From the terrorists' point of view: toward a better understanding of the staircase to terrorism

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511581199.007

6 - From the terrorists' point of view: toward a better understanding of the staircase to terrorism

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2009

Fathali M. Moghaddam

Edited by

Werner G. K. Stritzke ,

Stephan Lewandowsky ,

David Denemark ,

Joseph Clare and

Frank Morgan

Show author details

Werner G. K. Stritzke: Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Perth
Stephan Lewandowsky: Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Perth
David Denemark: Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Perth
Joseph Clare: Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Perth
Frank Morgan: Affiliation:
University of Western Australia, Perth

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Terrorism is “politically motivated violence, perpetrated by individuals, groups, or state-sponsored agents, intended to instill fear and helplessness in a population in order to influence decision-making and to change behavior” (Moghaddam, 2005a, p. 161). Particularly since the 1990s, there has been a sharp rise in Islamic terrorism (Bloom, 2005; Oliver and Steinberg, 2005; McDermott, 2005; Pape, 2005), coupled with a radicalization of Islamic communities around the world (Pew Research Center, 2006). Of course, non-Islamic societies also continue to serve as a source of terrorism (Coogan, 2002; Linenthal, 2001), but since the tragedy of 9/11, the devastating mismanagement of Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003, and the disastrous foreign policy of the Bush administration in the Near and Middle East, terrorism emanating from Islamic communities has become a greater international challenge.

Complex historical, economic, cultural, social, and psychological factors are associated with the increase in Islamic terrorism (Bongar et al., 2006; Moghaddam, 2006a). Enormous resources have been invested by the United States and other countries to better understand these factors, and a vast amount and variety of information is being gathered to develop more effective tactics and weapons in the seemingly endless “War on Terror.” Indeed, despite claims of a “lack of information about terrorism,” we are increasingly in danger of being swamped by a tsunami of data about terrorism around the world, but without adequate conceptual models that allow us effectively to interpret this data.

Type: Chapter
Information: Terrorism and Torture
An Interdisciplinary Perspective
, pp. 106 - 124

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511581199.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Baskin, Y. (2002). A Plague of Rats and Rubber Vines. Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar

Bloom, M. (2005). Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar

Bongar, B., Brown, L. M., Beutler, L. E., Breckenridge, J. N., and Zimbardo, P. (2006) (eds.). Psychology of Terrorism. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRef

Coogan, T.P. (2002). The IRA. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar

Crystal, D. (2000). Language Death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Dalby, A. (2003). Language in Danger: The Loss of Linguistic Diversity and the Threat to Our Future. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar

Fina, A. (2003). Identity in Narrative: A Study of Immigrant Discourse. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.CrossRef Google Scholar

Gazzaniga, M.S., Ivry, R.B., and Mangun, G.R. (2002). Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind (2nd edn.). New York: Norton.Google Scholar

Linenthal, E.T. (2001). The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

McDermott, T. (2005). Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers – Who They Were, Why They Did It. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (1987). Psychology in the Three Worlds: as reflected by the “crisis” in social psychology and the move towards indigenous Third World psychology. American Psychologist, 47, 912–920.CrossRef Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (1998). Social Psychology: Exploring Universals in Social Behavior. New York: Freeman.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2002). The Individual and Society: A Cultural Integration. New York: Worth.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2005a). The staircase to terrorism: a psychological exploration. American Psychologist, 60, 161–169.CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Moghaddam, F.M. (2005b). Psychological processes and “The Staircase to Terrorism.”American Psychologist, 60, 1039–1041.CrossRef Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2005c). Great Ideas in Psychology: A Historical and Cultural Introduction. Oxford: Oneworld.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2006a). From the Terrorists' Point of View: What They Experience and Why They Come to Destroy. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2006b). Interobjectivity: the collective roots of individual consciousness and social identity. In Postmes, T. and Jetten, J. (eds.), Individuality and the Group: Advances in Social Identity (pp. 155–174). London: Sage.Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2006c). Catastrophic evolution, culture, and diversity management policy. Culture and Psychology, 12, 415–434.CrossRef Google Scholar

Moghaddam, F.M. (2008). Multiculturalism and Intergroup Relations: Psychological Implications for Democracy in Global Context. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Oliver, A. M., and Steinberg, P. F. (2005). The Road to Martyr's Square: A Journey into the World of the Suicide Bomber. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Pape, R. A. (2005). Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Bombing. New York: Random House.Google Scholar

Center, Pew Research (2006). Conflicting Views in a Divided World: How Global Public Views Muslim–Western Relations, Global Issues, US Role in the World, Asian Rivalries. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.Google Scholar

Ryan, L. (1981). The Aboriginal Tasmanians. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press.Google Scholar

Sidanius, J., and Pratto, F. (1999). Social Dominance: An Intergroup Theory of Social Dominance and Oppression. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef Google Scholar

Skinner, B. F. (1976 [1948]). Walden Two (reissued version). New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar

Tyler, T. R., and Huo, Y. J. (2002). Trust in the Law. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar

Weinreich, P., and Saunderson, W. (eds.) (2003). Analysing Identity: Cross-Cultural, Societal and Clinical Contexts. London: Routledge.

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. New York: Random House.Google Scholar