Research Seminar on Contemporary Topics in International Terrorism (24151) – אוניברסיטת רייכמן

Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya

Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy

 

Research Seminar on Contemporary Topics

in International Terrorism (24151)

Semester B (Spring 2015)

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Course Description: This research seminar presents some of the main theoretical and policy debates of relevance to contemporary international terrorism. It also helps students hone their analytical, research, writing, and presentation skills. The first part of the course offers a historical sketch of international terrorism from the French Revolution onwards. The second part examines some of the main theoretical approaches for analyzing terrorism. Part three of the course focuses on the discussion of policy-relevant topics related to terrorism and counterterrorism, such as the changing nature of agency in terrorism, the foreign fighter phenomenon, countering violent extremism (CVE), and cooperation between terrorist actors. Throughout the duration of the course, students will discuss and eventually present their research to the class. Active participation in class discussions is a requirement for success in this seminar.

This seminar has a dual purpose. First, it is designed to advance students' knowledge of some of the main theoretical and policy-related topics in international terrorism. Second, it is designed to help seminar students advance their analytical, writing, presentation, and discussion skills. Students should regard this course as an opportunity to stimulate their academic inquiry, delve deeply into a research topic of their choice, engage in readings and in-class discussion with their peers, and interact regularly with their instructor. In addition to presenting on their topic, students will also guide classroom discussion.

Course meeting time and location: Wednesdays, 17.00-19.30

Instructor Office hours: By appointment through email

Course Requirements: This is an advanced research seminar, and its success depends on the participation of the students in class discussions. Student attendance and participation will be rigorously tracked, and every student will be required to present his/her research in class and guide a class discussion. Students are encouraged to interact with the Instructor throughout the course, and to seek guidance about their research projects on a regular basis. The students are also expected to read all required material in advance of class and to critically engage the material in the classroom. Grades will be based on the following graded requirements:

Graded requirement Percent of final grade
Attendance and participation 10 %
Interim Assignment 5 %
Presentation 15 %
Seminar research paper 70 %
Total 100 %

Interim Assignment (5%): The interim assignment is designed to force you to start thinking more seriously about your research project. As such, this assignment will help you plan both your in-class presentation as well as your seminar paper. The assignment should be roughly two pages in length—there is no penalty for longer assignments, but assignments should not be shorter than 1.5 pages. It is worth 5% of the final grade. The due date and time for the assignment is March 18, 2015. Assignments are to be submitted by 23:59 on March 18 via the Moodle course website.

Presentation (15%): In the final part of the course, each student will be required to give an individual in-class presentation. Student presentations are opportunities for students to progress with their research; practice their presentation skills; engage other students in discussion; and receive helpful feedback from students and the instructor about their research project.

The presentation schedule will be distributed in class. Students must submit their presentations electronically to the instructor and TA before class in order for the presentation to be uploaded to the course website. Students must use visual aids, such as MS PowerPoint or Prezi for their presentations. Every student is allocated 45 minutes for his/her presentation, which includes approximately 20 minutes of frontal presentation, with 25 minutes reserved for questions and answers and general discussion. Students must prepare questions in advance to lead discussions at the conclusion of the presentation's question and answer session.

The formal presentation of the student's research should include a discussion of the following issues:

  • Background to the issue addressed in the paper
  • Puzzle and research question
  • Main argument
  • Importance/contribution
  • Literature review
  • Theory
  • Methodology
  • Expected findings

Seminar Research Papers (70%): The research papers are the main graded requirement in this course, worth 70 % of the final grade. The main purpose of the research paper is for students to hone their academic research, analytical, and writing skills. Each student must pick a research topic of his/her choice and confirm this topic with the instructor. Research topics must relate to a contemporary topic of interest related to terrorism (topics not discussed in class but related to terrorism are permitted), and ask an interesting and answerable research question. In answering the research questions, students are expected to rely on the analytical tools and theoretical approaches acquired in class. Theoretical approaches not discussed in class may also be relied upon.

Research papers should be approximately 20-25 pages in length (not including cover page, bibliography, and appendices). Papers must be double-spaced, Calibri font, 12 size font, with normal margin width. Papers must include the following:

  • A cover page with the title of the course, semester, paper title, student name, student ID #
  • Table of contents
  • Page numbers
  • Section headings that divide the paper, at a minimum, into the following sections:
    1. Introduction
    2. Analysis
    3. Conclusion
  • Bibliography
  • Full reference information for all sources cited. Students are free to pick any reference style of their choosing (f.ex., Chicago, Harvard, APA), but they must use this style consistently throughout the paper. The paper should be generously footnoted/referenced throughout, and students should make sure that all references used are from respectable sources. In case of doubt, the students should contact the instructor or the TA.

Research paper topics must be approved by the instructor via email. Each student must submit an electronic copy of his/her paper via the Moodle course website by August 16, 2015. Late submissions will result in a grade reduction of 5 % per 24 hour period of late submission.

 

Lesson Schedule and reading assignments:

Note: The lesson schedule for this research seminar is flexible and dynamic. Topics presented might change based on current events, students' interests, and other factors. Final lesson topics will be determined a week before each lesson, and relevant readings posted on the website. Therefore, the schedule and assignments below are not final, and subject to change.

 

PART I: INTRODUCTION TO MODERN TERRORISM

 

Lesson 1: Introduction / Sources for Terrorism Research

Required Readings:

  • Bruce Hoffman, Inside Terrorism, Revised and Expanded edition (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 1-41
  • Paul Wilkinson, Terrorism versus Democracy: The Liberal State Response, 3rd (Oxon and New York: 2011), 4-21.

Recommended Readings:

  • Louise Richardson, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (New York: Random House, 2007), 38-70.
  • Magnus Ranstorp, "Introduction: Mapping Terrorism Research – Challenges and Priorities," in Magnus Ranstorp, ed., Mapping Terrorism Research: State of the Art, Gaps, and Future Direction (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2007), pp. 1-28.

Lesson 2: Terrorism: A Historical Sketch

Required Readings:

  • David C. Rapoport, "The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism," in Cronin and Ludes, eds., Attacking Terrorism, 46-73.
  • Hoffman, Inside Terrorism, 43-80.

Recommended Readings:

  • Shughart, William F. (2006). “An Analytical History of Terrorism, 1945-2000.”

Public Choice 128(1-2): 7-39.

  • Walter Laqueur, The Age of Terrorism (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1987), 24-71.
  • Leonard Weinberg, Global Terrorism: A Beginner's Guide (Oxford: Oneworld, 2005), 18-40.

 

Lesson 3: Writing an MA Research Paper

 

PART II: THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO TERRORISM

Lesson 4: Individual and Psychological approaches to terrorism

Required Readings:

  • Andrew Silke, "Cheshire-Cat Logic: The Recurring Theme of Terrorist Abnormality in Psychological Research," Psychology, Crime and Law1 (1998), pp. 51-69.
  • Jerrold Post, “Terrorist Psycho-logic: Terrorist Behavior as a Product of Psychological Forces,” in Walter Reich, ed., Origins of Terrorism (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1998), 25-42.

Recommended Readings:

  • Assaf Moghadam, The Roots of Terrorism (New York: Chelsea House, 2006), Chapter 2, pp. 14-29
  • Clark McCauley, "Psychological Issues in Understanding Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism," in Bruce Bongar, et.al., eds., Psychology of Terrorism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 13-31.
  • John Horgan, "Understanding Terrorist Motivation: A Social-Psychological Perspective," in Magnus Ranstorp, ed., Mapping Terrorism Research: State of the Art, Gaps, and Future Direction (London and New York: Routledge, 2007), pp. 106-126.
  • Randy Borum, "Understanding Terrorist Psychology," in Andrew Silke, ed., The Psychology of Counter-Terrorism (New York and Oxon: Routledge, 2011), 19-33.
  • Arie Kruglanski and Shira Fishman, "The Psychology of Terrorism: 'Syndrome' versus 'Tool' Perspectives," Terrorism and Political Violence 18 (2006), pp. 193-215.
  • Rex Hudson, Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why? The 1999 Government Report on Profiling Terrorists (Lyons, 2002).

 

Lesson 4: Rationalist and ideological approaches to terrorism

Required Readings:

  • Robert A. Pape, "The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism," American Political Science Review 3 (August 2003), 343-61.
  • Assaf Moghadam, "Suicide Terrorism, Occupation, and the Globalization of Martyrdom: A Critique of Dying to Win," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 29 (2006), 707-29

Recommended Readings:

  • Martha Crenshaw, “The Organizational Approach," in Martha Crenshaw, Explaining Terrorism: Causes, Processes and Consequences (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2011), pp. 69-87
  • Martha Crenshaw, “The Logic of Terrorism," in Crenshaw, Explaining Terrorism, 111-24.
  • Barbara Walter and Andrew Kydd, “Strategies of Terrorism,” International Security1 (Summer 2006), pp. 49-80
  • Victor Asal and R. Karl Rethemeyer, “The Nature of the Beast: Terrorist Organizational Characteristics and Organizational Lethality,” Journal of Politics2 (2008), 437-49.
  • Peter R. Neumann and M.L.R. Smith, The Strategy of Terrorism: How it Works, and Why it Fails (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2008), pp. 31-75.
  • Max Abrahms, “Why Terrorism Does Not Work,” International Security, 31.2 (Fall 2006), 42-78.
  • Max Abrahms, “What Terrorists Really Want: Terrorist Motives and Counterterrorism

Strategy,” International Security 32.4 (Spring 2008), pp. 78-105.

  • Jacob Shapiro, "Terrorist Decision-Making: Insights from Economics and Political Science," Perspectives on Terrorism, August 2012.
  • Max Abrahms, "The Political Effectiveness of Terrorism Revisited," Comparative Political Studies 3 (2012), 366-93.
  • James Piazza, "Is Islamist Terrorism More Dangerous? An Empirical Study of Group Ideology, Organization, and Goal Structure," Terrorism and Political Violence1 (January 2009), 62-88.
  • Stuart Gottlieb, ed., Debating Terrorism and Counterterrorism (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010), 100-130.
  • Assaf Moghadam, "Motives for Martyrdom: Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and the Spread of Suicide Attacks," International Security3 (Winter 2008/2009), 46-78.

Lesson 5: State-level, international, and environmental approaches to terrorism

Required Readings:

  • Richard Jackson and Samuel Justin Sinclair, eds., Contemporary Debates on Terrorism (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2012), 43-57, 107-120
  • Audrey Kurth Cronin and James M. Ludes, eds., Attacking Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004), 19-45.

Recommended Readings:

  • William C. Banks, Renee de Nevers, and Mitchel B. Wallerstein, Combating Terrorism: Strategies and Approaches (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2008), 63-97.
  • Arie Perliger, "How Democracies Respond to Terrorism: Regime Characteristics, Symbolic Power and Counterterrorism," Security Studies 21:3 (July-Sep 2012), 490-528.
  • James Piazza, "Incubators of Terror: do Failed and Failing States Promote Transnational Terrorism?" International Studies Quarterly 52 (2008), 469-88.
  • Stuart Gottlieb, ed., Debating Terrorism and Counterterrorism, 34-66
  • Audrey Kurth Cronin, "Behind the Curve: Globalization and International Terrorism," International Security3 (Winter 2002/2003), 30-58.
  • Michael Mousseau, "Market Civilization and its Clash with Terror," International Security3 (Winter 2002/2003), 5-29.

 

PART III: CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

Lesson 6: Critiquing Terrorism Studies

 

Required Readings:

  • John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart, "The Terrorism Delusion: America’s Overwrought Response to September 11," International Security37 (Summer 2012), 81-110.
  • Marie Breen Smyth, Jeroen Gunning, Richard Jackson, George Kassimeris and Piers Robinson, "Critical Terrorism Studies–An Introduction," Critical Studies on Terrorism1 (2008), 1-4.
  • David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith, "We're All Terrorists Now: Critical—or Hypocritical—Studies “on” Terrorism?" Studies in Conflict and Terrorism4 (2009), 292-302.

Recommended Readings: 

  • John Mueller, "Six Rather Unusual Propositions about Terrorism," Terrorism and Political Violence 17 (2005), 487-505.
  • Michael Stohl, "Old Myths, New Fantasies and the Enduring Realities of Terrorism," Critical Studies on Terrorism1 (2008),5-16.
  • John Horgan and Michael J. Boyle, "A Case Against 'Critical Terrorism Studies'," Critical Studies on Terrorism1 (2008), 51-64..
  • Priya Dixit and Jacob L. Stump, "A Response to Jones and Smith: It's Not as Bad as it Seems; Or, Five Ways to Move Critical Terrorism Studies Forward," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism6 (2011), 501-11.
  • David Martin Jones and M.L.R. Smith, "Terrorology and Methodology: A Reply to Dixit and Stump," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism6 (2011), 512-22.
  • Richard Jackson and Samuel Justin Sinclair, eds., Contemporary Debates on Terrorism (Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2012), 107-20
  • Stuart Gottlieb, ed., Debating Terrorism and Counterterrorism (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010), 34-66; 370-95

Lesson 7: Homegrown Terrorism and 'Lone Wolves'

Required Readings:

  • Ramon Spaaij, "The Enigma of Lone Wolf Terrorism: An Assessment," Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 9 (2010), 854-870
  • Sophia Moskalenkoa and Clark McCauley, "The Psychology of Lone-Wolf Terrorism," Counselling Psychology Quarterly2 (2011), 115-26.

Recommended Readings:

  • Cyndi Mellena, "When Harry Met Salafi: Literature Review of Homegrown Jihadi Terrorism," Journal of Applied Security Research 2 (2012), 239-52.
  • Manni Cronea and Martin Harrowa, "Homegrown Terrorism in the West," Terrorism and Political Violence 4 (2011), 521-36.
  • Michael King and Donald M. Taylor, "The Radicalization of Homegrown Jihadists: A Review of Theoretical Models and Social Psychological Evidence," Terrorism and Political Violence 23.4 (2011), 602-22.

 

Lesson 8: Cyberterrorism and Foreign Fighters

Required Readings:

  • Anne Stenersen, "Al Qaeda's Foot Soldiers: A Study of the Biographies of Foreign Fighters Killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan Between 2002 and 2006," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 34.3 (2011), 171-98
  • Thomas Hegghammer, "The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters," International Security 3 (Winter 2010/2011), 53-94.

Recommended Readings:

  • Christopher Hewitt and Jessica Kelley-Moore, "Foreign Fighters in Iraq: A Cross-National Analysis of Jihadism," Terrorism and Political Violence 21.2 (2009), 211-220.
  • Barak Mendelsohn, "Foreign Fighters: Recent Trends," Foreign Policy Research Institute," Spring 2011. Available at http://www.fpri.org/orbis/5502/mendelsohn.foreignfighters.pdf.
  • Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman, "Al-Qa'ida's Foreign Fighters in Iraq: A First Look at the Sinjar Records" (West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center, December 2007).
  • Cerwyn Moore and Paul Tumelty, "Foreign Fighters and the Case of Chechnya: A Critical Assessment," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism5 (2008), 412-33.

 

 

 

Lesson 9: Student Presentations

 

Lesson 10: Student Presentations

Lesson 11: Student Presentations

 

Lesson 12: Student Presentations

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