How can lone wolf terrorism be effectively countered. The reality is that this type of terrorism is not new at all, in fact it goes back a long time. He is a visiting lecturer in the department of political science at. It reveals the ideological roots of lone wolf terrorism and urges governments to take the threat seriously and implement suitable countermeasures. They may be influenced or motivated by the ideology and beliefs of an external group and may act in support of such a group. Hamm and spaaij carefully distinguish between lone wolves and individuals radicalized within a group dynamic. There are many definitions of terrorism, and none of them are universally accepted.
Our goals in this book include producing an easily accessible database on lone wolf terrorism in america and presenting a number of case studies that elucidate. Simon, phd, is president of political risk assessment company inc. Our findings are valuable for members of the law enforcement and intelligence communities responsible for the early detection and prevention of lone wolf terrorism in the united states. Isolated individuals using firearms with highcapacity magazines are committing brutally efficient killings with the aim of terrorizing others, yet there is little consensus on what connects these crimes and the motivations behind them. Ramon spaaijs slim but highly significant account is the first to crunch the numbers on lonewolf terrorism. Understanding the growing threat reprint by jeffrey d. Drawing on extensive international data and qualitative case studies, it examines the global patterns in and key features of lone wolf terrorism over the past four decades.
One of the first indepth analyses of lone wolf terrorism, this publication sets out to answer these questions. Americas experience with terrorism and lone wolf terrorism. Lone wolf terrorism is the new catchy term being over used by by the news factories like cnn and fox. The study of lone wolf terrorism takes a significant leap forward in this important book. Well written and exhaustively researched, the age of lone wolf terrorism is an encyclopedia of information on the history, characteristics, methodology, and evolution of the lone wolf threat.
Hamm and spaaij provide a thoughtful analysis and critical insights about the nature of lone wolf terrorism and terrorists. Instead it is often more akin to a police action fighting the mafia or. The author does a good job addressing the history of the phenomenon, psychological issues, and offers a thoughtful consideration of possible approaches to this form of terrorism. Lonewolf terrorists are also the more deadly terrorists, according to a 2017 study published in the journal terrorism and political violence. Global patterns, motivations and prevention, states that of the 198 lwas carried out between 1968 and 2010 across the us and fourteen other predominantly western countries, 1 occurred in the united states, representing fiftyseven percent of all attacks. The 19 men who carried out the attacks were jihadis. Lone wolf attacks are becoming more common and more. Detailed in their compilation of the 123 incidents of lone wolf terrorism from 19402016, the authors examine the incidents against 20 variables to help identify. The boundaries of lone wolf terrorism are fuzzy and arbitrary.
What does the recent spate of lone wolf terrorist attacks. Sadly the isolation that is inherent in the lone wolf terrorism is the new catchy term being over used by by the news factories like cnn and fox. Thats how the age of lone terrorism, a book based on federal bureau of investigation data spanning from 1940 to 2016, puts it. Hamm and ramon spaaij provides the national security professional with an exceptional overview and appreciation of this growing problem facing the united states and its partners. Foreign affairs lone wolf terrorism is a wakeup call to those who view terrorism solely as a threat that. From anders breivik in norway, who murdered scores of young people in a bombing and massshooting attack, to nidal malik hasan in the united states, who killed many of his fellow. Ramon spaaij, in his book understanding lone wolf terrorism. Foreign affairs lone wolf terrorism fills a niche in terrorism studies with a comprehensive work that has been needed for a long time. A new era in terrorism is emerging and the lone wolf is at the forefront. In lone wolf, maryanne vollers brings the reader deep inside one of the most sensational cases of domestic terrorism in american history.
Jeff rey simon, author of lone wolf terrorism, defi nes the crime as the use of violence against the government, society, business, or the military by an individual acting alone or with minimal support from one or two other people in support of political, social or financial goals. Israeli counterterrorism experts and scholars from georgetown university and the washington institute talked about the threat of lone wolf terrorism. Global patterns, motivations and prevention springerbriefs in criminology ramon spaaij on. But given the trend toward increased lone wolf terrorism over time, the annual average of lone wolf attacks by the 2000s had reached 7. Lone wolf terrorism is a wakeup call to those who view terrorism solely as a threat that comes from large groups acting through wellorganized networks. The lethality of lonewolf terrorism has reached an alltime high in the united states. The books deals with what i see as the growing threat of lonewolf terrorism, which is different from organized terrorism, and. Age of lone wolf terrorism is a 2017 book about lone wolf terrorism coauthored by mark hamm, a criminologist at indiana state university and ramon spaaij. A fter 911, lonewolf terrorism suddenly seemed like a distraction from more serious threats. Lone wolf terrorism prospects, a new book by a millennium project team, assesses the likelihood and strategies to address this new security phenomenon share article the lone wolf terrorism prospects assesses the likelihood of increasing severity of lone wolf attacks, the role of new technologies, and the potential implications for security.
The book presents holistic information succinctly and in a readable fashion. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Threats and challenges in countering lone wolf attacks. The book would not have been complete without detailing ideas about how to detect and prevent lone wolf terrorism. The book is a mustread for scholars, policymakers, and law enforcement officials. Lone wolf terrorism is shown to be more prevalent in the united states than in the other countries under study.
Understanding lone wolf terrorism global patterns, motivations. Lone wolf terrorism prospects, a new book by a millennium. The united states department of state defined terrorism in 2003 as premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against. Domestic terrorism and related radical violence as opposed to terrorist attacks emanating from abroad continue to plague the nation.
Click download or read online button to get lone wolf terrorism book now. At the same time, without losing sight of the hideous nature of rudolphs violent crimes, she successfully puts a human face on an iconic killer while exploring the painful mysteries of the heart. He, along with ramon spaaij, a sociologist at victoria university, built one of the dojfunded databases and will be publishing the data in the forthcoming book, the. Terrorism expert simon the terrorist trap explores the potential threat posed by a single person, or lone wolf, in this unsettling look into how the current political and technological landscape has radicalized and empowered dangerous individuals. Lone wolf terrorism download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Overall, between 1968 and 2010, lone wolf attacks accounted for about 1. The age of lone wolf terrorism studies in transgression. Leaders of al qaeda prompted their followers to take part in independent acts of violence against their perceived enemies at any given moment. Lone wolf terrorism a lone actor, lone actor terrorist, or lone wolf is someone who prepares and commits violent acts alone, outside of any command structure and without material assistance from any group. Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship as the victims. This article aims to define and analyze the main features and patterns of lone wolf terrorism in fifteen countries.
Read lone wolf terrorism understanding the growing threat by jeffrey d. The age of lone wolf terrorisma massive study of loneactor terrorism in the united statesis the product of years of patient and dogged empirical investigation. Studies on lone wolf terrorism remain few and many are plagued by methodological and conceptual limitations. Note the age of lone terrorism defines lone wolf slightly differently than bombing alone, so their findings are not exactly comparable. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the potential terrorist threats from violenceprone individuals in our midst. Hamm and ramon spaaij provides the national security professional with an exceptional overview. Jeffrey simon points out that to wreak havoc the modern day lone wolf no. Historical data is broken into pre911 and post911 groupings for analysis. Spaaijs book presents in many ways the state of art in understanding lone wolf terrorism at the moment and makes a major contribution to the literature.
The current study adds to this growing literature by relying on lone wolf terrorism data recently made available by the american terrorism study ats. Trends over the past decades show that lone wolf lw terrorism is on the rise around the world. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lone wolf. The age of lone wolf terrorism columbia university press.
Lone wolf attacks are harder to stop, but tend to be less deadly, than those planned and executed by. Whether timothy mcveigh, theodore kaczynski, nidal malik hasan, anders breivik, tamerlan tsarnaev, syed farook, tashfeen malik, and other lone wolves should be labeled. From anders breivik in norway, who murdered scores of young people in a bombing and massshooting attack, to omar mateen. A lonewolf terrorist is never quite alone slate magazine. Lone wolf terrorism was adopted by al qaeda after september 11, 2001, when us military forces attacked its operational base in afghanistan. What drives the lone wolf terrorist to commit mass violence. From anders breivik in norway, who murdered scores of young people in a bombing and massshooting attack, to nidal malik hasan in the united states, who killed many of his fellow soldiers after opening fire at a military base, lone wolves have demonstrated that they can be as dangerous as organized terrorist groups. To reach a deeper understanding of this phenomenon and its possible future trajectory, the authors of this book, under the auspices of the millennium projects israeli node, conducted a realtime delphi rtd study involving experts in security and related fields from around the world in november. This mistaken view often leads to the conclusion that fighting terrorism is like waging a war with large military units. The author does a good job chronicling the history of lone wolf terrorism as well as classifying the motivational types of lone wolf terrorists. This study also reveals that the vast majority of this violence is coming from lone wolves or leaderless resistance groups, most of. Buy the age of lone wolf terrorism studies in transgression by mark s.
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