Government and Politics 888D Terrorism as a Political Strategy Tydings Hall 1102 Fall 2008 Instructor: Office Phone email: Dr. Jóhanna K Birnir Tydings 0145A 405-7206 [email protected] Office hrs: Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 1:30 (and by appointment) About the course: The objective of this course is to explore the current state of the literature about domestic terrorism and politics worldwide. This course considers various aspects of domestic terrorism beginning with the objectives and conditions that lead a group to select terrorism as a strategy in a historical and case context. We will also examine terrorist tactics and learning, the impact when terror attacks are used domestically and the very complicated aftermath of state and public response to terrorism perpetrated by nationals. With the objective of identifying future research areas the course pays particular attention to the theoretical and empirical state of the literature. Finally, to enhance the teacher training component of the course students will participate in an original simulation. Requirements: Seminar attendance and active participation in discussion throughout the semester and in the simulation is required (20% of grade.) Each student is expected to select one sub-national terrorist group (subject to instructor approval) and serve as the resident expert with respect to the topics discussed, on the often rich and varied scholarly case literature that exists about individual groups. Expert analytical assessments will be sought randomly in seminars throughout the semester (20% of grade). Students are expected to write an empirical research paper on a selected topic in the domain of sub-national terrorism (topic is subject to instructor approval). The final draft of the paper is due on the last day of class (50% of grade). No extensions will be granted. Students will present their original research and peer-review colleagues’ papers in class at the end of the semester (10% of grade). Academic conduct: It is assumed that all students are familiar with and adhere to the code of academic integrity see: http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/index.html Readings: A number of books and articles are required for the course. The books are available through the University bookstore. The chapters and articles are either available through the library online databases or posted on ELMS.Books: Gerard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin. Eds. 2007. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. University of California Press: Berkeley; Los Angeles; London. Philip Keefer and Norman Loayza. Eds. 2008. Terrorism Economic Development and Political Openness. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, New York. George Kassimeris. Playing politics with Terrorism. 2008. Columbia University Press. Brigitte L. Nacos. 2007. Mass-Mediated Terrorism. Second edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers: Lanham; Plymouth UK. Mia Bloom. 2007 (c2005) Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror. (With a new preface.) Columbia University Press: New York. Ronald Wintrobe. 2006. Rational Extremism: The Political Economy of Radicalism. Cambridge: New York and London. Week 1: 9/1 No class Weeks 2 and 3: 9/8 and 9/15 The state of the field and defining the problem. Edna F. Reid, Hsinchun Chen. 2007. "Mapping the Contemporary Terrorism Research Domain." International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. 65:42-56 Senechal de la Roche. 2004. "Toward a Scientific Theory of Terrorism." Sociological Theory. 22(1): 1-4. Todd Sandler and Walter Enders. 2007. Applying Analytical Methods to Study Terrorism. International Studies Perspectives. 8(3): 287-302. Gerard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin. Eds. 2007. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. University of California Press: Berkeley; Los Angeles; London. (Chapters 1-11. P. 1-254; And Chapters 16-17. P. 398-434) Martha Crenshaw. Forthcoming. “The Debate over “New” vs. “Old” Terrorism.” Current version prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 30-September 2, 2007. Weeks 4 and 5: 9/22 and 9/29 Motivations. Martha Crenshaw. 1981. “The Causes of Terrorism.” Comparative Politics. 13(4): 379-399. Karin Von Hippel. 2002. “The Roots of Terrorism: Probing the Myths.” The Political Quarterly. 73(1): 29-35.Louise Richardson. 2006. “What is Terrorism” and “The Tree Rs: Revenge, Renown, Reaction.” In What Terrorists Want. Random house: New York. (Chapters 1 and 4. P. 3-20 and 71-103) Philip Keefer and Norman Loayza. Eds. 2008. Terrorism Economic Development and Political Openness. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, New York. Mark Jurgensmeyer. 1988. The Logic of Religious Violence: The case of the Punjab. Contributions to Indian Sociology. 22(1): 65-88. (For a more complete version of the argument see Jurgensmeyer. 2003 Terror in the mind of god.) Bruce Hoffman. 2006. “Religion and Terrorism”. In Inside Terrorism. Columbia University Press: New York. (Chapter 4. P 81-130) Gerard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin. Eds. 2007. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. University of California Press: Berkeley; Los Angeles; London. (Chapters 12 and 14. P 255-313 and 349-362) Week 6: 10/6 Terrorism Financing. Jeanne K Giraldo and Harold A. Trikunas (eds). 2007. “The Political Economy of Terrorism Financing”. In Terrorism Financing and State Responses. Stanford University Press: Stanford. (Chapter 1. P.7-20) Nikos Passas. 2007. “Terrorism Financing Mechanisms and Policy Dilemmas”. In Jeanne K Giraldo and Harold A. Trikunas (eds). Terrorism Financing and State Responses. Stanford University Press: Stanford. (Chapter 2. P.21-38) John Horgan and Max Taylor. 1999. “Playing the Green Card. Financing the Provisional IRA; Part 1.” Terrorism and Political Violence. 11(2): 1-38. Nimrod Raphaeli. 2003. “Financing of Terrorism: Sources Methods and Channels.” Terrorism and Political Violence. 15(4): 59-82 Vanda Felbab-Brown. Shooting Up: Illicit Economies and Military Conflict. Unpublished ms. (Chapters TBA). Week 7: 10/13 Tactics and learning. James JF Forest (ed). 2006. Teaching Terror. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc. Lanham, MD. (Chapters 1-5. P. 1-132) Asal, Victor, and R. Karl Rethemeyer.