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

by Dipak K. Gupta

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.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Pike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The in depth analysis of the four main terror groups feels extremely rushed and condensed when so much of the first half of the book is just going over philosophical and political theory. I am not a political student, scholar, or even in the field so I am biased in where I am coming from; the run on description and over analysis of what seem to be very introductory and regurgitates over and over in the first 70 pages, and was overkill in analysis. I think if I was a student reading this, I would bash my head in.

I wish for a better breakdown of why such groups can take hold and grapple with power, hold the world captive at times, and their failures in a more precise way then this book. Reading interviews or first hand accounts of terror groups for their recruitment, goals, and what they wish to counter seems to be a better route to understanding terrorism, political violence, and the nuances around this book sadly.