Table of Contents

Contents: Foreword Walter Laqueur Preface Walter Reich Introduction Walter Reich Part I. Strategy or psychology?: Origins of terrorist behavior 1 The logic of terrorism: Terrorist behavior as a product of strategic choice Martha Crenshaw 2 Terrorist psycho-logic: Terrorist behavior as a product of psychological forces Jerrold M. Post Part II. Varieties of terrorism: Ideological and religious motivations 3 Ideology and rebellion: Terrorism in West Germany Konrad Kellen 4 Ideology and repentance: Terrorism in Italy Franco Ferracuti 5 The psychopolitical formation of extreme left terrorism in a democracy: The case of the Weathermen Ehud Sprinzak 6 Terrorism in democracies: Its social and political bases Ted Robert Gurr 7 Sacred terror: A contemporary example from Islam David C. Rapoport 8 The moral logic of Hizballah Martin Kramer Part III. States of mind: How do terrorists think? Which psychological mechanisms enable them to do what they do? 9 Mechanisms of moral disengagement Albert Bandura 10 The readiness to kill and die: Suicidal terrorism in the Middle East Ariel Merari Part IV. Responding to terrorism: Decision making and the pressures on leadership 11 Hostage taking, the presidency, and stress Margaret G. Hermann Charles F. Hermann 12 Taking vows: The domestication of policy-making in hostage incidents Gary Sick Part V. The psychology of terrorism: What can we know? What must we learn? 13 Questions to be answered, research to be done, knowledge to be applied Martha Crenshaw 14 Understanding terrorist behavior: The limits and opportunities of psychological inquiry Walter Reich About the editor and contributors Index

Promotional Information

These essays contain an excellent blend of theory with specific facts and narrative accounts of dealing with terrorism. I don't know of another book which has the sweep of this one, the illustrative detail, and the welcome, refreshing recognition that there is no neat explanation for terrorism. This book will have a major impact on future research. -- David F. Musto, Yale School of Medicine

About the Author

Walter Reich is a Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. A psychiatrist, he is former director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and was a Senior Research Psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Reviews

Pursue[s] the pathology of terrorism through the centuries... A fascinating amount of information. Washington Post A disquieting but fascinating book... Strongly recommended. British Journal of Psychiatry An honest and penetrating effort to explain the role of human psychology in terrorism. Canadian Journal of Political Science