Concise yet comprehensive, this one-volume reference examines the history of terrorism in the modern world, including its origins and development, and terrorist acts by groups and individuals from the French Revolution to today. Organized thematically and regionally, it outlines major developments in conflicts that involved terrorism, the history of terrorist groups, key aspects of counterterrorist policy, and specific terrorist incidents.Initial chapters explore terrorism as a social force, and analyze the use of terrorism as a political tool, both historically and in the contemporary world. Subsequent chapters focus on different parts of the world and consider terrorism as a part of larger disputes. Each chapter begins with a historical introduction and analysis of the topic or region, followed by one or more chronologies that trace events within political and social contexts. A glossary, selected bibliography, and detailed index are also included.

A groundbreaking history of the roots of modern terrorism, ranging from early modern Europe to the contemporary Middle East.

First published in English in 2007 under title: The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda.

A rich collection of studies by mental health professionals that provide a deep understanding of the nature of psychological trauma induced by modern terrorism

Concise yet comprehensive, this one-volume reference examines the history of terrorism in the modern world, including its origins and development, and terrorist acts by groups and individuals from the French Revolution to today. Organized thematically and regionally, it outlines major developments in conflicts that involved terrorism, the history of terrorist groups, key aspects of counterterrorist policy, and specific terrorist incidents.Initial chapters explore terrorism as a social force, and analyze the use of terrorism as a political tool, both historically and in the contemporary world. Subsequent chapters focus on different parts of the world and consider terrorism as a part of larger disputes. Each chapter begins with a historical introduction and analysis of the topic or region, followed by one or more chronologies that trace events within political and social contexts. A glossary, selected bibliography, and detailed index are also included.

A fundamentally new interpretation of the emergence of modern terrorism, arguing that it formed in the Russian literary imagination well before any shot was fired or bomb exploded.

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.

This second comprehensive chronology of international terrorist attacks covers three eventful years during which the Islamic State supplanted al-Qaeda as the most active, well-financed and well-armed terrorist group worldwide. Domestic and international incidents around the globe are covered, outlining several trends and exploding a number of media myths. The author examines the enigmas of contemporary terrorist behavior and offers indicators and predictions to watch for in the coming years.

Examines global terrorist networks and discusses the long-term future of terrorism.

Terrorism is a persistent form of political violence, but it appears intermittently, afflicting certain places in certain eras while others remain unscathed. Since the late nineteenth century, it has risen and fallen in recurrent generation-long spasms in which hundreds of short-lived groups wreak havoc. Why have past outbreaks of terror tended to come in waves, and how does this pattern shed light on future threats? David C. Rapoport, a preeminent scholar of political violence, identifies and analyzes four distinct waves of global terrorism. He examines the dynamics of each wave, contrasting their tactics, targets, and goals and placing them in the context of the much longer history of terrorism. Global terror emerged in the 1880s after technological changes transformed communication and transportation and dynamite enabled individuals or small groups to carry out bombings. Emanating from Russia, a first wave of anarchists assassinated prominent figures in what they called “propaganda of the deed.” This was followed by a second wave of anticolonial terrorism that arose in the British Empire in the 1920s. Beginning in the 1960s, a third wave of New Left movements took hostages and hijacked airplanes. Most recently, religious movements—mostly but not entirely in the Islamic world—have constituted a fourth wave, pioneering self-martyrdom or suicide bombing. Rapoport also considers whether a fifth wave of anti-immigrant or white supremacist terror is emerging today. Recasting the complex history of modern political violence, Waves of Global Terrorism makes a major contribution to our understanding of the roots of contemporary terrorism.