Abstract
The purpose of the present article is to identify and build a system of individual needs that promote an individual’s taking the path of terrorist activity, and to consider the process of its functioning under the destructive influences of the external and internal environment. The research methodology is based on a retrospective analysis of individual needs and socio-psychological characteristics of terrorist organizations' fighters. The system-integrated holistic approach allowed substantiating the content of the economic, political, social, and spiritual subsystems of the integral balanced system of individual needs. The focus on a systematic reflection of the research object and subject in the context of analyzing the objective reality of contemporary terrorism made it possible to reveal the relationships of the identified needs and, based on the results obtained, uncover the process of reengineering the system of individual needs into a hierarchy of needs which lead to taking the antisocial path of terrorism. The main research results include structured subsystem of the integrated system of individual’s needs, the content of needs, their components, promoting the individual to joining terrorist activities, as well as the construction of mathematical model describing the operation of the system of individual’s needs, and identifying quantitative values of the median needs, bringing the individual into a terrorist organization.
Highlights
Terrorism is an ancient inhumane practice that has been around for more than two thousand years
Maslow’s motivation theory (2014) stating that the individual is an integrated organized whole, the authors consider from the perspective of systematic approach the needs of the individual, which are the source of his getting on the path of terrorism, and believe that these needs represent a system that has the following characteristics: it is composed of many interconnected needs that ensures the system’s integrity, balance, and unity; it exists within the framework of the external environment and internal worldview; it has clearly defined boundaries of the individual’s substance and determinism with respect to the external environment; it is open and subject to external influences; it is characterized by properties, such as striving for satisfaction serving the interests of maintaining stability, balance, sustainability, adaptation, and integration
In the absence of destructive factors, performs certain functions, responds to demands coming from inside or outside, and adapts in the interests of maintaining stability, sustainability, and balance. They provide the motivational orientation of the individual’s (MOI) terrorist activity in general, which can be expressed by a mathematical model: МOI = f (E, So, P, Sp)
Summary
Terrorism is an ancient inhumane practice that has been around for more than two thousand years. No matter what terrorist group an individual belongs to, what country they were born in, what religion they profess, what social, political, or economic views they hold, and what social environment they belong to, there is a certain system of needs that is inherent in each member of this radical group. Terrorism is both an internal national and a global civilizational phenomenon characterized by violent, degrading, and intimidating actions. In the 21st century, the manifestation of terrorism has become universal
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