The Terrorism Lectures, 2nd Edition, is a collection of timely and engaging lessons directly from the classroom of terrorism expert James J. F. Forest. The book and accompanying online materials delve into the history of terrorism, its root causes, its many forms and organizations, as well as the frameworks that analysts use to determine the scope of terrorist threats.

The Terrorism Lectures, 3rd Edition, is a collection of timely and engaging lessons directly from the classroom of terrorism expert James J. F. Forest. The book and accompanying online materials delve into the history of terrorism, its root causes and enablers, its many forms and organizations, as well as the frameworks that analysts use to determine the scope of terrorist threats. The Terrorism Lectures is an essential work for students, scholars, and national security practitioners. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: James J.F. Forest, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of the Security Studies program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is also a Senior Fellow with the U.S. Joint Special Operations University, and a Visiting Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He has served in all three positions simultaneously since 2010. Dr. Forest was previously the Director of Terrorism Studies at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, and he has taught courses and seminars for a broad range of civilian, law enforcement, and military audiences in several countries for nearly two decades. He has also published 20 books and dozens of journal articles, served as an expert witness for terrorism-related court cases, and testified before members of Congress. AUTHOR HOME: Lowell, M

The authoritative compendium for students of terrorism and counterterrorism.

This book looks at recent, high-profile anti-American terrorism crises: the Cuban skyjacking epidemic; the Tehran hostage-taking; the Beirut kidnappings; and Al Qaeda suicide bombing. It then explains how they come to an end using a framework of conflict resolution concepts: conflict ripeness and stalemate, turning points, negotiation readiness, and interest-based bargaining combined with shifts in decision-making strategies.

During the last ten years an increasing number of government and media reports, scholarly books and journal articles, and other publications have focused our attention on the expanded range of interactions between international organized crime and terrorist networks. A majority of these interactions have been in the form of temporary organizational alliances (or customer-supplier relationships) surrounding a specific type of transaction or resource exchange, like document fraud or smuggling humans, drugs or weapons across a particular border. The environment in which terrorists and criminals operate is also a central theme of this literature. These research trends suggest the salience of this book which addresses how organized criminal and terrorist networks collaborate, share knowledge and learn from each other in ways that expand their operational capabilities. The book contains broad conceptual pieces, historical analyses, and case studies that highlight different facets of the intersection between crime and terrorism. These chapters collectively help us to identify and appreciate a variety of dynamics at the individual, organizational, and contextual levels. These dynamics, in turn, inform a deeper understanding of the security threat posted by terrorists and criminal networks and how to respond more effectively. This book was published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.

In the world of terrorism, knowledge is a critical asset. Recent studies have revealed that, among international terrorists, there is a global sharing of ideas, tactics, strategies, and lessons learned. Teaching Terror examines this sharing of information in the terrorist world, shaping our understanding of, and response to, the global threat of terrorism. Chapters cover various aspects of individual and organizational learning, some using a general level of analysis and others presenting case studies of individual terrorist groups. These groups teach each other through a variety of means, including training camps and the Internet. Terrorist networks are also learning organizations, drawing on situational awareness, adapting their behavior, and, to give one example, improving not just their use of improvised explosive devices, but also rendering technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite phones ineffective. This book provides a wealth of insights on the transfer of knowledge in the world of terrorism, and offers policy implications for counterterrorism professionals, scholars, and policymakers.

Like many people in America and around the world, Talal Asad experienced the events of September 11, 2001, largely through the media and the emotional response of others. For many non-Muslims, "the suicide bomber" quickly became the icon of "an Islamic culture of death" a conceptual leap that struck Asad as problematic. Is there a "religiously-motivated terrorism?" If so, how does it differ from other cruelties? What makes its motivation "religious"? Where does it stand in relation to other forms of collective violence? Drawing on his extensive scholarship in the study of secular and religious traditions as well as his understanding of social, political, and anthropological theory and research, Asad questions Western assumptions regarding death and killing. He scrutinizes the idea of a "clash of civilizations," the claim that "Islamic jihadism" is the essence of modern terror, and the arguments put forward by liberals to justify war in our time. He critically engages with a range of explanations of suicide terrorism, exploring many writers' preoccupation with the motives of perpetrators. In conclusion, Asad examines our emotional response to suicide (including suicide terrorism) and the horror it invokes. On Suicide Bombing is an original and provocative analysis critiquing the work of intellectuals from both the left and the right. Though fighting evil is an old concept, it has found new and disturbing expressions in our contemporary "war on terror." For Asad, it is critical that we remain aware of the forces shaping the discourse surrounding this mode of violence, and by questioning our assumptions about morally good and morally evil ways of killing, he illuminates the fragile contradictions that are a part of our modern subjectivity.

An extraordinary story, never before told: The intimate, behind-the-scenes life of an American boy raised by his terrorist father—the man who planned the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. What is it like to grow up with a terrorist in your home? Zak Ebrahim was only seven years old when, on November 5th, 1990, his father El-Sayyid Nosair shot and killed the leader of the Jewish Defense League. While in prison, Nosair helped plan the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. In one of his infamous video messages, Osama bin Laden urged the world to “Remember El-Sayyid Nosair.” For Zak Ebrahim, a childhood amongst terrorism was all he knew. After his father’s incarceration, his family moved often, and as the perpetual new kid in class, he faced constant teasing and exclusion. Yet, though his radicalized father and uncles modeled fanatical beliefs, to Ebrahim something never felt right. To the shy, awkward boy, something about the hateful feelings just felt unnatural. In this book, Ebrahim dispels the myth that terrorism is a foregone conclusion for people trained to hate. Based on his own remarkable journey, he shows that hate is always a choice—but so is tolerance. Though Ebrahim was subjected to a violent, intolerant ideology throughout his childhood, he did not become radicalized. Ebrahim argues that people conditioned to be terrorists are actually well positioned to combat terrorism, because of their ability to bring seemingly incompatible ideologies together in conversation and advocate in the fight for peace. Ebrahim argues that everyone, regardless of their upbringing or circumstances, can learn to tap into their inherent empathy and embrace tolerance over hatred. His original, urgent message is fresh, groundbreaking, and essential to the current discussion about terrorism.

The new edition of this best-selling insight into terrorism today has been fully updated and revised to include what the author terms the new ‘militant Moslem international.’ Drawing directly on the words and ideas of terrorists themselves, this book is an examination of patterns, current trends and future threats in terrorism worldwide. It explores the ideology and psychology, the politics and policies, the strategies and operations of many active small groups and major insurgencies. The terrorist leader emerges as a calculating, innovated and often well-educated person whose use of violence against the innocent is calibrated for maximum effects. The closing chapter is a stimulating discussion of the problems of counter-terrorism, making several key recommendations. Terrorism Today will be essential reading for students of terrorism, counter-insurgency and international security.

An award-winning historian and journalist tells the very human story of apartheid’s afterlife, tracing the fates of South African insurgents, collaborators, and the security police through the tale of the clandestine photo album used to target apartheid’s enemies. From the 1960s until the early 1990s, the South African security police and counterinsurgency units collected over 7,000 photographs of apartheid’s enemies. The political rogue’s gallery was known as the “terrorist album,” copies of which were distributed covertly to police stations throughout the country. Many who appeared in the album were targeted for surveillance. Sometimes the security police tried to turn them; sometimes the goal was elimination. All of the albums were ordered destroyed when apartheid’s violent collapse began. But three copies survived the memory purge. With full access to one of these surviving albums, award-winning South African historian and journalist Jacob Dlamini investigates the story behind these images: their origins, how they were used, and the lives they changed. Extensive interviews with former targets and their family members testify to the brutal and often careless work of the police. Although the police certainly hunted down resisters, the terrorist album also contains mug shots of bystanders and even regime supporters. Their inclusion is a stark reminder that apartheid’s guardians were not the efficient, if morally compromised, law enforcers of legend but rather blundering agents of racial panic. With particular attentiveness to the afterlife of apartheid, Dlamini uncovers the stories of former insurgents disenchanted with today’s South Africa, former collaborators seeking forgiveness, and former security police reinventing themselves as South Africa’s newest export: “security consultants” serving as mercenaries for Western nations and multinational corporations. The Terrorist Album is a brilliant evocation of apartheid’s tragic caprice, ultimate failure, and grim legacy.