Terrorism as a Social Process Framework the meaning of activity Structural framework o We can study group behavior by looking at the meanings of actions o The way we view the world motivates our actions o We look at the interpretation that individuals groups give to the actions of others as well as their own actions o Clash between modern values and traditional culture o Terrorism is created by the meanings subjects attach to social situations o Trouble between Islam and Western modernity can be attributed to the meaning each group attributes to historical change o Terrorists take action based upon ideological desire for change o Approaches to understanding terrorist behavior by looking at the way organizations function o All groups including terrorist organizations take action because they belong to a structure that operates for a specific purpose known as social geometry o Terrorism develops when an inferior group moves against a superior group including mass civilian casualties o Terrorists organize in quasi military units fighting outside the norms of war and criminal law o Terrorist organizations are structured in the same manner as communication and transportation systems Terrorism as a Religious Process Religion has always been an important factor in humanity but modernization tends to break down communities Strong religious beliefs increase the likelihood of religious conflict and the intensity of fighting Two types of religions o Killing religions gods slaughtered enemies o Non killing religions embraced enemies and developed elaborate theories to justify violence as a last resort One society may collide with truths of another society o Terrorist groups build their own mythology to justify their actions through a story o Individuals come to a group believing they have been called to the story of the group they join a holy cause a cosmic struggle o Sometimes people become disillusioned and leave the group but remain o Religion helps to produce the lone wolf avenger a person striking out with sympathetic toward the cause an ideology but no group Needs to find some justification for their actions and religion provides the perfect path Most difficult type of terrorist to detect o The call to violence is a way to purify the world in a holy war that eliminates The terrorist is victorious either by killing the enemy or dying in the the non believer struggle Criminological Views of Terrorism Crime for a Cause Terrorists have organizational structures belief systems and motivational values that separate them from ordinary criminals FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force JTTF created around the country coordination with federal state and local law officers Terrorist investigations do not follow the pattern of most criminal investigation because terrorists seldom behave like normal street criminals o Ordinary criminals vs terrorists Criminals are unfocused Terrorists focus their actions toward a goal Criminals may live in the criminal underworld but they are not devoted to crime as a philosophy Terrorists are dedicated to a cause Criminals will make deals to avoid punishment Terrorists rarely cooperate with officials because they do not wish to betray their cause Criminals usually run when confronted with force Terrorists tend to Criminals strike when the opportunity to do so is present Terrorists strike against symbols after careful planning Criminals rarely train for crime Terrorists prepare for rehearse their attack operations Law enforcement needs to focus on ideology group and individual behavior and share information over broad geographic regions to successfully investigate terrorism The Process of Moral Justification Terrorists must look outside normal social channels to gain approval for their acts The terrorist group becomes the primary source of social reality for individual terrorists the group provides social recognition reinforcement for its members For social acceptance to work the terrorist group must be isolated from mainstream society A terrorist must be isolated before a mission interacting only with others involved in the mission the terrorist is constantly indoctrinated in the importance of the mission and reminded that the goal is more important than human life o Early studies on group reinforcement and isolation Terrorist groups reinforce loyalty through the process of justification Terrorism is justified as the only course of action There is no single terrorist personality but they do follow similar patterns of behavior The terrorist group becomes the only source of social reward because of the terrorist s isolation terrorists reinforce each other The key point in conversion is when the group shifts violent rhetoric to action once a group engages in criminal activity a direct split with society occurs o Recent studies on justification of violence A decision to join remain in or leave a terrorist group is a process beginning when a potential terrorist believes that social political conditions are not morally correct Terrorists operate and justify violence because they emotionally attach themselves to an ideology cannot tolerate moral ambiguity Terrorists would justify more destruction because it is required for Economic factors play a role in justifying terrorist acts The group identifies an enemy and creates an atmosphere of us television drama against them Terrorist groups first look for conspiracies and then blame scapegoat a particular group for the conspiracy They demonize the scapegoats as the cause of the injustice Can the Terrorist Personality Be Profiled Many law enforcement agencies have attempted to develop practical models from profiling terrorism based upon individual psychological characteristics o FBI Behavioral Science Unit o United Kingdom example Heated debate about profiling the terrorist personality o Some social scientists claim it cannot be done No one can develop a composite picture of a terrorist Terrorism fluctuates over time and terrorists change Individual and group profiles are the result of social conditions There is no single terrorist personality terrorists represent a variety of physical types There are so many variables making profiling virtually impossible o Other social scientists offer an alternative view It is possible to conceptualize terrorism in a model that combines social structure with group psychology Interconnected processes are involved in terrorism Joining the group Forming the activity Remaining in the campaign
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