Gus Martin 
Understanding Terrorism [EPUB ebook] 
Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

About the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction and Rationale
PART I. TERRORISM: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
CHAPTER 1. Terrorism: First Impressions
Opening Viewpoint: The Ideology of Al-Qa’ida
First Considerations
Conceptual Considerations: Understanding Political Violence
The Past as Prologue: Historical Perspectives on Terrorism
Terrorism and Criminal Skill: Three Cases From the Modern Era
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 2. The Nature of the Beast: Defining Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: Are “Hate Crimes” Acts of Terrorism?
Understanding Extremism: The Foundation of Terrorism
Defining Terrorism: An Ongoing Debate
A Definitional Problem: Perspectives on Terrorism
The Political Violence Matrix
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 3. Beginnings: The Causes of Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: The Case of Carlos
Political Violence as Strategic Choice
Political Violence as the Fruit of Injustice
Moral Justifications for Political Violence
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
PART II. TERRORIST ENVIRONMENTS AND TYPOLOGIES
CHAPTER 4. Terror From Above: Terrorism by the State
Opening Viewpoint: State Terrorism as Domestic and Foreign Policy
The State as Terrorist: A State Terrorism Paradigm
Violence Abroad: Terrorism as Foreign Policy
Violence at Home: Terrorism as Domestic Policy
The Problem of Accountability: Monitoring State Terrorism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 5. Terror From Below: Terrorism by Dissidents
Opening Viewpoint: The Tupamaros
The Rebel as Terrorist: A Dissident Terrorism Paradigm
Warring Against the State: Antistate Dissident Terrorism
Warring Against a People: Communal Terrorism
Operational Shifts: Dissidents and the New Terrorism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 6. Violence in the Name of the Faith: Religious Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: The Journey of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Primary and Secondary Motives: The Idiosyncratic Quality of Religious Terrorism
Historical Cases in Point: Fighting, Dying, and Killing in the Name of the Faith
State-Sponsored Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era
Dissident Religious Terrorism in the Modern Era
The Future of Religious Terrorism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 7. Violent Ideologies: Terrorism From the Left and Right
Opening Viewpoint: Racist Skinheads as a Supportive Environment
Reactionaries and Radicals: The Classical Ideological Continuum
Left-Wing Ideologies and Activism
Class Struggle and National Liberation: The Terrorist Left
Right-Wing Activism and Extremism
Race and Order: The Terrorist Right
Violent Ideologies in the New Era of Terrorism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 8. Terrorist Spillovers: International Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: Terrorism in the Age of Globalization
Defining International Terrorism
Globalized Revolution: Reasons for International Terrorism
Globalized Solidarity: International Terrorist Networks
The International Dimension of the New Terrorism
Postscript: The “Stateless Revolutionaries”
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 9. Emerging Terrorist Environments: Gender-Selective Political Violence and Criminal Dissident Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: ISIS Gender-Selective Terrorism
Culture and Conflict: Gender-Selected Victims of Terrorist Violence
Protecting the Enterprise: Criminal Dissident Terrorism
A Global Problem: Regional Cases of Criminal Dissident Terrorism
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
PART III. THE TERRORIST TRADE AND COUNTERTERRORISM
CHAPTER 10. Tools of the Trade: Tactics and Targets of Terrorists
Opening Viewpoint: Actionable Intelligence—Israel and the Hunt for the Engineer
The Purpose: Terrorist Objectives
The Means: Terrorist Methods
The Focus: Terrorist Targets
The Outcome: Is Terrorism Effective?
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 11. The Information Battleground: Terrorist Violence and the Role of the Media
Opening Viewpoint: Media-Oriented Terror and Lebanon’s Hezbollah
Two Perspectives: The Media and Governments
Understanding the Role of the Media
A New Battleground: The War for the Information High Ground
The Public’s Right to Know: Regulating the Media
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 12. The American Case: Terrorism in the United States
Opening Viewpoint: Lynching—Vigilante Communal Terrorism in the United States
An Introduction to the American Case
Background to Terrorism: Left-Wing Activism and Ideological Extremism in America
Left-Wing Terrorism in the United States
Background to Terrorism: Right-Wing Activism and Ideological Extremism in America
Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States
International Terrorism in the United States
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 13. Counterterrorism: The Options
Opening Viewpoint: The Death of Osama bin Laden
Responding to Terror: The Scope of Options
Warlike Operations: Counterterrorism and the Use of Force
Operations Other Than War: Repressive Options
Operations Other Than War: Conciliatory Options
Applying the Rule of Law: Legalistic Options
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
PART IV. SECURING THE HOMELAND
CHAPTER 14. A New Era: Homeland Security
Opening Viewpoint: International Collaboration on Surveillance and Data Mining
Homeland Security in Perspective
The American Case: Homeland Security in the United States
Civil Liberties and Securing the Homeland
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
CHAPTER 15. What Next? The Future of Terrorism
Opening Viewpoint: Carnivore and the Dawn of Internet Surveillance
An Overview of Near-Term Projections
The Future of Terrorism: Terrorist Environments in the 21st Century
The Future of Terrorism: New Threats
Controlling Terrorism: Ending Terrorist Campaigns and New Challenges
Final Considerations
Chapter Summary
A Final Thought on Reform and Revolution
Key Terms and Concepts
Prominent Persons and Organizations
Recommended Readings
Appendix A: Map References
Appendix B: Prominent Persons and Organizations
Glossary of Terms
Notes
Index

Clarence Augustus “Gus” Martin is a Professor and founding Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice Administration at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he teaches courses on terrorism and extremism,   criminal law, and the criminal justice system. He has served as founding Director of the School of Public Service and Justice. He also served as Associate Vice President for Human Resources Management, Acting Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration and Public Policy, Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs, and Chair of the Department of Public Administration. He began his academic career as a member of the faculty of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, where he was an Administration of Justice professor. His current research and professional interests are terrorism and extremism, homeland security, and the administration of justice.Dr. Martin is author of several books on the subjects of terrorism and homeland security, including Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues (Sage, 2025); Terrorism and WMDs: Awareness and Response, Third Edition (with John Pichtel, CRC Press, 2025); Understanding Homeland Security (Sage, 2024); The Handbook of Homeland Security (with Scott Romaniuk and Martin Scott Catino; Routledge, 2023); Essentials of Terrorism: Concepts and Controversies (Sage, 2022); Terrorism: An International Perspective (with Fynnwin Prager; Sage, 2019); The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition (Sage, 2011); Terrorism and Homeland Security (Sage, 2011); and The New Era of Terrorism: Selected Readings (Sage, 2004). He is also author of Juvenile Justice: Process and Systems (Sage, 2005).Prior to joining academia, Dr. Martin served as Managing Attorney for the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, where he was also director of a program created under a federal consent decree to desegregate public and assisted housing. He was also Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands on the island of St. Thomas. As Special Counsel, he occupied a personal and confidential position in the central office of the Department of Justice; sat as hearing officer for disciplinary hearings and departmental grievances; served as chair of the Drug Policy Committee; served as liaison to the intergovernmental Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee as well as to the Narcotics Strike Force; and provided daily legal and policy advice to the Attorney General. Prior to serving as Special Counsel, he was a “floor” Legislative Assistant to Congressman Charles B. Rangel of New York. As Legislative Assistant, he researched, evaluated and drafted legislation in areas of foreign policy, foreign aid, human rights, housing, education, social services, and poverty; he also drafted House floor statements,  Congressional Record inserts, press releases, and news articles; and he composed speeches, briefing materials, and legislative correspondence.Dr. Martin received his A.B. degree from Harvard College, J.D. from Duquesne University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.