Typology Of Terrorism Research Articles

Overview of the defifinitions of terrorism in international criminal law

Nowadays terrorism is one of the most dangerous, domestic and international security threat in the world. There are national, regional and global efforts in the field of counter-terrorism which are codified in international, regional and national criminal codes, treaties. Unfortunately and despite the seriousness of this threat there is no internationally accepted common definition of terrorism in the “global” international criminal law. At the level of regional and national treaties, in some parts of the criminal codes some types of terrorism are defined. Academic research and its results could be used at the legislation process, but this research has struggled to identify a widely accepted definition of terrorism. Hence we can find several definitions and typology of terrorism which could prove problematic for the legislators. This lack of common definition proves to be one of the main hurdles of effective cooperation among states and criminal authorities also having a negative impact on the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures. My paper demonstrates in three chapters this definitional problem with regard to criminal law. In the conclusion I outline some proposals and probable directions of a new regulatory method in order to mitigate this problem through reaching an accepted common definition in legislations and criminal law.

Terrorism in the Modern World-System: Towards the Problem of Prospects for Interdisciplinary Research

Introduction. The variety of approaches and topics in the study of terrorism, as well as the obvious difference in axiological grounds for assessing terrorist activity, allows the authors to raise the question of an interdisciplinary study of this problem. The authors understand terrorism as an illegal political confrontation in the struggle for power with the use of violence in order to intimidate or physically eliminate the enemy.Methodology and sources. The methodological basis of the work is the world-system concept of I. Wallerstein. The authors reveal the advantages of the world-system approach by comparing it with the paradigm of political realism in the theory of international relations. They indicate the boundaries of the paradigm of political realism, which operates at the level of the concepts of “States” and “International Coalitions”, while the phenomenon of terrorism includes structures at the level of groups and organizations. The world-systems approach allows researchers to see terrorism as an anti-system movement generated by the contradictions in the development of the system itself, to distinguish between pro-system and anti-system terrorism, to analyze this phenomenon at all societal levels. One of the essential advantages of the world-systems approach is its ability to accumulate different approaches and related disciplines in order to describe the dynamics of modern societies. In their theoretical constructions, the authors rely on the typology of terrorist organizations by O. Lizardo and A. Bergesen, as well as on the concept of waves of terrorism by D. Rapport. The authors conduct a critical analysis of the typology of terrorism by O. Lizardo, A. Bergesen and note that this typology helps to see the structural source (core, semi-periphery, periphery) and the main structural goal of terrorist organizations, but leaves behind such a phenomenon as state terrorism.Results and discussion. The authors describe terrorism in its interrelation with processes in the world system at different societal levels. At the super-macro level, the world-systems conditions for the emergence of waves of terrorist activity are described, and the links between terrorism and the struggle to establish a global order are indicated. At the macro level (the level of political confrontation for the establishment of some form of order within the state), the authors investigate the differences between terrorism in “closed” and “open” societies. They note the connection between bursts of terrorist activity and the transition from a “closed” to an “open” state and vice versa. The authors consider the connection of terrorism with the processes of the peripheralization of societies as a meso-level phenomenon. Such terrorism, as a rule, is local and is inspired by the national liberation slogans of the societies of the internal periphery, the authors note that the struggle with the state here can go for both sovereignty and disputed territories. The authors refer to the meso-level the activities of terrorist organizations aimed at migrants who come from the outer periphery. The authors note that the subject of terrorism research at the micro level is, as a rule, the personality of the terrorist.Conclusion. The use of a world-systems approach to consider terrorism seems promising, and allows researchers to consider structural relations that are not available to other approaches. The authors express the hope that the interdisciplinary capabilities of the world-systems approach, its methodological potential woul be able to form a reliable basis for subsequent studies of terrorism as one of the means of illegitimate political violence in the modern world.

A Typology of Terrorist Attacks: The “32 Profiles” Model

Typologies of terrorist attacks enable researchers to analyze the complex phenomenon of terrorism in an organized manner, while facilitating the formulation of effective counter-terrorism policies. This paper contributes to the literature on typologies of terrorism by proposing a new conceptual model which classifies the various terrorist attacks that take place around the world according to two axes of reference: (1) the extent to which a terrorist organization is involved in the attack, and (2) The nature of interaction of the attacker/s with others. By placing the properties of various attacks on both axes, this article presents a new methodology that creates a typology of 32 different profiles of terrorist attacks, which can be grouped into 15 prototypes. The proposed model facilitates the examination of different types of terrorist attacks, while opening up new avenues of research.

On Terrorism and its Typologies

The article refers to selected aspects of knowledge about terrorism and its typology. The introduction explains the etymology of this concept and highlights the problem of diversity in the definition of terrorism. The next part cites several definitions of terrorism, which, in the author’s opinion, reflect the essence of this phenomenon. The difference between terrorism and terror, which are two terms that should not be used interchangeably, is also explained. The next part of the article illustrates the source of the problem which makes it impossible to agree on a commonly accepted definition of terrorism by giving an example of the wording of the Arab Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism. Then, the inherent feature of terrorism is explained, which is its asymmetry. The last part of the article concerns a typology of terrorism. It presents in a synthetic way various categories of terrorism, distinguished according to such criteria as: actors, motives, strategic (final) goals, close (closer) goals, type of actions, nature of the object of attacks, international implications, and means and methods used by terrorists. The article ends with a concise summary of the considerations on the theoretical aspects of terrorism undertaken in it.

Sociology of Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A Social Science Understanding of Terrorist Threat

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to outline a social science understanding of terrorist threat, with special reference to political violence of new terrorist groups, fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations such as Al‐Qaeda. Four main terrorism topics will be examined: (i) Definition of terrorism. We will make explicit the political and moral implications of the word ‘terrorism’ by tracing a brief history of terrorism; at the same time, a definition of terrorism will be proposed based on an overview of terrorism studies. (ii) Typology of terrorism. The topic to be addressed here concerns the classification of terrorist groups, paying special attention to contemporary fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations (particularly after World War II). (iii) Explanation of terrorism. Criticism will be made of psychological explanations of terrorism that try to trace political violence back to specific personal traits or psychopathological profiles of terrorists. We will offer an alternative explanation, focusing on specific social, cultural and religious factors to be considered the root causes of terrorism. Suicide terrorism will be used as a case study. (iv) Counterterrorism policy. Here, we will discuss some of the limitations and counterproductive effects of the counterterrorism measures adopted by governments after 9/11, including new antiterrorism legislation, the case of special detention at Guantanamo Bay, and the Iraq invasion. Most of such limitations are due to a misunderstanding of the political culture and ideology of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism (Islamism). Some concluding remarks will summarise the findings of the article and underline the most important suggestions for a future research agenda in the sociology of terrorism and counterterrorism.

The Psychology of the Terrorist

Abstract The psychological factors that motivate terrorist acts-par-ticularly ones such as the suicide bombings that characterized the September 11th attacks-can be especially difficult to fathom. Understanding the psychology of terrorism, however, can be invaluable in helping victims of terrorism work toward making sense of what they have been subjected to and why. Dr. Jerrold Post, a psychiatrist who specializes in political psychology and who has considerable experience in the study and profiling of terrorists, is interviewed. He explains what constitutes terrorism, its purpose, how profiling “at-a-distance” is conducted, the various categories in a typology of terrorism, and the psychological and socio-political forces that support terrorism in general and suicide bombings in particular.

Media and the institutional perspective: U.S. and Canadian coverage of terrorism

Abstract This paper reports data from a content analysis of television news coverage of terrorism. A proposed typology of terrorism and media coverage is tested with stories from network news in the United States and Canada. The typology posits that media coverage of terrorism depends on the act's relation to institutional power bases. The two types of terrorism outlined either seek out or avoid media coverage, depending on whether they challenge or reinforce institutional power. Because of media's interrelationship with the economic and political institutions, coverage of terrorism will take on the flavor of these institutions’ perspective. The data show that although media cover terrorist acts that are linked to U.S. institutional interests, the tone of such coverage casts uncritical perspective. The implications for the general message system of news, with particular regard to the media's contribution to international understanding, are explored.

The New Era of Terrorism: Approaches and Typologies

Mozaffari, M. The New Era of Terrorism: Approaches and Typologies. Cooperation and Conflict, XXIII, 1988, 179-196. Despite the fact that political terrorism has become an almost everyday phenomenon, and despite its unprecedented internationalization, little attention has been given to the typology of political terrorism. Terrorism has generally been considered a homogeneous phenomenon with no variations in either time or place. The aim of this article is first to proceed to a critical analysis of the contemporary terminologies and typologies of terrorism; and then to construct an alternative typology more operational for recognizing the specificities of the different types of terrorism, one that is more capable of predicting their respective plausible behaviour.