Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues offers a multidisciplinary, comprehensive exploration of contemporary terrorism that helps readers develop the knowledge and skills they need to critically assess terrorism in general and terrorist incidents. The Fifth Edition has been comprehensively updated with new information on terrorist incidents, evolving terrorist environments, and emerging perspectives on counterterrorism and security. Author Gus Martin provides a fresh analysis of violent extremism throughout, with discussions of both international and domestic challenges and options. Focused discussion is provided on contemporary threats, new movements and tendencies, and the effectiveness of responses to these scenarios. Profiles are provided of prominent individuals, including updated information on longstanding extremist personalities. Discussion of policies and responses to terrorist environments has been augmented to include new perspectives on counterterrorist options, comparisons of domestic and international scenarios, and the contexts of promoting regional and national security. The effectiveness of policy options is discussed within the contexts of international threat scenarios, as well as domestic scenarios, including regional security challenges and responses. Table Of Contents PART I: TERRORISM: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW Chapter 1: Terrorism: First Impressions First Considerations Conceptual Considerations: Understanding Political Violence The Past as Prologue: Historical Perspectives on Terrorism Terrorism and Criminal Skill: Three Cases from the Modern Era Chapter 2: The Nature of the Beast: Defining Terrorism Understanding Extremism: The Foundation of Terrorism Defining Terrorism: An Ongoing Debate A Definitional Problem: Perspectives on Terrorism The Political Violence Matrix Chapter 3: Beginnings: The Causes of Terrorism Political Violence as the Fruit of Injustice Political Violence as Strategic Choice Moral Justifications for Political Violence Moral Convictions of Terrorists PART II: THE TERRORISTS Chapter 4: Terror From Above: Terrorism by the State The State as Terrorist: A State Terrorism Paradigm Violence Abroad: Terrorism as Foreign Policy Violence at Home: Terrorism as Domestic Policy The Problem of Accountability: Monitoring State Terrorism Chapter 5: Terror From Below: Terrorism by Dissidents The Rebel as Terrorist: A Dissident Terrorism Paradigm Warring Against the State: Antistate Dissident Terrorism Warring Against a People: Communal Terrorism Operational Shifts: Dissidents and the New Terrorism Chapter 6: Violence in the Name of the Faith: Religious Terrorism Primary and Secondary Motives: The Idiosyncratic Quality of Religious Terrorism Historical Cases in Point: Fighting, Dying, and Killing in the Name of the Faith State-Sponsored Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era Dissident Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era The Future of Religious Terrorism Chapter 7: Violent Ideologies: Terrorism From the Left and Right Reactionaries and Radicals: The Classical Ideological Continuum Left-Wing Ideologies and Activism Class Struggle and National Liberation: The Terrorist Left Right-Wing Activism and Extremism Race and Order: The Terrorist Right Violent Ideologies in the New Era of Terrorism Chapter 8: Terrorist Spillovers: International Terrorism Defining International Terrorism Globalized Revolution: Reasons for International Terrorism Globalized Solidarity: International Terrorist Networks The International Dimension of the New Terrorism Postscript: The “Stateless Revolutionaries” Chapter 9: Emerging Terrorist Environments: Gender-Selective Political Violence and Criminal Dissident Terrorism Culture and Conflict: Gender-Selected Victims of Terrorist Violence Protecting the Enterprise: Criminal Dissident Terrorism A Global Problem: Regional Cases of Criminal Dissident Terrorism PART III: THE TERRORIST TRADE AND COUNTERTERRORISM Chapter 10: Tools of the Trade: Tactics and Targets of Terrorists The Purpose: Terrorist Objectives The Means: Terrorist Methods The Focus: Terrorist Targets The Outcome: Is Terrorism Effective? Chapter 11: The Information Battleground: Terrorist Violence and the Role of the Media Two Perspectives: The Media and Governments Understanding the Role of the Media A New Battleground: The War for the Information High Ground The Public’s Right to Know: Regulating the Media Chapter 12: The American Case: Terrorism in the United States An Introduction to the American Case Left-Wing Terrorism in the United States Background to Terrorism: Left-Wing Activism and Ideological Extremism in America Background to Terrorism: Rightist Activism and Ideological Extremism in America Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States International Terrorism in the United States PART IV: SECURING THE HOMELAND Chapter 13: Counterterrorism: The Options Responding to Terror: The Scope of Options Warlike Operations: Counterterrorism and the Use of Force Operations Other Than War: Repressive Options Operations Other Than War: Conciliatory Options Applying the Rule of Law: Legalistic Options Chapter 14: A New Era: Homeland Security Homeland Security in Perspective The American Case: Homeland Security in the United States Civil Liberties and Securing the Homeland Chapter 15: What Next? The Future of Terrorism An Overview of Near-Term Projections The Future of Terrorism: New Threats Controlling Terrorism: New Challenges Threats to the Homeland: Prospects for Terrorism in the United States