How does the organizational and managerial structure of a terrorist organization compare to that of traditional organizations in society? Compare and contrast the attraction, selection, and retention of members of a terrorist organization to those of traditional, non-terrorist organizations. What are the most significant variances in organizational operations?
There is very loose structure in the vast majority of terror organizations, which makes them distinct on many levels from the traditional organizations in society. There are very few organizations in society that operate based upon a satellite system, with a very strong ideological leader at the top and people beneath that person operating based upon the vision. One might suggest that terror organizations work most closely to franchises in the fast food world. McDonald’s would be like the Osama Bin Laden of the organization, with the franchise owners being most like the leaders of terror cells. This is very unusual, though, and most organizations have more centralization in their operations.
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Attraction, selection, and retention of members by terror organizations is distinct. While they do some recruitment activities, they are depending on their message and cause to get disseminated in order for people to get interested and involved. One of the chief differences is that terror organizations do not offer incentives other than false virtue to get people to enter. This feels similar to how mega churches and mass religious organizations recruit. They hope that by putting their message out into the market, people will be compelled and will join up for the cause. There is not much direct interaction.
Discuss the controversy of viewing actors of terrorist behavior from a mental health perspective. Identify the most compelling arguments in support of this mental health approach to actors of violent terrorist behavior. In addition, share the most significant rejections of the approach. Select a position, identifying the rationale for the selection.
One of the most compelling arguments for viewing actors of terrorist behavior from a mental health perspective is the fact that in order to sacrifice one’s life, one must have disordered thinking. The risk and reward balance is broken, and terror organizations tend to require people to take extraordinary risks. In some cases, they are signing up for suicide missions, which indicates a suicidal ideation and the inability to process life properly. Beyond that, there are issues related to delusion. Terrorist behavior is driven by delusion about the outcomes that will be achieved. At the same time, viewing them from a psychological perspective can obscure the horror they have done. To suggest that terrorists are mentally ill can obscure the other causes of terrorism, including the important systemic issues. Ultimately it is probably best to understand them from a mental health perspective. This is important because it can allow people to make interventions when it appears that a person is becoming at-risk for terrorist recruiting. Not all people end up joining these organizations, so finding out why can help teachers, religious leaders, and other members of a community get to a person before they have made a terrible decision about their lives and their futures.
Discuss the concept of cultural jihad, the presence of AQAM (Al Qaeda and Associated Movements), and the express goal of these groups. Identify an example of cultural jihad you see as having the greatest effect in meeting the goals of the terrorist groups.
Cultural jihad is all about the spreading of Islam across the world. It seeks to spread radical, fundamentalist principles in a world that many terrorists feel has been overrun by Western ideals. There is an idea that the Western world has tried to change Muslim countries through imperialism and other tools. When this has happened, according to the Islamists, the basic principles of Islam have been under attack. Cultural jihad is about pushing back against these norms and reclaiming the sort of culture and morality that these people believe is based in the proper interpretation of the Quran. The express goal of these groups is to re-install Islam as the dominant world force not only in terms of religion, but also in terms of culture and morality. This remains a critical element of their approach and one of their top recruiting tools, as well. One of the most influential elements of cultural jihad is how many have tried to infiltrate governments in order to install what they are looking to install. They have attempted to seek control from the inside of some governments in the Middle East, and they have attempted to gain control through legitimate business contacts, as well.
If identifying the most important aspect in understanding the psychology of terrorism, what would you identify? Provide a brief explanation for your response.
The most important aspect in understanding the psychology of terrorism is to understand what makes people vulnerable enough that the terrorist message will get through. Most people do not want to die, and they do not want to put themselves at risk for little reward. Just as there are things that can happen to a person to cause that person to join a gang, there are things that make a young people or even an older person more likely to join a terrorist group. This could be some trauma in the home, in which a person has had a parent die. It could be the desire for revenge after war ripped their family apart. Understanding these motivations is the best way to prevent more terror attacks from happening in the future and to kill these organizations from the outside.
Discuss the most severe misconception in understanding terrorism and terrorist behavior based upon what you have learned over the past eight weeks.
It is foolish to just assume that people are acting on the basis of religious elements. While religion is the soundtrack to what is happening in most terror, there are deeper things as well. Some terror groups are not even based on religion at all and seek instead to install political objectives. Many more use religion as a recruiting tool, but they are cultural movements. It is foolish to think that the people joining up with these movements always care the most about religion. In many cases, they are people who are joining because they have specific stressors in their own lives that make them vulnerable to these kinds of groups. They are looking for identity and belonging and the terror groups provide this for them in a tragic way.
- Horgan, J. G. (2017). Psychology of terrorism: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 72(3), 199.
- Walls, C. (2016). Beyond fear: The psychology of terrorism. Scientific American Mind, 27(3), 32-49.
