Terrorism: A Very Short Introduction

Description

Is one person's terrorist another's freedom fighter? Is terrorism crime or war? Can there be a "War on Terror"? For many, the terrorist attacks of September 2001 changed the face of the world, pushing terrorism to the top of political agendas, and leading to a series of world events including the war in Iraq and the invasion of Afghanistan. The recent terror attacks in various European cities have shown that terrorism remains a crucial issue today. Charting a clear path through the efforts to understand and explain modern terrorism, Charles Townshend examines the historical, ideological, and local roots of terrorist violence. Starting from the question of why terrorists find it so easy to seize public attention, this new edition analyzes the emergence of terrorism as a political strategy, and discusses the objectives which have been pursued by users of this strategy from French revolutionaries to Islamic jihadists. Considering the kinds of groups and individuals who adopt terrorism, Townshend discusses the emergence of ISIS and the upsurge in individual suicide action, and explores the issues involved in finding a proportionate response to the threat they present, particularly by liberal democratic societies. Analyzing the growing use of knives and other edged weapons in attacks, and the issue of "cyberterror," Townshend details the use of counterterrorist measures, from control orders to drone strikes, including the Belgian and French responses to the Brussels, Paris, Nice, and Rouen attacks. Halftitle page......Page 2 Series page......Page 3 Title page......Page 17 Copyright page......Page 18 Contents......Page 19 List of illustrations......Page 20 1 The trouble with terrorism......Page 21 The problem of definition......Page 23 Terrorism and war......Page 25 Strategies of terror......Page 29 Organization and arms......Page 33 Terror and politics......Page 34 Women and terrorism......Page 36 The good terrorist......Page 40 Freedom fighters?......Page 42 International terrorism......Page 46 Superterror, cyberterror?......Page 49 Terror and purification......Page 53 White, black, red terror......Page 56 Free-range terrorism......Page 61 Ultraterrorism......Page 62 4 Revolutionary terrorism......Page 66 Two ages of terrorism_ 1......Page 67 Two ages of terrorism_ 2......Page 71 The Latin American link......Page 73 Groupuscular terrorism......Page 78 5 Nationalism and terror......Page 82 The case of Irish republicanism......Page 84 Violence or politics: the case of ETA......Page 89 Zionism and the problem of territory......Page 92 Can terror liberate nations?......Page 95 6 Religious terror......Page 99 Religion and violence......Page 101 Destruction or persuasion?......Page 102 Religion into politics......Page 103 Messianism and millenarianism......Page 104 Suicide and self-sacrifice......Page 106 Fundamentalism......Page 107 Antiterrorist, counterterrorist?......Page 115 Threats and responses......Page 116 Proportionality and aptness......Page 118 Strategic choices......Page 121 Domestic policy......Page 124 The international difficulty......Page 126 State sponsorship......Page 129 Cost and effectiveness......Page 132 Democracy against terrorism......Page 133 Freedom or security?......Page 135 How terrorism ends......Page 138 References......Page 139 Further reading......Page 148 Publisher’s acknowledgements......Page 151 Index......Page 152 Geopolitics......Page 163 Human Rights......Page 164 International Migration......Page 165