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49 J. Conflict Resol. 3 (2005)

handle is hein.journals/jcfltr49 and id is 1 raw text is: The Mind of the Terrorist A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES JEFF VICTOROFF Department of Neurology and Psychiatry University of Southern California School of Medicine This article reviews the state of the art of available theories and data regarding the psychology of terror- ism. Data and theoretical material were gathered from the world's unclassified literature. Multiple theories and some demographic data have been published, but very few controlled empirical studies have been con- ducted investigating the psychological bases of terrorism. The field is largely characterized by theoretical speculation based on subjective interpretation of anecdotal observations. Moreover, most studies and theo- ries fail to take into account the great heterogeneity of terrorists. Many practical, conceptual, and psycholog- ical barriers have slowed progress in this important field. Nonetheless, even at this early stage of terrorism studies, preliminary reports suggest that modifiable social and psychological factors contribute to the gene- sis of the terrorist mind-set. Psychological scholarship could possibly mitigate the risk of catastrophic attack by initiating the long overdue scientific study of terrorist mentalities. Keywords: terrorism; terrorist; psychiatry; psychology; sociology; homeland security Terrorism has surely existed since before the dawn of recorded history (Merari and Friedland 1985). Human nature has not changed. However, three interlocking trends have significantly changed the nature and degree of the threat: the globalization of commerce, travel, and information transfer, which puts economic disparities and ideo- logical competition in sharp relief and facilitates cooperative aggression by far-flung but like-minded conspirators; the ascent of religious fundamentalism as an aggrieved competitor with the market-economic, democratic, and secular trends of modernity; and the privatization of weapons of mass destruction, putting the potential of macro- terrorist acts into the hands of small groups or even individuals (Hoffman 1998; Laqueur 1999; Enders and Sandler 2000). September 11, 2001, is one result-and probably a warning of events to come (Gunaratna 2002). It perhaps would not be an exaggeration to state that these fast-evolving trends together constitute a clear and present danger to the security of civilization (Stern 1999). AUTHOR'S NOTE: This work was supported in part by a grant from the Freya Foundation for Brain, Behavior, and Society. I gratefully acknowledge critical reviews of this manuscript by Jessica Stern and Todd Sandler. It represents a revision of a lecture first presented at the annual meeting of the American Neuropsy- chiatric Association, San Diego, California, March 2002. Address reprint requests to victorof@usc.edu. JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION, 1ol. 49 No. 1, February 2005 3-42 DOI: 10.1177/0022002704272040 0 2005 Sage Publications

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