When Hatred is Bred in the Bone: Psycho-cultural Foundations of Contemporary Terrorism

Abstract

This paper addresses the psychology of terrorism. Terrorism is a diverse and complex phenomenon for which there is no one overarching psychological explanation; each terrorism must be understood in its unique cultural, historical, and political context. I will first present a broad overview of the spectrum of terrorism and then focus on the two types of terrorism that dominate the terrorism landscape today: nationalist-separatist terrorism and religious extremist terrorism. The beginning of the modern era of terrorism is usually dated to the early 1970s, with the iconic event being the seizure of the Israeli Olympic village by Black September terrorists, demonstrating the power of the media to convey the terrorists' cause to a wide international audience. The two major group types which dominated the scene at that time were the social-revolutionary terrorists and the nationalist-separatist terrorists. They regularly claimed responsibility for their acts and were employing their strategy to call attention to their cause. I contrast their generational dynamics: the social revolutionary terrorists of the left were rebelling against the generation of their family which was identified with the regime. In contrast, the nationalist-separatist terrorists were carrying on the mission of their parents and grandparents who had been damaged by and were disloyal to the regime. Often there were multiple claims of responsibility as they sought recognition for their cause. Then in the late 1980s and early 1990s, for upwards of 40% of terrorist acts, no responsibility was claimed. These were the acts of radical Islamist fundamentalist terrorists who were not seeking recognition from the West, but sought to expel the West with its corrupt secular modernizing values; they did not need headlines or television stories, for they were killing in the name of and God knew.