Psychological Factors in Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Individual, Group, and Organizational Levels of Analysis

This article explores psychological factors involved in terrorism and counterterrorism on individual, group, and organizational levels of analysis. On the individual level, we describe attempts to understand terrorist behavior as a form of psychopathology and/or as reflecting a unique constellation of personality traits. We also consider whether there exists a general motivational basis for participating in terrorism. On the group level of analysis, we address the process of shared reality construction, social influence involved in recruitment of new members to terrorist organization, their indoctrination into terrorist ideology, and the use of language in creating terrorism warranting norms. On the organizational level, we consider issues of training, logistics, and cost effectiveness as they apply to the decisions to launch or abstain from terrorist activities. We conclude by considering the implications of our analysis for possible ways and means for countering terrorism.     

Sources of Support for Mandatory Military Service in the Context of the War on Terrorism: Survey Evidence Pre‐ and Post‐September 11, 2001*

Objectives. The advent of the War on Terrorism raises the question of the short‐term impacts on public opinion of terrorist attacks with respect to the idea of universal military service in the United States. Previous studies indicate that international crises tend to produce a polarizing effect on public opinion with respect to military service. Methods. Multinomial logistic regression analysis is used here to analyze an archival data set featuring survey data collected among 18,000+ citizens in 18 major U.S. metropolitan areas in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Results and Conclusions. This article offers further support for previous analyses into the principal sources of support for military service. However, the analysis also indicates that the initial impact of the War on Terrorism may have been to produce a decline in support for mandatory military service and a mild unifying effect on the distribution of attitudes rather than the expected polarization. Attitudes toward military service were more polarized in 2000 and 2001 than in the post‐9/11 2002 studies.     

Islamisation and activism of a Muslim NGO in Pakistan: Jama'at‐ud‐Da'wa as a case study

This paper locates the study of Jamat‐ud‐Da'wa (JUD) within the context of global political developments. Premised on the nexus between the local and the global developments, it discusses how changes in the domestic or international arena shaped the policies of JUD after 9/11. It argues that, as a successor to the Lashker‐e‐Toiba in Pakistan, the JUD has been active in the social welfare space. It has moved into roles that reside in the domain of the state's responsibility but have passed to the private sector due to the state's failure to meet the needs of its citizens, including the provision of education and relief and rescue efforts after natural disasters. Though not categorically identified as being part of the jihadi agenda, this activism increases the appeal of the JUD among Pakistani citizens, with a possibility of increasing their declared and/or active support for JUD's views on Pakistan's foreign policy.     

Terrorism,military operations and farmer’s income in Waziristan (Pakistan)

This study examined the impact of military operations induced by terrorism on farmer’s income by collecting data from North and South Waziristan Agencies in Pakistan. Both regions have similar climate, lifestyle and agricultural activities but North was facing war while there was no war on terrorism in South. Data were collected from 110 respondents through interviews by using structured questionnaire. In estimated models, North Waziristan farmers’ income was significantly lower than the South Waziristan farmers due to military operation induced by terrorism. Government of Pakistan can enhance farm income by promoting education, livestock, orchard farming, market access and extension services.     

Terrorism‐Centric Behaviors and Adversarial Threat Awareness*

This article estimates situational awareness in a diverse collection of police officers with respect to their individual ability to identify nine key behaviors that are indicative of terrorism activity. The selected group of police officers was drawn from state, county, and municipal law enforcement organizations. The terrorist‐centric behaviors were presented to the test group in multicomponent text‐based scenarios that emulate real‐world police events and respondents were instructed to rate each scenario component on an 11‐point Likert‐type suspicion scale. With the exception of terrorist fundraising, law enforcement personnel tended to view all of the terrorist‐centric activities and behaviors as at least “somewhat suspicious.” The activities that could also be associated with “conventional” criminality such as weapons acquisition received higher ratings than those activities more exclusively related to terrorism such as recruiting. We also noted statistically significant differences based on agency type, officers’ assignment (patrol or detective), experience, gender, agency size, and education. Race had no effect.     

Sectarian terrorism in Pakistan: Causes,impact and remedies

Although terrorism has been widely studied for its impact and potential determinants in Pakistan, the answer to the policy question regarding the role of external factors in influencing specifically the sectarian terrorism is not empirically well researched. The study, particularly, analyses the role of Pakistan’s regional foreign policy towards neighbouring India, Afghan wars, and the relations with bi-polar fundamental Muslim Block, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Iran, on sectarian (religious) terrorist incidents for the period 1973–2017. The findings suggest that economic cooperation with India which drive peace-making relations increases the sectarian terrorism. Both the bilateral loans disbursed by the KSA and trade relations with Iran, significantly increase the chances of sectarian terrorism in Pakistan by activating extremist (proxy) groups. However, the Afghan Wars that call for Pak-US strategic partnership helps Pakistan to control the religious terrorism.     

Sociotropic Concerns and Support for Counterterrorism Policies*

Objective. An individual's personal experiences and perception of the collective experience are often linked to political attitudes, especially those concerning the national economy. In this article, we examine whether personal concern about terrorism and perceptions of public concern about terrorism affect attitudes about counterterrorism policies. In addition, we evaluate which factor is the strongest predictor across several counterterrorism policies. Method. We analyze individual‐level survey data collected during the fall of 2001. Results. Our results indicate that perceptions of public concerns are the strongest and most consistent predictor of policy attitudes about terrorism. Conclusion. The implications for theory about perceptions of public opinion and the competing role of personal interest and sociotropic concern are discussed.     

美国与印度的反恐合作：内容、问题与前景

九一一事件后美国和印度加强了在反恐方面的合作。双方的合作在一系列机制的基础上取得了进展,充实了美印战略伙伴关系。但是,美印反恐合作仍然存在诸多制约因素,主要表现为：双方在反恐问题上的利益和战略不同;双方对一些安全问题的看法不同以及印度国内反恐体系存在弊端等。2008年11月的孟买恐怖袭击案发生后,虽然美印双方都表示应加强反恐合作,但仍有一些不确定性因素将会影响合作的有效开展。     

The 9/11 effect: Toward a social science of the terrorist threat

After 9/11, public attitudes on numerous social issues changed. While many studies have examined post-9/11 attitude trends on specific topics, such as civil liberties or war, few have investigated the scope and variety of these effects. Did the events of 9/11 have a brief effect on a limited number of attitudes, or did they produce numerous, long-term changes in the way Americans think, feel and act? Drawing on a broad range of pre-post-9/11 studies, this review essay begins to answer this question by developing a framework for categorizing these effects and distinguishing short-term changes from long-term ones. The framework is intended to help facilitate an interdisciplinary social scientific research agenda on the effects of 9/11 and other terrorist acts. The essay concludes by explaining the social importance of the public's response to terrorism and the need for further research on this topic.     

Crowding Out or Welfare Promotion? How Foreign Aid Affects Social Expenditures in Latin American Welfare Systems

Foreign assistance constitutes a significant share of government revenue in many low‐ and middle‐income economies and is targeted at poverty reduction and the promotion of social and economic well‐being. This study therefore examines fiscal responses by Latin American welfare states to the inflow of such aid. As a form of external non‐tax revenue, aid can function as a substitution for public welfare expenditure, with a crowding out effect being the likely outcome. This article investigates whether overall aid and aid that is particularly targeted at the social sector substitutes public welfare provision and, if so, whether it also substitutes its function. A time‐series cross‐section analysis of 19 Latin American countries for the period 1980–2008 provides limited support for the assumption that foreign aid payments influence the welfare budget. It is only the health care sector in middle‐income countries which experiences a small decrease in expenditures. Social security and education expenditures are not affected.     

“一带一路”视域下中国对巴基斯坦援助研究

巴基斯坦是中国对外援助的重点国家,中国对巴基斯坦援助涵盖了战略性援助、发展性援助和人道主义援助等类型,援助领域主要集中在经济基础设施方面.经过实证分析,中国援助带动了巴基斯坦国内生产总值、中国与巴基斯坦双边贸易额以及中国对巴基斯坦直接投资的增长,给巴基斯坦经济发展带来了切实的帮助,但这也容易让巴基斯坦形成对中国的“援助依赖”.巴基斯坦国内的不稳定因素和国际局势变化会影响中国对巴基斯坦的援助效果.共建“一带一路”之际,中国需适时调整对巴基斯坦的援助策略,努力打造更加紧密的中巴命运共同体,开辟合作共赢新征程,共享合作发展新成果.     

Are Terrorists Mentally Deranged?

Recent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon have accentuated the threat of terrorism. However, it appears that the attackers are popularly thought of as mentally deranged individuals who are evil. This article suggests that such an understanding is a misperception of these people and may interfere with an adequate response to prevent future attacks. The article reviews the extant literature on psychological theories of terrorism and concludes that terrorists are not dysfunctional or pathological; rather, it suggests that terrorism is basically another form of politically motivated violence that is perpetrated by rational, lucid people who have valid motives. The only real difference between terrorism and conventional military action is one of strategy. Terrorists lack the necessary resources to wage war in furtherance of their political goals.     

Macroeconomic consequences of terrorism in Pakistan

The objective of the study examines the macroeconomic consequences of terrorism in Pakistan. The study evaluates the short- and long-run relationship between terrorism and economic factors over a period of 1975–2011. Both objectives have been achieved with the sophisticated econometrics techniques including cointegration theory, Granger causality test and variance decomposition, etc. The result reveals that macroeconomic factors, i.e., population growth, price level, poverty and political instability cause the terrorism incidence in Pakistan. However, income inequality, unemployment and trade openness have no long-run relationship with the terrorism incidence in Pakistan. The study may conclude that, for some how, Pakistan's macroeconomic indicators have significant long-run equilibrium with terrorism incidence. The result of Granger causality indicates that except unemployment, all other macroeconomic indicators have unidirectional causality with terrorism incidence. Unemployment has a bi-directional causality with the terrorism incidence in Pakistan. The results of variance decomposition indicate that there exists statistically significant cointegration among macroeconomic factors and terrorism incidence in Pakistan. Among macroeconomic factors, changes in price level exert the largest influence on terrorism in Pakistan. Contrary, the influence of poverty seems relatively the least contribution level for changes in terrorism incidence in Pakistan.     

当前全球恐怖主义的现状与发展态势

作者从全球恐怖袭击的数量和烈度、恐怖组织的类型、组织和人员数量等方面,对当前全球恐怖主义的现状进行了简要的梳理和分析,指出了恐怖主义的一些新态势和特点,并对当前国际社会反恐斗争中存在的主要问题进行了简要归纳。最后指出,反恐的根本出路在于,各国和国际社会应脚踏实地逐渐消除恐怖主义产生、发展的根源和土壤,并切实加强国际反恐合作。     

Reflections on September 11: Lessons From Four Psychological Perspectives

Several of the major theoretical perspectives within psychology can contribute to our understanding of the September 11 attacks and their aftermath. An argument derived from the psychodynamic approach suggests that terrorism may be a product of ambivalence rather than anger. From an evolutionary standpoint, the resentment that breeds terrorism, and the altruism that has arisen in its wake, may be seen as two sides of the same coin. The decision theoretic approach suggests that in the attempt to prevent future terrorist attacks, we face a seeming tradeoff between civil rights and civil liberties. Finally, the personality development approach suggests that difficult times can help forge new moral leaders.     

Brutality of Jihadist terrorism. A contest theory perspective and empirical evidence in the period 2002–2010

We interpret the emergence of Jihadist terrorism in the light of contest theory. Al Qaeda may be portrayed as a contest organizer, providing a ‘prize’ to the best terrorist group. Each group maximizes its probability of winning by launching attacks more destructive than previous ones perpetrated by competing groups. This hypothesis is confirmed by the empirical analysis which shows that the number of victims of terrorist attacks increases compared to number of victims of previous attacks in the same country. An upward trend in terrorist brutality is the outcome of competition between groups. Results also show that Al Qaeda-style terrorism is associated with poverty and underprivileged socio-economic conditions.     

Child Well‐Being Scales (CWBS) in the assessment of families and children in home‐care intervention: an empirical study

This paper reports research carried out in Italy designed to investigate the usability of Child Well‐Being Scale (CWBS) for the outcome evaluation of home‐care interventions for vulnerable families and children in need. Using a pre‐ and post‐test design, the study traces the changes in 18 vulnerable families and 23 children in need included in a programme of home‐care intervention over a period of 11 months. All the families and children were assessed twice: at intake and at the end of the intervention (after 6 months). Furthermore, 10 families and 11 children had a longer intervention and were assessed three times. Moreover, two focus groups involving 13 home‐care workers and 11 face‐to‐face interviews were used to collect practitioners' points of views on CWBS. The results generally support the idea that families' and children's situation improved over time, as shown by an improvement in almost all of the considered dimensions after 6 months and after 11 months. Specifically, the families improved more on household adequacy in the long term while children on the child performance dimension improved in the short term. Practitioners reported that CWBS was an aid to multi‐professional decision‐making, as the systematic evaluation of the subscales was a practical base upon which to activate shared decision‐making during the casework.     

日本对非提供政府发展援助的“政治功能”评析

非洲在日本的外交战略中占有重要地位,对非政府发展援助是日本开拓非洲外交的核心途径和基本方式。日本对非政府发展援助的政策目标虽然在不同的历史时期有着不同的侧重点,但是对经济和政治目标的追求一直是日本对非政府发展援助的基础,同时也具有日本战后塑造自身身份,在其印度洋战略和地缘政治外交背景下寻求国内外政策平衡的重要特性。日本积极扮演了对非援助提供者的角色,一方面在客观上促进了非洲地区国家的发展,另一方面也有助于其在此过程中建构大国领导形象以及维持自身经济的可持续发展。但日本要继续扩大对非政府发展援助,在诸多方面都存有困境,并且难以实现其关键性政策目标。     

The Global Governance of Terrorism: An Assessment of Different Regimes*

Breakthroughs in the global governance of terrorism depend mainly on the development on the part of the international community of thorough and effective mechanisms. At present, global governance targets terrorism via four regimes: hegemonic governance; governance by international organizations; hybrid governance; and coordinated governance by major powers. These strategies have made a contribution to counter-terrorism, but they do have shortcomings. We start with the judgment that governance entities should adhere to the logic of consequences, the logic of appropriateness, the logic of emotion and the logic of habitus, and on this basis make a preliminary assessment of the global governance of terrorism. Present terrorism governance regimes tend to be based on the thinking of the logic of consequences with only partial implementation of the logic of appropriateness and no use, so far, of counterterrorism measures based on the logic of emotion and the logic of habitus. To address both the symptoms and root causes of terrorism, international society should encourage governance strategies that implement counter-terrorism measures based on the four types of logic above and should promote coordination and cooperation based on this platform. In this course, China could promote a more significant role in global terrorism governance for such counter-terrorism platforms as the United Nations, including the Security Council, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.     

Household empowerment as the key to eradicate poverty incidence

The current study aimed to investigate how the household empowerment can potentially reduce the rural poverty incidence. The data were collected through multistage random sampling from the rural households of 24 villages in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 600 households were selected as sample pool. Face‐to‐face interviews with the household heads were conducted. The household empowerment was measured through an index that was adopted from Abrar‐ul‐haq (“An assessment of the role of household empowerment in alleviating poverty in Southern Punjab, Pakistan” (Ph.D. Dissertation), School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 2017). The binary logit model was used to analyze the impact of household empowerment with other control variables on poverty incidence. The results of the current study confirm the negative nexus between household empowerment and poverty incidence of rural households as the study reported that the probabilities (odds ratio: 0.877) of being poor are reduced by increasing the empowerment (in every aspect, economically, politically, and socially) of the households, and the results are statistically significant at the 1% level of significance. Based on empirical results, this study suggests that household empowerment has significant potential to reduce poverty incidence in the rural areas of Southern Punjab, Pakistan.