Dimensions of Terrorism sets out to establish some of the contours of modern terrorism. The articles do not provide all of the answers to what is and is not terrorism. They are not necessarily of a unified vision of what constitutes terrorism, but taken as a group, the difficulties of determining its limits and nature are given significant illumination. The authors address several major themes within terrorism: its definition, whether it is a distinct species of political violence or an extension of other forms of activity such as low-intensity warfare, differing manifestations of terrorism, the question of whether it is a new form of the phenomena that has emerged since the end of the Cold War, to whom the use of the technique is most likely to appeal and the character of persons who implement terror.

The events and aftermath of September 11, 2001, profoundly changed the course of history of the nation. They also brought the phenomenon known as terrorism to the forefront of the nation's consciousness. As it became thus focused, the limits of scientific understanding of terrorism and the capacity to develop policies to deal with it became even more evident. The objective of this report is to bring behavioral and social science perspectives to bear on the nature, determinants, and domestic responses to contemporary terrorism as a way of making theoretical and practical knowledge more adequate to the task. It also identifies areas of research priorities for the behavioral and social sciences.

Undertaken as part of the National Science Foundation's call for research associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this volume contains research that addresses the immediate role and utility of geographical information and technologies in emergency management. It also initiates an on-going process to help develop a focused national research agenda on the geographical dimensions of terrorism. Areas covered include: geospatial data and technologies infrastructure research, root causes of terrorism, and vulnerability science and hazard research.

The events of September 11, 2001 confronted the United States and the rest of the World with the reality of a new dimension of international terrorism. This new dimension did not start nor end with the attacks against the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, but began in the 1990s. This study examines the new dimension of international terrorism, contrasting it with the classical terrorism, the predominantly left-wing terrorist movements of the 1960s - 1980s in Europe, which were a subset of the bipolar geo-political arena. The author establishes the relationship of radical Islamist movements to the terrorist groups of the new dimension (principally focusing on Al-Qaeda) in providing the motivation for committing catastrophic terrorist acts, looks at the shadowy world of terrorist financing and makes suggestions regarding international counter-terrorist strategies.

The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism systematically integrates the substantial body of scholarship on terrorism and counterterrorism before and after 9/11. In doing so, it introduces scholars and practitioners to state of the art approaches, methods, and issues in studying and teaching these vital phenomena. This Handbook goes further than most existing collections by giving structure and direction to the fast-growing but somewhat disjointed field of terrorism studies. The volume locates terrorism within the wider spectrum of political violence instead of engaging in the widespread tendency towards treating terrorism as an exceptional act. Moreover, the volume makes a case for studying terrorism within its socio-historical context. Finally, the volume addresses the critique that the study of terrorism suffers from lack of theory by reviewing and extending the theoretical insights contributed by several fields - including political science, political economy, history, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, geography, and psychology. In doing so, the volume showcases the analytical advancements and reflects on the challenges that remain since the emergence of the field in the early 1970s.

Communicating Terror: The Rhetorical Dimensions of Terrorism argues that the meaning of terrorism is socially constructed and suggests a new definition of terrorism, chiefly as a process of communication between terrorists and multiple target audiences. Concise yet comprehensive, this up-to-date text examines how acts of "terrorism" create rhetorical acts: What messages, persuasive meanings, symbols, do acts of terrorism generate and communicate to the world at large? These rhetorical components include definitions and labels, symbolism in terrorism, public oratory about terrorism, and the relationship between terror and media. This book examines diverse acts of terrorism, not just September 11th or recent events in the Middle East, to show the history and various effects of these acts as a medium for communication. This unique communication perspective shows how the rhetoric of terrorism is truly a war of words, symbols, and meanings.

This book derives from a conference entitled 'The impact of terrorism and skyjacking on the operations of the criminal justice system' held in February 1976 in Rochester, Michigan.