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T E R R O R I S M
JACOB L. STUMP, SHEPHERD UNIVERSITY
ABSTRACT
While much of the academic literature and policy discussion assumes or asserts that terrorism is objectively knowable and clearly definable, this course emphasizes the difficulty of generating knowledge of terrorism and the complexity of the phenomenon as a topic of study and analysis. This class, therefore, fits within a liberal arts program of study. It stresses the interdisciplinary nature of terrorism studies, the role of methodological and ethical commitments in knowing and understanding terrorism, and works to instill a critical disposition in students as they grapple with and consume information about the phenomenon and as they act as citizens. This course is an upper division, undergraduate elective in the political science department and is part of the International Relations subfield. Taught every fourth semester, the fifteen week class attracts majors and non-majors usually ranging from sophomores to seniors. From a multidisciplinary perspective, the course introduces students to current scholarly literature on terrorism and explores the complexity of the topic by looking more closely at a variety of areas of research including: the causes and consequences of terrorism, networks of terrorism, the social construction of terrorism, state terrorism, and the experience of becoming a terrorist. We also watch films that help illustrate certain points, concepts, and examples.
CLASS DESCRIPTION
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STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students should leave this class with an appreciation of the history and complexity of the topic of terrorism. This class does not discuss policy responses to terrorism.
1. Students should be able to identify and describe the major causes of terrorism.
2. Students should be able to identify and describe the major consequences of terrorism.
3. Students should be able to identify and describe how individuals connect with and join terrorist groups, and how those organizations join with others operating in different locations around the world.
4. Students should be able to identify and describe how states can terrorize their own domestic population and foreign populations.
5. Students should be able to identify and describe how terrorism is socially constructed through news media, popular culture, official speeches and documents.
6. Students should be able to identify and describe how terrorism is justified and experienced by Palestinians who fashion their bodies into weapons.
7. Students should be able to gather, evaluate, critique, and respond in written and spoken form to academic and popular information about terrorism.
8. Students should be able to speak more knowledgably and confidently to an audience about the topic of terrorism.
ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION
Three shall be the number. Your grade will be based on three assessments:
1. Discussion forums are worth 250 points of your semester grade. This assignment will hopefully keep you interacting with classmates and thinking about terrorism outside of the classroom. We will cover a variety of ways that terrorism is studied. The discussion forums are an opportunity for you to describe in more precise language each aspect of terrorism that we discuss each week, to gather, assess, and synthesize information about these aspects of terrorism, and to respond to your peers’ comments about these aspects of terrorism.
How do you accomplish this task?
a) Each week locate a reputable news article relating to that week’s focus. On weeks that we discuss the consequences of terrorism, for instance, you should locate a news article that relates to the consequences of terrorism.
b) Make one post on Sakai’s Discussion Forum per week.
c) Your post should link the news article that you located into the Discussion Forum. The reader should be able to click on the link and go to that article and read it for him/herself. . d) Use that week’s class readings and discussions to comment on, criticize, and pose questions
about the news article.
e) After you are done making your weekly post, you should also respond to two of your peers’ posts per week.
3 2. Research presentation is worth 250 points of your semester grade. A research presentation is an opportunity for you to research and describe in more precise language two particular aspects (that you choose) of terrorism. You will gather, assess, and synthesize information about these aspects of terrorism and speak in public about them.
How do you accomplish this task?
a) You should select two aspects of terrorism that we discussed in class – choose from the causes of terrorism, the consequences of terrorism, networks of terrorism, the social construction of terrorism and policy, state terrorism, and the experience of terrorism. b) Identify one specific example for both aspects of terrorism that you selected. For instance, if
you choose to explore state terrorism and the causes of terrorism, then you are expected to find a specific example of state terrorism, such as Operation Condor and a specific illustration of the causes of terrorism, such as the role of failed and failing states in causing terrorism.
c) Collect eight or more reputable sources of information about your two examples. These sources of information should range widely, including academic journal articles, books, news articles, and websites that are trustworthy.
d) Compose this information into a PowerPoint presentation. This presentation should describe, compare, and contrast in some detail the different aspects of terrorism that you chose to investigate.
e) The presentation should be creatively arranged – including the use of words, images, and sounds that illustrate your point.
f) Present this information to the class on a date and time specified by the instructor. g) The presentation should be more than five minutes but should not exceed 10 minutes.
3. Two essays that are worth 200 points each plus 50 points for peer grade for each paper, which equals half your semester grade. Students in this class will write two eight to ten page papers. Students will also carry out a graded peer review for each paper. This peer review grade is based on three factors: i. Did you bring a paper to be peer reviewed? ii. Did you review a peer’s paper? iii. Did you make substantive, helpful comments if the paper required them regarding spelling/grammar, clarity of writing, use of citations and relevant texts, understanding and use of concepts, etc.?
How do you accomplish this task?
I. Essay one:
a) From what we’ve read about this semester, select three causes of terrorism and three consequences of terrorism.
b) Select at least four articles that we’ve read so far this semester.
c) Describe with references to class readings at least three causes and three consequences of terrorism.
4 e) Then evaluate which cause and which consequence you deem to be the most significant for world politics today. Tell me why you have made this judgment. What are the reasons?
II. Essay two:
a) Select at least four readings from class that cover the relevant topics that you plan to write about.
b) Respond in detail with references to class readings to 2 of the 4 questions below.
1. What is a network? Identify the parts of a network and give me some examples of different kinds of networks. More specifically, what is a terrorist network? Use detailed examples of terrorist networks from the readings. How does a person come to join a terrorist group? Use detailed examples. How do terrorist networks carry out actions? What are some strengths and vulnerabilities of terrorist networks? Use examples from the readings.
2. What does it mean to say that terrorism is socially constructed? Does the social construction of terrorism necessarily mean that people aren’t killed and violent acts aren’t carried out? Remember, go back to the texts and see what the authors say and use their words to support your answer. What are two examples in the readings that illustrate the social construction of terrorism? Give detailed descriptions supported with paraphrases and quotes. How has the label terrorism been used by policymakers and elites to legitimate certain kinds of counter-terrorist policies? Use the texts in your response.
3. What is state terrorism? How does it compare and contrast to non-state terrorism? What are two examples of states violently terrorizing some population of people? Give richly descriptive examples that are based on the readings. What is an example of a less violent and more propagandistic kind of state terrorism? Again, use the texts to support your answer.
4. What are the historical roots of the political struggle between the Israeli state and the Palestinian nation? How did the practice of making one’s body into a bomb develop? What are two examples of Palestinians who fashioned their bodies into bombs? Give richly descriptive examples that show how the process of making one’s body into a bomb occurred – make sure they are rooted in the class readings. How are “suicide bombers” understood in America? How does that understanding compare and contrast with Palestinians’ view of them as “martyrs”?
c) Evaluate which of these aspects of terrorism is the most significant in terms of world politics today. Explain why. Give some reasons for your position.
CLASS TEXTS
5 Nasser Abufarha, 2009. The Making of a Human Bomb, Durham: Duke University Press.
SCHEDULE
INTRODUCTION
1. Who am I? What do you already understand about terrorism? And what’s this class about?
9 January: No reading. Enjoy it!
THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM
2. Economic Causes
11 January: Abadie, 2006, “Poverty, Political Freedom, and the Roots of Terrorism,” The American Economic Review, vol. 96, no. 2: 50-56.
3. Failed States as Causes
13 January: James A. Piazza, 2008, “Incubators of Terror: Do Failed and Failing States Promote Transnational Terrorism?” International Studies Quarterly, vol. 52: 469-488.
4. Democratic Politics as a Cause
16 January: Class Cancelled for MLK Day
18 January: Quan Li, 2005, “Does Democracy Promote or Reduce Transnational Terrorist Incidents?” Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 49, no. 2: 278-297.
5. God & Religious Causes
20 January: David C. Rapoport, 1984, “Fear and Trembling: Terrorism in Three Religious Traditions,” American Political Science Review, vol. 78, no. 3: 658-677.
23 January: Magnus Ranstorp, 1996, “Terrorism in the Name of Religion,” The Journal of International Affairs, vol. 50, no. 1: 41-63.
6. Psychological Causes
25 January: Martha Crenshaw, 2000, “The Psychology of Terrorism: An Agenda for the 21st Century,” Political Psychology, vol. 21, no. 2: 405-420.
27-30 January: Watch The Battle of Algiers
THE CONSEQUENCES OF TERRORISM
6 1 February: Leonie Huddy, Stanley Feldman, Theresa Capelos, and Colin Provost, 2002, “The Consequences of Terrorism: Disentangling the Effects of Personal and National Threat,” Political Psychology, vol. 23, no. 3: 485-509.
8. Consequences Related to Individual Freedoms & Rights
3 February: Russell Hardin, 2004, “Civil Liberties in the Era of Mass Terrorism,” The Journal of 77-95.
6 February: Paul Hoffman, 2004, “Human Rights and Terrorism,” Human Rights Quarterly vol. 26, no. 4: 932-955.
9. Economic Consequences
8 February: Tilman Bruck and Bengt-Arne Wickstrom, 2004, “The Economic Consequences of Terror,” European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 20: 293-300.
10. National Political Consequences
10 February: Marc J. Hetherington and Elizabeth Suhay, 2011, “Authoritarianism, Threat, and Americans’ Support for the War on Terror,” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 55, no. 3: 546-560.
13 February: Matthew J. Morgan, 2004, “The Garrison State Revisited: Civil Military Implications of Terrorism and Security,” Contemporary Politics, vol. 10, no. 1: 5-19.
11. Electoral Consequences
15 February: Claude Berrebi and Esteban F. Klor, “Are Voters Sensitive to Terrorist Attacks?” Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 50, no. 6: 899-925.
12. Local Socio-Political Consequences
17 February: Randall Collins, 2004, “Rituals of Solidarity and Security in the Wake of a Terrorist Attack,” Sociological Theory, vol. 22, no. 1: 53-86.
20-22 February: Watch Death of a President
24 February: Bring two copies of your paper to class. This is a peer grading exercise. Give one copy of your paper to two different classmates; they should read and comment on your paper. You should be doing the same for two classmates. The goal here is to help each other.
NETWORKS OF TERRORISM
13. Understanding, Mapping, and Intervening in Terrorist Networks
27 February: Selections form Marc Sageman, 2004, Understanding Terror Networks, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp. 137-174.
7 29 February: Valdis E. Krebs, 2002, “Mapping Networks of Terrorist Cells,” Connections, vol. 24, no. 3: 43-56.
2 March: Stuart Koschade, 2006, “A Social Network Analysis of Jemaaj Islamiyah: The Applications to Counterterrorism and Intelligence,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 29: 559-575.
THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF TERRORISM AND POLICY
14. Constructing the Meaning of Terrorism in Speeches, Print News, and Pop Culture
5 March: R. Jackson, 2007, “Language, Policy and the Construction of a Torture Culture in the War on Terrorism,” Review of International Studies vol. 33: 353-371.
7 March: Selections from Stuart Croft, 2006, Crisis, Culture, and America’s War on Terror, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 1-15, 84-121.
9 March: Selections from Stuart Croft, 2006, Crisis, Culture, and America’s War on Terror Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp.165-213.
12 March: Class Cancelled for Spring Break
14 March: Class Cancelled for Spring Break
16 March: Class Cancelled for Spring Break
19 March: Bring to class a cultural artifact of the war on terror. It can be a song, video, excerpt from a film or TV show, book, magazine, picture, speech, and so on.
STATE TERROR
15. States Terrorizing Domestic and Foreign Populations
21March: Selections from Robert E. Goodin, 2006, What’s Wrong with Terror, Polity, London, pp. 50-77.
23 March: Edward S. Herman, 1982, The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda, South End Press, Cambridge MA, pp. 1-20, 83-138.
26-28 March: Watch El Salvador or The Killing Fields
THE EXPERIENCE OF TERRORISM
16. From the Bomber’s Perspective
30 March: Nasser Abufarha, 2009, The Making of a Human Bomb: An Ethnography of Palestinian Resistance, Durham: Duke University Press, pp. 1-63.
2 April: Nasser Abufarha, The Making of a Human Bomb, pp. 64-98.
8 6 April: Nasser Abufarha, The Making of a Human Bomb, 136-188.
9 April: Nasser Abufarha, The Making of a Human Bomb, 189-224.
11 April: Bring two copies of your paper to class. This is a peer grading exercise. Give one copy of your paper to two different classmates; they should read and comment on your paper. You should be doing the same for two classmates. The goal here is to help each other out.
13 April: Class Cancelled for Spring Recess
PRESENTATIONS
17. The Politics of Terrorism that Interest You
16 April: Students present their investigations of terrorism. Rejoice! This will be an extravaganza where all manners of terrorism are discussed and explored!!
*Bring the final draft plus the two peer reviewed copies of your earlier draft – that is a total of three separate papers that you should be turning into me.
18 April: A continuation of the extravaganza!!
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APPENDIX
RUBRICS
DISCUSSION FORUM RUBRIC
Name Week 1 Question (2 pts.)
2 Responses (1-2 pts.)
Quality of questions/response
(1-3 pts.) Total
John
Doe Jan 9 – 13
2 2 Thoughtful and connected, 3 7
Jill Doe 2 No, one ques., 1 Little effort, little connection to
class, 1 4
PRESENTATION RUBRIC
Name Measure Points
John Doe
Selection of appropriate aspects (2 pts.) 2
Identify appropriate examples (2 pts.) 2
Sources properly cited and used (1-10 pts) 10
Creativity of composition (1-5 pts.) 5
Accuracy of descriptions and examples (1-10 pts.) 10 Appropriate use and nuance of compare and contrast (1-10 pts.) 7
Clarity of presentation (1-10 pts.) 8
Confidence of presentation (1-5 pts.) 3
Total 47
ESSAY RUBRIC
Name Measure Score
John Doe Selection of appropriate topics/questions (2) 2 Appropriate number of sources used (1-5) 5 Appropriate use and citation of sources (1-10) 7 Accuracy and richness of descriptions (1-10) 7 Accuracy and richness of comparisons (1-10) 7
Evaluation of topics (1-10) 5
Grammar, spelling, formatting (1-10) 5 Comprehensibility and flow (1-10) 5
