The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as 'the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.' While terrorism has been around for centuries, it was the al Qa'eda attacks of September 11, 2001, that brought home to the world, and most particularly the United States, just how dangerous terrorism can be. The third edition of the Historical Dictionary of Terrorism presents the full spectrum of forms of political violence through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on major terrorist groups and their leaders, significant terrorist events, cyber-terrorism, counterterrorism, and social science concepts regarding the motivations and group dynamics of terrorist groups. Authors Sean K. Anderson and Stephen Sloan move beyond the gut reaction we have to this volatile and divisive topic by providing a reliable and objective reference on terrorism.

Terrorism is one of the primary concerns of the modern world and is increasingly becoming a major factor in all international relations in the 21st century. This revised and updated second edition of a major reference work in the area contains definitions and descriptions of all aspects of terrorism and political violence, including: * individual terrorists * terrorist organisations * terrorist incidents * countries affected by terrorism * types of terrorism * measures against terrorism * forms of political violence * history of terrorism * psychology of terrorism

One of the defining features of the post-9/11 world is the extent to which terrorism has become a key organising principle for domestic and international politics. Introduced by an essay exploring the complex nature of terrorism and with more than 250 entries, each containing suggestions for further reading, the Dictionary of Terrorism provides an overview of the key themes, individuals, organizations and tactics that have shaped terrorism throughout history and into the contemporary world. It covers: Events such as the 9/11 attacks and the 7/7 London bombings Terrorist organizations from the Assassins of the first century to the modern Zapatista Army of National Liberation Biographies of individual terrorists ranging from Abu Ayyub al-Masri to Abu Zubaydah with extensive coverage given to key figures such as Osama bin Laden Terrorist tactics such as bombings, hijacking and hostage taking Key international counter-terrorism conventions The Dictionary of Terrorism is an easily accessible resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, policy-makers and anyone seeking to understand the nature of political, ethnic and religious violence in the world today.

This newly revised and updated Dictionary contains a wealth of information regarding major terrorist groups, significant terrorist events and the weapons behind the terror. Beginning with acts of terrorism from the first century Judean Zealots and Sicarii to latter-day leftist, rightist and fundamentalist militants, this book offers insight into how and why such groups originated.

In The Meaning of Terrorism, C. A. J. Coady clarifies competing and confusing definitions of terrorism, and of terrorist acts, that proliferate in specialist publications as well as in popular discourse. Coady aims to construct a concept of a terrorist act that both reflects a central core of these different understandings, which provides for a more coherent and fruitful discussion of terrorism and its moral and political significance. The goal is therefore not only to gain clarity about what the term designates, but also to probe various dimensions of the moral meaning of our understanding of terrorism for complex social and political circumstances. The opening chapters sketch the commonly propounded definitions, and propose what Coady calls a "tactical definition", with a focus on terrorist acts as violent attacks upon non-combatants or innocents. The benefits of such an approach are laid out, and defences against numerous objections that can be and have been made to it are given. The book critically discusses theorists who argue that, independent of its definition, terrorist acts have a special, and profoundly disturbing, moral significance. Coady explores the scope and meaning of non-combatant status and its relation to recent controversies in the philosophy of war, and discusses important attempted philosophical defences of terrorism for certain contexts. The book closes with a discussion of the moral challenges facing attempts at counter-terrorism, and examines the commonly held view that religion is particularly prone to cause terrorism or some of its most extreme manifestations.

This book examines the attempts by the international community and the United Nations to define and criminalise terrorism. In doing so, it explores the difficult legal, ethical and philosophical questions involved in deciding when political violence is, or is not, permissible.

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.

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 analyses 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. Analysing 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. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Covering every important legal concept used in the discussion of contemporary terrorism, this dictionary offers a clear and understandable description of each term including a definition, an explanation of its legal significance as it applies to specific terrorist circumstances, and other relevant elements that provide a full comprehension of the concept. The extensive list of terms includes terrorist case law, statutory law and individual descriptions of major terrorist groups and attacks. The thematic organization of this dictionary allows for a simple and orderly understanding and review of the topics involved in the application of the law to events and cases forming the field of political violence. All persons interested in learning about the legal environment that applies to terrorism should find this work ideal and comprehensive; especially those in the military, state security, government officials, and lawyers should find it to be an essential reference book.

The events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, profoundly changed the course of history of the nation. They also brought the phenomenon known as terrorism to the forefront of the nation's consciousness. As it became thus focused, the limits of scientific understanding of terrorism and the capacity to develop policies to deal with it became even more evident. The objective of this report is to bring behavioral and social science perspectives to bear on the nature, determinants, and domestic responses to contemporary terrorism as a way of making theoretical and practical knowledge more adequate to the task. It also identifies areas of research priorities for the behavioral and social sciences.