Understanding Terrorism and Political Violence: The Life Cycle of Birth, Growth, Transformation, and Demise

by Gupta; Dipak K.

• ISBN13: 9780415771658
• ISBN10: 041577165X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-05-13
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This ambitious book has two inter-related objectives, proposing a new theory of human behaviour and then analyzing terrorism in the light of this general theory. It starts with a new theoretical construct regarding individual motivations. Dipak Gupta posits that in order to understand human motivation, along with self-interest, we must take into account our other primordial instinct: to belong to a group. On the basis of this expanded view of human motivations, the book provides an understanding of the lifecycle of terrorist organizations. Since the lifecycle of a group is inextricably intertwined with public policies, the author also examines the role of the authorities in promoting, maintaining, and suppressing violent dissent. This innovative and broad-ranging new book will be essential reading for advanced students of terrorism studies and political science, and of great interest to students of social psychology and sociology.

Author Biography

Dipak K. Gupta is the Fred J. Hansen Professor of Peace Studies and the Distinguished Professor in Political Science at San Diego State University, California. He is author of seven books

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. x
List of tables	p. xi
Foreword	p. xii
Preface: "The years that try a man's soul": a personal narrative	p. xiv
Acknowledgments	p. xx
Introduction	p. 1
Theories of the origins of movements	p. 11
Selfish altruist: modeling the mind of a terrorist	p. 32
The dynamics of dissent: a theoretical perspective	p. 64
Faith, nationalism, and class warfare: the birth of a movement	p. 102
Growth of a movement: accounting for rapid escalation of violence	p. 123
A marriage made in hell? Terrorism and organized crime	p. 146
Demise of dissent: the endgame of terrorism	p. 161
Terrorism's trap: a winnable war?	p. 181
Trade-off between interests of the individual and the collective: an expanded assumption of rationality	p. 207
Terrorism and organized crime: a formal model	p. 211
Notes	p. 215
Bibliography	p. 242
Index	p. 274
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