This book addresses provides a series of in-depth portraits of men and women who have been labelled ‘terrorists’, from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Bridging historical methodologies and theoretical approaches to terrorism studies, it seeks to contribute to the developing historicising of terrorism studies. This is achieved principally through a prosopographical approach. In the preponderance of detailed statistical and quantitative data on the practice of terrorism and political violence, the individuals who participate in terrorist acts are often obscured. While ideologies and organisations have attracted much scholarly interest, less is known of the personal trajectories into political violence, particularly from a historical perspective. The focus on a relatively narrow cast of high-profile terrorist ‘villains’, to a large part driven by popular and media attention, results in a somewhat skewed picture; of equal value, arguably, is a more sustained reflection on the lives of lesser-known individuals. The book sits at the juncture between terrorism studies, historical biography and ethnography. It comprises case studies of ten individuals who have engaged in political violence in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, in a number of locations and with a variety of ideological motivations, from Russian-inflected anarchism to Islamist extremism. Through detailed empirical research, crucial themes in the study of terrorism and political violence are explored: the diverse individual radicalisation pathways, the question of disengagement and re-engagement, various counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency strategies adopted by governments and security forces, and the changing nature and perception of terrorism over time. Although not explicitly comparative, a number of themes resonate between the case studies, which will be drawn together in the conclusion to this book. These include the role of migration in radicalisation, the influence of radical family heritages, the experience of imprisonment and the narratives which individuals construct to tell their own terrorist life-stories. It also provides an historically grounded answer to one of the most contentious and heated debates in recent literature on terrorism studies: ‘what leads a person to turn to political violence?’ In examining the life-narratives of a diverse range of men and women who at some point embraced violence, this book seeks to contribute to a growing understanding of the entire arc of a terrorist lifespan, from radicalisation to mobilisation, to disengagement and beyond. This book will be of much interest to students of political violence, terrorism studies, security studies and politics in general.

An accessible, authoritative history of terrorism, offering systematic analyses of key themes, problems and case studies from terrorism's long past.

Introduction / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism as a strategy of insurgency / Ariel Merari -- Zealots and assassins / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Manifestations of terror through the ages / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- The invention of modern terror / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Anarchist terrorists of the nineteenth century / Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti -- Russian terrorism, 1878-1908 / Yves Ternon -- The "golden age" of terrorism / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Lenin, Stalin, and state terrorism / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism in time of war : from war II to the wars of national liberation / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- From 1968 to radical Islam / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- The roots of Islamic radicalism / Philippe Migaux -- Al qaeda / Philippe Migaux -- The future of the Islamist movement / Philippe Migaux -- Suicide operations : between war and terrorism / François Géré -- The United States confronting terrorism / Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism in south Asia / Rohan Gunaratna

Assassinations, bombings, hijackings, diplomatic kidnappings-terrorism is the most publicized form of political violence. The history of terrorism goes back a very long time, but the very fact that there is such a history has frequently been ignored, even suppressed. This may be because terrorism has not appeared with equal intensity at all times. When terrorism reappeared in the late twentieth century after a period of relative calm, there was the tendency to regard it as a new phenomenon, without precedent. The psychological study of terrorism has never been much in fashion. But this neglect has left a number of crucial questions unanswered. Among these are why some people who share the same convictions turn to terrorism and others do not. What is terrorism's true impact on international politics? What influence might it exert in the future? A History of Terrorism completes Walter Laqueur's pioneering and authoritative study of guerrilla warfare and terrorist activity. He charts the history of political terror from nineteenth-century Europe, through the anarchists of the 1880s and 1890s, the left- and right-wing clashes during the twentieth century, and the multinational operations of Arab and other groups today. Laqueur examines the sociology of terrorism: funding, intelligence gathering, weapons and tactics, informers and countermeasures, and the crucial role of the media. He probes the "terrorist personality" and how terrorists have been depicted in literature and films. The doctrine of systematic terrorism and current interpretations of terrorism, its common patterns, motives, and aims, are unflinchingly faced and clearly explicated. Finally, Laqueur considers the effectiveness of terrorism and examines the ominous possibility of nuclear blackmail. Challenging accepted assumptions, forecasting the changes in terrorist activity that will affect tomorrow's headlines, Walter Laqueur demystifies terrorism without belittling its importance. Together with its companion volume, Guerrilla Warfare, also available from Transaction, A History of Terrorism is an essential tool for assessing and understanding this all-too-often sensationalized modern expression of extreme political action.

The Book, A Meticulously Researched Account Of Select Examples From The Rare, Varied And Astounding Terracotta Collection Of The Allahabad Museum, Makes A Major Breakthrough In The Study Of Technique And Interpretation Of Subjects Related To Terracotta Art. An Excellent Classification Based On Typology And Provenance Has Been Worked Out Which Should Serve As A Very Useful Tool For The Future Study And Analysis Of The Material. The History Of Terracotta Sculptures Both As An Art Form Expressing Itself At Various Levels And As An Invaluable Source For Cultural And Social Evidence Not Otherwise Available Has Been Taken Into Consideration And In This Regard Several Connections With West Asia And Old Europe Have Been Noted Tending To Confirm The Common Cultural Heritage Shared By These Regions. Written By An Eminent Authority On Indian Art, The Book Has Been Provided With Adequate Illustrations Supporting The Text.

Though the history of terrorism stretches back to the ancient world, today it is often understood as a recent development. Comprehensive enough to serve as a survey for students or newcomers to the field, yet with enough depth to engage the specialist, The Routledge History of Terrorism is the first single-volume authoritative reference text to place terrorism firmly into its historical context. Terrorism is a transnational phenomenon with a convoluted history that defies easy periodization and narrative treatment. Over the course of 32 chapters, experts in the field analyze its historical significance and explore how and why terrorism emerged as a set of distinct strategies, tactics, and mindsets across time and space. Chapters address not only familiar topics such as the Northern Irish Troubles, the Palestine Liberation Organization, international terrorism, and the rise of al-Qaeda, but also lesser-explored issues such as: American racial terrorism state terror and terrorism in the Middle Ages tyrannicide from Ancient Greece and Rome to the seventeenth century the roots of Islamist violence the urban guerrilla, terrorism, and state terror in Latin America literary treatments of terrorism. With an introduction by the editor explaining the book’s rationale and organization, as well as a guide to the definition of terrorism, an historiographical chapter analysing the historical approach to terrorism studies, and an eight-chapter section that explores critical themes in the history of terrorism, this book is essential reading for all those interested in the past, present, and future of terrorism.

"The Oxford Handbook of the History of Terrorism presents a re-evaluation of the major narratives in the history of terrorism, exploring the emergence and the use of terrorism in world history from antiquity up to the twenty-first century. The volume presents terrorism as a historically specific form of political violence that was generated by modern Western culture and then transported around the globe, where it interacted with and was transformed in accordance with local conditions. It offers cogent arguments and well-documented case studies that support a reading of terrorism as a modern phenomenon, as well as sustained analyses of the challenges involved in the application of the theories and practices of modernity and terrorism to non-Western parts of the world, both for historical actors and academic commentators. The volume presents an overview of terrorism's antecedents in the pre-modern world, analyzes the emergence of terrorism in the West, and presents a series of case studies from non-Western parts of the world that together constitute terrorism's global reception history. Essays cover a broad range of topics from tyrannicide in ancient Greek political culture, the radical resistance movement against Roman rule in Judea, the invention of terrorism in Europe, Russia, and the United States, anarchist networks in France, Argentina, and China, imperial terror in Colonial Kenya, anti-colonial violence in India, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and the German Autumn, to right-wing, religious and eco-terrorism, as well as terrorism's entanglements with science, technology, media, literature and art. Keywords: terrorism studies, terrorism, history of terrorism, history of violence, radicalism, global history, transnational history, international history, modernity, modernization, modernism"--

This book investigates terrorism and anti-terrorism as related and interacting phenomena, undertaking a simultaneous reading of terrorist and statist ideologists in order to reconstruct the 'deadly dialogue' between them. This work investigates an extensive array of violent phenomena and actors, trying to broaden the scope and ambition of the history of terrorism studies. It combines an extensive reading of state and terrorist discourse from various sources with theorizing of modernity's political, institutional and ideological development, forms of violence, and its guiding images of self and other, order and disorder. Chapters explore groups of actors (terrorists, pirates, partisans, anarchists, Islamists, neo-Nazis, revolutionaries, soldiers, politicians, scholars) as well as a broad empirical source material, and combine them into a narrative of how our ideas and concepts of state, terrorism, order, disorder, territory, violence and others came about and influence the struggle between the modern state and its challengers. The main focus is on how the state and its challengers have conceptualized and legitimated themselves, defended their existence and, most importantly, their violence. In doing so, the book situates terrorism and anti-terrorism within modernity's grander history of state, war, ideology and violence. This book will be of much interest to students of critical terrorism studies, political violence, sociology, philosophy, and Security Studies/IR in genera Mikkel Thorup is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and the History of Ideas, University of Aarhus, Denmark.

A Transnational History of Right-Wing Terrorism offers new insights into the history of right-wing extremism and violence in Europe, East and West, from 1900 until the present day. It is the first book to take such a broad historical approach to the topic. The book explores the transnational dimension of right-wing terrorism; networks of right-wing extremists across borders, including in exile; the trading of arms; the connection between right-wing terrorism and other forms of far-right political violence; as well as the role of supportive elements among fellow travelers, the state security apparatus, and political elites. It also examines various forms of organizational and ideological interconnectedness and what inspires right-wing terrorism. In addition to several empirical chapters on prewar extreme-right political violence, the book features extensive coverage of postwar right-wing terrorism including the recent resurgence in attacks. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of right-wing extremism, fascism, Nazism, terrorism, and political violence.

A bewildering feature of so much contemporary political violence is its stunning impersonality, with every city centre a potential shooting gallery; every metro system a potential bomb alley. Killing Strangers explores how acts of political violence have changed over time, becoming 'unchained' from inter-personal relationships.