (May - 2005 Book) Book by D. R. Kaarthikeyan, L. S.
Germani
L. S. Germani is a professor at Link Campus University in Rome and the director of the
Gino Germani Center for the Study of Crisis, Conflict, and Socio-Political Instability. D.
R. Kaarthikeyan is the former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation in India.
Middletown,
America : One Town's Passage from Trauma to Hope (2005 Book)
Book by GAIL SHEEHY
Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism (2005 Book) Book by Robert W. Taylor, Tory J. Caeti, Kall Loper, Eric J. Fritsch, John Liederbach
Media Spectacle And The Crisis Of Democracy: Terrorism, War, And Election Battles (Cultural Politics & the Promise of Democracy) (Feb - 2005 Book) Book by Douglas Kellner
The
Sociology And Psychology Of Terrorism: Who Becomes A Terrorist And Why? (Jan
- 2005 Book)
Book by Rex A. Hudson, Marilyn Majeska
The Rise and Fall of Islam : How America can Win the War Against Radical Islam and Terrorism (December 25, 2004 Book) Book by Reza F. Safa
Cities, War And Terrorism: Towards an Urban Geopolitics (Studies in Urban and Social Change) (November 15, 2004 Book) Book by Stephen Graham
Attacking
Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy (February 1, 2004 Book)
Book by Audrey Kurth Cronin (Editor), James M. Ludes
Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism : Criminological Perspectives (Sociology of Crime Law and Deviance) (April 5, 2004 Book) Book by Mathieu Deflem
Get
'Em All, Kill 'Em: Genocide, Terrorism, Righteous Communities
Book by Bruce Wilshire
Terrorism:
An Introduction, 2002 Updated Book by Jonathan R. White
Recognized as the most objective, best-selling terrorism text in the market today.
Media, Terrorism, and Theory : A Reader (Critical Media Studies) Book by Anandam P. Kavoori (Editor), Todd Fraley (Editor)
Terrorism
Book by Leonard Weinberg
From Chivalry to Terrorism : War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity Book by LEO BRAUDY
Terrorism : The Philosophical Issues Book by Igor Primoratz (Editor)
Armies Of The Young: Child Soldiers In War And Terrorism (The Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies) Book by DAVID M. ROSEN
War and Peace in an Age of Terrorism : A Reader Book by William M. Evan
An Anatomy of Terror : A History of Terrorism Book by Andrew Sinclair
The New Era of Terrorism : Selected Readings Book by Gus Martin (Editor)
Terrorism in Perspective Book by Pamala L. Griset, Sue Mahan
Weapons Of Mass Destruction And Terrorism (The International Library of Essays in Terrorism) (December 31, 2004 Book) Book by Alan O'Day (Editor)
War On Terrorism (International Library of Essays in Terrorism) (December 31, 2004 Book) Book by Alan O'Day (Editor)
Cyberterrorism (International Library of Essays in Terrorism) (2004 Book) Book by Alan O'Day (Editor)