The author distinguishes between political violence from below, for example collective violence, insurgency, armed struggle and terrorism; and political violence from above, which includes indiscriminate repression, institutional and state violence, torture and war.

This book explains the lifecycle of terrorist organizations from an innovative theoretical perspective, combining economics with social psychology. It provides a new approach to understanding human behaviour in organized society, and then uses this to analyze the forces shaping the lifecycle of violent political movements. Economic and rational-choice theorists assume that human beings are motivated only by self-utility, yet terrorism is ultimately an altruistic act in the eyes of its participants. This book highlights the importance of the desire to belong to a group as a motivating factor, and argues that all of us face an eternal trade-off between selfishness and community concern. This hypothesis is explored through four key groups; the IRA in Northern Ireland, Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Naxalites in India. Through this, the book analyzes the birth, growth, transformation and demise of violent political movements, and ends with an analysis of the conditions which determine the outcome of the war against terrorism. Understanding Terrorism and Political Violence will be essential reading for advanced students of terrorism studies and political science, and of great interest to students of social psychology and sociology.

Although there has been an increase in research on terrorism across the social and behavioural sciences in the past few decades, until recently most of this work has originated from political science, psychology or economics. Therefore, our focus in this book on criminological conceptual frameworks and empirical studies that engage terrorism and responses to it is unique. We include a distinguished group of researchers that offer their distinctive insights into criminological perspectives on terrorism. The contributors focus on criminological perspectives that have rarely, if ever, been previously applied to the study of terrorism. This includes a range of perspectives from rational choice to social disorganization; from strain to routine activities theory. This volume will advance understanding of terrorism by taking advantage of criminological contributions, and at the same time will serve as a useful update to the criminologists and their students already working in this area. It would also be a helpful introduction to those criminologists and their students who would like to be more engaged in this important area of research. This book was originally published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.

The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism systematically integrates the substantial body of scholarship on terrorism and counterterrorism before and after 9/11. In doing so, it introduces scholars and practitioners to state of the art approaches, methods, and issues in studying and teaching these vital phenomena. This Handbook goes further than most existing collections by giving structure and direction to the fast-growing but somewhat disjointed field of terrorism studies. The volume locates terrorism within the wider spectrum of political violence instead of engaging in the widespread tendency towards treating terrorism as an exceptional act. Moreover, the volume makes a case for studying terrorism within its socio-historical context. Finally, the volume addresses the critique that the study of terrorism suffers from lack of theory by reviewing and extending the theoretical insights contributed by several fields - including political science, political economy, history, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, geography, and psychology. In doing so, the volume showcases the analytical advancements and reflects on the challenges that remain since the emergence of the field in the early 1970s.

By analytically decoupling war and violence, this book explores the causes and dynamics of violence in civil war. Against the prevailing view that such violence is an instance of impenetrable madness, the book demonstrates that there is logic to it and that it has much less to do with collective emotions, ideologies, and cultures than currently believed. Kalyvas specifies a novel theory of selective violence: it is jointly produced by political actors seeking information and individual civilians trying to avoid the worst but also grabbing what opportunities their predicament affords them. Violence, he finds, is never a simple reflection of the optimal strategy of its users; its profoundly interactive character defeats simple maximization logics while producing surprising outcomes, such as relative nonviolence in the 'frontlines' of civil war.

This book introduces you to the key issues in contemporary studies on Terrorism. Its interdisciplinary approach provides a unique intellectual rigour which introduces readers to cutting-edge research. Bringing together chapters contributed by members of the Terrorism and Political Violence Association network, it offers an insight into a variety of traditional and critical perspectives. It also equips Undergraduate and Postgraduate students with the study skills needed to succeed in coursework and assignments, especially dissertation work. Drawing on the expertise of TAPVA members, this book: Explores contemporary issues, such as drone warfare, state violence, children and political violence, cyber-terrorism and de-radicalisation. Features case studies drawn from a range of international examples, lists of further reading, key concepts and questions for use in seminars and private study. Provides you with study skills content designed to help you complete your dissertation. This is the perfect textbook to guide you through your studies in terrorism, political violence, international security and strategic studies.

This interdisciplinary Handbook brings together into one coherent volume a range of international authors, who firmly establish the relevance of war within the discipline of criminology. The chapters address emerging and prevailing issues in the criminological study of war, including state crime, corporate crime, victimology, genocide, policing, security and various forms of violence. Taking a critical standpoint including feminist, cultural, and radical approaches amongst others, the Handbook is split into five clear sections: (1) The Criminogenic Contexts of War; (2) Violence and Victimization at War; (3) Violence, War and Security; (4) Perpetrators of Violence and the Aftermath of War; and (5) Cultural and Methodological Developments for a Criminology of War. Edited by two leading experts in the field, this Handbook provides an original point of reference on the contemporary debates and applications of criminology and war and will be a key resource for academics and students across criminology, international relations, critical military studies, military sociology, peace studies and law.