Federal Research Division

The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why? Federal Research Division

CONTENTS Preface Executive Summary: Mindsets of Mass Destruction New Types of Post-Cold War Terrorists -- New Forms of Terrorist-Threat Scenarios Introduction Terms of Analysis Defining Terrorism and Terrorists -- Terrorist Group Typologies Approaches to Terrorism Analysis The Multicausal Approach -- The Political Approach -- The Organizational Approach -- The Physiological Approach -- The Psychological Approach General Hypotheses of Terrorism Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis -- Negative Identity Hypothesis -- Narcissistic Rage Hypothesis The Psychology of the Terrorist Terrorist Motivation -- The Process of Joining a Terrorist Group -- The Terrorist as Mentally Ill --The Terrorist as Suicidal Fanatic -- Fanatics -- Suicide Terrorists -- Terrorist Group Dynamics -- Pressures to Conform -- Pressures to Commit Acts of Violence -- Terrorist Rationalization of Violence -- The Terrorist's Ideological or Religious Perception Terrorist Profiling Hazards of Terrorist Profiling -- Sociological Characteristics of Terrorists in the Cold War Period -- Characteristics of Female Terrorists -- Female Motivation for Terrorism Conclusion Terrorist Profiling -- Terrorist Group Mindset Profiling -- Promoting Terrorist Group Schisms -- How Guerrilla and Terrorist Groups End Appendix -- Sociopsychological Profiles: Case Studies Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1970s -- Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1990s -- Ethnic Separatist Groups -- Social Revolutionary Groups -- Religious Fundamentalist Groups Tables Educational Level and Occupational Background of Right-Wing Terrorists in West Germany, 1980 -- Ideological Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 -- Prior Occupational Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 -- Geographical Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 -- Age and Relationships Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 -- Patterns of Weapons Use by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November, 1975-97 Glossary Bibliography