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What could the U.S. have possibly done to incur such wrath in 9/11, leading to the deaths of thousands and a pervasive sense of insecurity among Americans the likes of which have not been seen since the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963? Dennis Sandole offers a "big picture" analysis is this chapter on the Causes of Terrorism.
The text fuses past and present thinking on terrorism with concepts derived from the field of conflict resolution. Beginning with a definition of terrorism and the implications of various characterizations of terrorists, the study then moves on to a discussion of the basic types and characteristics of terrorism, as well as the operational and tactical imperatives for terrorists to be successful. It concludes with a discussion of the future direction of terrorism. This is followed by an historical outline of terrorism, which, although hardly exhaustive, points out that terrorism neither began nor ended with the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. A brief case study of Middle East terrorism follows to underscore this point. Expanding on the basic concepts and historical context of the first three chapters, the book next offers a multi-tiered conflict analysis framework for examining the causes and conditions that lead to terrorism. It seeks to provide a useful tool for those attempting to map the current conflict and enhance and facilitate effective responses to the violence.
Download a copy of this text here.