Communication and communication technologies are intrinsic to the idea of terrorism as formulated and understood from the nineteenth century onwards. The discourse of terrorism has come to be symbiotically linked to communication technologies as state and nonstate actors across the globe use and exploit technological advances to further their causes. Schmid and de Graaf (1982
Following the September 11, 2001 massive attacks on the United States, the issue of political terrorism has assumed a priority stance in the political agenda of several countries. Once fairly disregarded by scholarly research and analysis, the phenomenon has gained wide attention since the events of that day and those that took place in Iraq
On September 11, 2001, in the largest terrorist attack in history, four passenger planes were commandeered by terrorists and flown into the office buildings of the World Trade Center Twin Towers and the Pentagon, killing an estimated 3,000 people and injuring another 250. This tragic event was an extreme example of the many acts of
Terrorism, like many other horrific types of violence, has begged in the minds of many for a psychological explanation. The research and systematic analysis that has been done on the topic, however, show that neither mental illness nor a simple “lack of conscience” are significant primary causes of terrorism. There is no known “terrorist personality.”
Terrorism is certainly the scourge of our times. Considerable economic, military, political, and scientific resources are devoted these days to the “war on terrorism.” Psychological research is not only relevant but also essential to understanding this issue. Indeed, the psychology of terrorism has become one of psychology’s major growth markets. Books and journals on the