The 'ins' and 'outs' of terrorism: the roles of emotions throughout 'terrorists' careers.

Vertigans, Stephen

Abstract

Terrorism is a subject that arouses considerable emotions. These emotions are largely associated with public reactions to attacks and particular events. Analysis of terrorism and 'terrorists', in particular, also identifies the significance of emotions such as hatred, fear, humiliation, jealousy and anger in individual involvement in attacks. However the exploration of 'terrorist' emotions tends to be partial, restricted to individuals or groups with 'hatred' and 'anger' frequently applied in isolation to explain acts of terrorism. This paper proposes to connect these emotions to the environments in which they form in order to understand the conditions in which personal feelings contribute to political violence. Comparative analysis is undertaken between a range of different groups including 'Islamic', nationalists in Northern Ireland, 'reds' in Germany and Italy and racialists in the United States. By comparing different groups it is intended to identify commonalities and distinctions in the emotional experiences that result in people becoming 'terrorists'. The paper concludes with an examination of the emotions which are instrumental in people leaving terror groups.;\\$aTerrorism; Emotions; Causes; Social movements

Citation

VERTIGANS, S. 2011. The 'ins' and 'outs' of terrorism: the roles of emotions throughout 'terrorists' careers. In Gallore, A.M. (ed.) Terrorism: motivation, threats and prevention. New York: Nova Science Publishers [online], chapter 6, pages 199-134. Available from: http://www.novapublishers.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=13869

• Online Publication Date: Apr 30, 2011
• Publication Date: Apr 30, 2011
• Deposit Date: Mar 30, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 30, 2018
• Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
• Pages: 199-134
• Book Title: Terrorism: motivation, threats and prevention
• Chapter Number: Chapter 6
• ISBN: 9781616685119
• Keywords: Terorism; Emotions; Causes; Social movements
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2844
• Publisher URL: http://www.novapublishers.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=13869