Terrorism and Psychology

Part A. Defining Terrorism and Just War Part B. Psychology of Terrorism

Case Assignment
Part A. Defining Terrorism and Just War
“Terrorism” is not a neutral term. Governments use it to describe their opponents and avoid it when describing their allies. This has led to the saying that “one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.” Countries therefore cannot agree on an objective definition of terrorism. This poses a problem because if states want to combat terrorism at the international level, they must first agree on exactly what they are fighting against. Answer the following questions:
1. Global definitions of terrorism are presented in the background reading. What would you propose as a global definition of terrorism?
2. With what you know about ISIS, would the war on ISIS be “just”?
Part B. Psychology of Terrorism
• The background reading describes attributes that are part of a psychological profile of a terrorist. Find a current terrorist (national or international) and submit his (or her) psychological attributes. Also, would the “Fort Hood shooter” fit the psychological profile of a terrorist?
• Describe historical and sociocultural antecedents to September 11. For this question, focus on the historical and cultural factors (e.g., attitudes about value of life, political viewpoints, religion, etc.) that contributed to how and why the attack happened.