POL137: the PSYCHOLOGY of POLITICAL VIOLENCE (Seminar)

POL137: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE (Seminar)

Spring 2018, Thursdays 2-4:50 p.m.

Professor Jytte Klausen

Contact info: or x62762

Office: Olin-Sang 110

This course will appeal to students in Politics, Psychology, Heller, and IGS/GS. Graduate students may take the course with the instructor’s permission. There are no formal prerequisites but the course is not recommended for freshmen.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Why do they do it? The psychology of individuals who engage in extreme political violence such as terrorist acts has become subject of intense controversy in step with the rise in “homegrown” terrorism. Are terrorists insane or suicidal? Are they merely angry and alienated? Or, are they motivated by perverse altruism? And how is terrorism really different from mass shootings? These are some of the questions that we will focus on in this class.

Social scientists argue that organizations use political violence and terrorism because it is a rational means for obtaining their objectives. Terrorists commit acts of extreme violence against people who have become symbolic targets because of a political ideology. But why do some individuals become killers and in this way sacrifice themselves for the cause?

Understanding the motivations of individuals who commit terrorist acts has become an increasingly pressing public policy problem, as the country faces an increase in the number of people who commit terrorists acts inspired by ideologies ranging from White supremacy, to the anti-state ideologies of the Sovereign Citizens Movement, to the Islamic State.Drawing on behavioral economics and criminal psychology in addition to political sociology, the course will review new approaches to the study of extreme political violence.

The course is structured into six two-week blocks, with each block focusing on a school of thought—an “approach”—to understanding what causes individuals to embrace terrorism and political violence. It is taught as a seminar, meaning students are expected to orally communicate, defend, analyze, and assess the empirical applications of the ideas introduced in the readings.

Grades will be assigned based on the demonstration of knowledge of the assigned literature through class participation (1/3) and the quality of the midterm (1/3) and final papers (1/3).

If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.

Students are expected to purchase the required books. (Used books and older editions are fine.)

All other readings are posted on LATTE. Changes to the course schedule or the reading list will be posted on LATTE.

REQUIREMENTS

Attendance is mandatory.

• Students must complete all the required readings within the specified two-week bloc and be prepared to discuss the readings.
• Undergraduate students are required to write a midterm and final paper (10 pages, double-spaced).
• Graduate students are required to additionally to pick titles from the “recommended” list to expand their knowledge of the literature and include the additional literature in their exam papers. Students should choose based upon their specific interests and own research. Graduate students are required to write a midterm and a final paper (10-15 pages, double spaced).

RULES & REGS

Students are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity (see Any suspected instances of alleged dishonesty will be referred to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. Instances of academic dishonesty may result in sanctions including but not limited to, failing grades being issued, educational programs, and suspension.

Success in this 4 credit hour graduate-level course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).

Learning goals:

• Students will learn to summarize theoretical arguments and relate the arguments to empirical models for assessment and testing.
• Improve their writing skills.
• Gain factual knowledge about the state of research on motivational factors driving individuals to embrace violent political extremism.

REQUIRED & RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Gurr, Robert Ted. 1970. Why Men Rebel. Princeton University Press. (REQUIRED)

Hamid, Mohsin. 2007. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (REQUIRED IN FULL—NOVEL)

Krueger, Alan B. 2008. What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism. Princeton University Press. (ONLY SELECT CHAPTERS REQUIRED--ARTICLE ALTERNATIVE)

Post, Jerrold M. 2007. The mind of the terrorist: the psychology of terrorism from the IRA to Al Qaeda. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (REQUIRED IN FULL)

Shapiro, Jacob N. The Terrorist’s Dilemma: Managing Violent Covert Organizations (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013). (ONLY SELECT CHAPTERS REQUIRED--ARTICLE ALTERNATIVE)

RECOMMENDED:

Cronin, Audrey Kurth. 2011. How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns. Princeton University Press.

Horgan, John. 2005.The Psychology of Terrorism. London: Routledge.Available as E-book in updated version from 2014:

Lankford, Adam. 2013. The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Articles and other readings are listed in the schedule. (Uploaded on LATTE and available through the Brandeis Library System.)

January 11

Introduction—WHY DO THEY DO IT?

Definition of key terms: terrorism, radicalization, and domestic vs. international terrorism. Complaints are often made that some acts are labeled “terrorists’, while other equivalent acts are not. The FBI defined the Sovereign Citizens movement as domestic terrorism in 2011, yet incidents considered inspired by the movement are rarely prosecuted as terrorism. Why?

READINGS:

Kruglanski, Arie W., Martha Crenshaw, Jerrold M. Post, and Jeff Victoroff. 2008. "Talking about Terrorism." Scientific American Mind 19, no. 5: 58-65. (AUDIO avail.)

Jensen, Michael, Patrick James, and Herbert Tinsley. 2015. "Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States: Preliminary Findings." January.

January 18—No classes (Brandeis Monday)

January 25 and February 1

Block 1--TERRORIST PSYCHOLOGY

Questions to be discussed: A syllogism is often used to explain why people become terrorists: Only desperate people commit violence for a political cause. Terrorists commit political violence. Therefore, terrorists are desperate people. But are terrorists depressed or mentally ill? Or are they sane people who have been socialized to terrorism by peer groups or cults? Some do it for honor. Others do it for altruistic reasons. One study of Palestinian female suicide bombers found that they most of all wanted to be forgiven for past sins.

READINGS:

Bruce Hoffman, “The mind of the terrorist: Perspectives from social psychology”. Psychiatric Annals29.6(Jun 1999): 337-340.

Adam Lankford, "Could suicide terrorists actually be suicidal?." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 34, no. 4 (2011): 337-366.

Jerrold M. Post, [BOOK] The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007 OR

--. "When Hatred is Bred in the Bone: Psycho-Cultural Foundations of Contemporary Terrorism." Political Psychology 26, no. 4 (2005): 615-636.

Recommended:

Adam Lanford, [BOOK] The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).

February 8 and February 15

Block 2—TERRORIST PROFILES: WHY DID THEY DO IT?

“Terrorists are motivated by ideology.” True or false? Should we assume that all terrorists have similar psychological profiles? In the course of the two classes, we will assess and compare case studies of individual terrorists and their histories. Ted Kaczynski had a PhD in mathematics and was an assistant professor at the University of California-Berkeley. Aafia Siddique had a master’s degree from MIT and a PhD from Brandeis. What role—if any—does education play in the forming the psychology of the politically-motivated terrorist?

Assignment: Students are required to do their own research on the biographies and the assigned readings. Chart the personal biographies of the offenders and the time lines of their deepening commitments to terrorist beliefs and action using The New York Times or other news sources, in addition to the assigned reading. In your analysis, makes sure to note the chronology of the developmental path of each of the individuals.

February 8: Ted Kaczynski (alias “the Unabomber”) v. Chesser (alias Abu Talhah al-Amrikee)

READINGS

Brett A. Barnett, “20 Years Later: A Look Back at the Unabomber Manifesto.” Perspectives on Terrorism, vol.9, no. 6, 2015. Available at: (Open Access)

"Zachary Chesser: A Case Study in Online Islamist Radicalization and its Meaning for the Threat of Homegrown Terrorism."U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Washington D.C.: February 2012. (Available at: zachary-chesser-a-case-stu...)

Christopher Anzalone, "Zachary Chesser: an American, Grassroots Jihadist Strategist on Raising the Next Generation of Al-Qaeda Supporters." Perspectives on Terrorism4, no. 5 (2010). Open access:

February 15: Aafia Siddiqui vs. the unknown female suicide bomber

READINGS

Mia M. Bloom, "Palestinian suicide bombing: Public support, market share, and outbidding."Political Science Quarterly(2004): 61-88.

Nelly Lahoud,. "The Neglected Sex: The Jihadis’ Exclusion of Women From Jihad."Terrorism and Political Violence26, no. 5 (2014): 780-802.

Lauren Vogel, Louise Porter, and Mark Kebbell, “The Roles of Women in Contemporary Political and Revolutionary Conflict: A Thematic Model”, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism ,Vol. 37, Iss. 1, 2014. (DOI:10.1080/1057610X.2014.853606)

Yoram Schweitzer, “Palestinian Female Suicide Bombers: Reality vs. Myth,” in Female Suicide Bombers: Dying for Equality? (Tel Aviv, Israel: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, 2006), 25–41.

Jerrold M. Post, The Mind of the Terrorist-Chapter 2:””When Hatred is Bred in the Bone”, pages 15-29.

Scroggins, Deborah. "The Most Wanted Woman in the World: Aafia Siddiqui."Vogue195, no. 3 (2005): 250 OR Ozment, Katherine. "Who’s Afraid of Aafia Siddiqui?."Boston Magazine10 (2004).

Recommended:

Konrad Kellen,Terrorists--What Are They Like? How Some Terrorists Describe Their World and Actions. No. RAND-N-1300-SL. RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA, 1979. (Interviews with five left-wing terrorists from the 1970s about their ideology and motivations. Available at (82 pages; free download).

Mia Bloom, Dying to kill: The allure of suicide terror. Columbia University Press, 2005.

February 22—No classes (winter recess)

February 28 and March 1

Block 3—ALIENATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM

Alienation theories come in two variants. One argument focuses on socio-economic exclusion (“push” theories) and the other on self-alienation driven by idealism or religion (“pull” theories). Writing in the middle of a different cycle of political violence in 1970, Ted Robert Gurr, a sociologist and criminologist, published a book titled Why Men Rebel.Men rebel, he wrote, not because they are abused but because of the discrepancy between what they think they deserve and should have rather than what they actually have. In contrast, the protagonist in Mohsin Hamid’s bestseller, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, is a Princeton-educated Muslim, a success, who becomes a terrorist from experiencing existential pain. Torn between his authentic self and the double-standard of American society which rewards his intelligence but at the same time treats him as a suspect because of his origin, he chooses to grow a beard and become one of “them,” an Islamic fundamentalist. So, which is it—“push” or “pull”?

READINGS (for both weeks):

Robert Ted Gurr, Why Men Rebel (Princeton University Press, 1970).

Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007.

• Contrast and compare the key arguments about the causes in of violent extremism advanced by the key proponents of the different approaches discussed in two of three blocks covered in class (Blocks 1, 2, or 3).
• Graduate students: Same as the above – all three blocks.

March 8 and March 15

Block 4--NETWORKS, PEER GROUPS, AND SOCIAL CONTAGION

All politics is essentially about changing opinions and behaviors. So too is political extremism. Contagion effects can take many forms ranging from sudden shifts in public attitudes to the adoption of new technologies; e.g. the need to be on Facebook if you want to follow what your friends are doing. In general, individuals who become violent political extremists join in small groups, together with brothers, cousins, friends, neighbors. Social contagion refers to a process of transmission of states of emotion or socioculturalbehaviors through interpersonal contact; a process and form of collective excitement "in which emotions and behavioral patterns spread rapidly and are accepted uncritically by the members of a collective." [The Dictionary of Psychology, Furnham 1983). Are terrorists networks peer groups like gangs?

March 10: The concept of social contagion

READINGS

Jeremy Ginges and Scott Atran, “What Motivates Participation in Violent Political Action,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1167, no. 1 (June 1, 2006): 115–23.

Damon Centola and Michael Macy, “Complex Contagions and the Weakness of Long Ties,” American Journal of Sociology 113, no. 3 (November 2007): 702–34.

Clifford W Scherer and Hichang Cho. "A social network contagion theory of risk perception." Risk analysis 23, no. 2 (2003): 261-267. (Open access:

March 17: Gangs and peer groups

READINGS:

Klausen, Jytte. "Tweeting the Jihad: Social media networks of Western foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq."Studies in Conflict & Terrorism38, no. 1 (2015): 1-22.

Doug McAdams, "Recruitment to high-risk activism: The case of freedom summer."American Journal of Sociology(1986): 64-90. (Available from JSTOR)

Heidi B. Ellis, Saida M. Abdi, Alisa B. Miller, Matthew T. White, and Alisa K. Lincoln. "Protective factors for violence perpetration in Somali young adults: The role of community belonging and neighborhood cohesion." Psychology of Violence vol 5, no. 4 (2015): 384. (

Recommended:

On 23 April, 2015, Professor Scott Atran, an anthropologist, addressed the UN Security Council on: “Youth, Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace.”

March 22 and March 29

Block 5—-THE MIND OF THE TERRORIST: THE BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS OF EXTREMISM

[Quote] "It's actually quite fun. It's really really fun. It's better than that game Call of Duty. It's like that but it's in 3D where everything is happening in front of you." Those were the words of Abu Sumayyah Al-Britani, a Briton who tried to lure others to come and join ISIL. He was a 32-year-old from Derby, England, and a father of-twowho killed himself in a suicide attack in November 2014. Behavioral economists ague that positive psychological rewards, such as comradeship and altruism—even if perverse—and the desire for personal change or status are more likely traits leading people to take action than are negative emotional states. Terrorists are (in contrast to mass shooters) generally not psychopaths but “normal”, or as normal as the general populations. So why then do terrorist do things that pose great risks to them? Excitement and misplaced idealism (what Durkheim called “altruistic suicide”) are all factors to consider. Generally, behavioral economics argue that people are motivated to engage in high-risk activities by positive emotions (sense of efficacy, power) rather than negative ones (anger, disillusionment). If true, how should we approach prevention?

March 24: The Mind of the Terrorist

READINGS

Jerrold M. Post, The mind of the terrorist: the psychology of terrorism from the IRA to Al Qaeda. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Jeff Victoroff, “The Mind of the Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches”. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49 (1). 2005:3–42.

Alan B. Krueger, What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism (Princeton University Press, 2008). SELECT CHAPTERS OR Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Malečková, “Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17, no. 4 (Fall 2003): 119–44.

March 31: Incentives-The Behavioral Economics of High-Risk Activities

Lerner, Jennifer S., Ye Li, Piercarlo Valdesolo, and Karim S. Kassam. "Emotion and decision making."Psychology66 (2015).

Kim Cragin, Melissa A. Bradley, Eric Robinson, and Paul S. Steinberg. "What Factors Cause Youth to Reject Violent Extremism?." RAND CORPORATION (2015).

April 5—No classes (Passover and spring recess)

April 12 and April 19

BLOCK 6- TERRORIST RECRUITMENT--ASK NOT WHY BUT HOW?

Are terrorists recruited—or groomed? Top-down approaches to terrorist recruitment argue that terrorist organizations create the supply of terrorists by providing incentives. As long as there is a demand for terrorists, will there be willing individuals ready to volunteer?

April 7— The Terrorists’ dilemma

READINGS

Alexander Gutfraind, “Understanding Terrorist Organizations with a Dynamic Model,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, January 7, 2009.

Jacob N. Shapiro, "Terrorist Decision-Making: Insights from Economics and Political Science." Perspectives on Terrorism, North America, vol. 6, Nos. 4-5, 2012. Available at: < OR

--. The Terrorist’s Dilemma: Managing Violent Covert Organizations (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013). (BOOK)

Recommended:

Audrey Kurth Cronin, How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns (Princeton University Press, 2011).

April 14—How People Become Terrorists

READINGS

John Horgan, “From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives from Psychology on Radicalization into Terrorism,” Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science 618, no. "Terrorism: What the Next President Will Face." (July 2008): 80–94.

Jytte Klausen, Selene Campion, Nathan Needle, Giang Nguyen, and Rosanne Libretti, “Toward a Behavioral Model of “Homegrown” Radicalization Trajectories, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Vol.39, Iss.1,2016

Taylor, Max, and John Horgan. "A conceptual framework for addressing psychological process in the development of the terrorist."Terrorism and Political Violence18, no. 4 (2006): 585-601.

April 26 –Last day of class

REVIEW-What have we learned?

Final paper due April 30.

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