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8 JIJIS 263 (2008)
The Phenomenon of Xenophobic Violence: A Historical and Social Psychological Review of America in the Wake of Terror

handle is hein.journals/jijis8 and id is 267 raw text is: THE PHENOMENON OF XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE: A HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW OF AMERICA IN THE WAKE OF TERROR Victoria Springer Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies, University of Nevada, Reno Barbara Larsen University of Nevada, Reno* ABSTRACT Our paper reviews terrorist acts on U.S. soil within the past 17 years from a social psychological perspective, focusing on the resulting phenomenon of xenophobic violence - even though acts of terrorism have been executed by both foreign and domestic perpetrators. This violence may be rooted in psychological reactance, which posits that threats to or losses of a freedom motivate the individual to restore that freedom or sense thereof (Brehm & Brehm, 1981). Additionally, such violence may be indicative of a syndrome perspective, which holds that individuals are able to identify terrorists from non-terrorists by specific, easily recognizable characteristics and traits (Kruglanski & Fishman, 2006). Foreigners are singled out because they fit the perceived profile of what a terrorist looks like. The events discussed include the bombing of the World Trade Center (1993), Oklahoma City (1995), and the September 11Ih attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (2001). here are many definitions of terrorism and yet no single characterization is universally accepted. Each definition of terrorism carries with it a unique connotation that differentially emphasizes the motivations, material or ideological goals, or victims of perpetrators of terror. Scholars have reported that there are over one-hundred definitions of terrorism (Record, 2003), which despite its many descriptions is not legally defined in all jurisdictions. In the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) identifies terrorism as the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (28 C.F.R.Section 0.85). Perhaps the most sinister element of terrorism is the fact that it is not an insular act of violence. Beyond the bricks and mortar of toppled towers, the twisted steel of charred roadside wreckage, and the incalculable human carnage lay shattered ideologies and fractured worldviews. The social, psychological, and political tremors caused by these heinous acts reverberate for a lifetime through each successive generation that faces, confronts, and survives terror. Over the past 17 years, the phenomenon of xenophobic violence has followed each of the three major terrorist acts that have occurred on American soil; the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing (Caram, 2001), the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing (Linenthal, 2001), and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (Ahmad. 2002). People that appeared to be members of specific ethnic or cultural Direct correspondence to spring20@unr.nevada.edu or larsenb6@unr.nevada.edu. © 2008 by the authors, published here by permission. The Journal of the Institute of Justice & International Studies

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