Foreword

The phenomenon of Terrorism is nothing new. It has long been used by contesting parties in many conflict situations in the past not only in political arenas but also in industrial disputes, environmental, social issues, matters related to psychological characteristics of the protester as in school shootings in the United States, etc. It is true that it has come into prominence after 9/11 and subsequent events. But it is just not a political issue. It encompasses all aspects of social and physical sciences. Terrorism and technological development, particularly in information sciences and energy sources, and especially nuclear energy, are very much related. So we need to develop a general theory involving socioeconomic, political, technological, and physical variables. This is not an easy task. It needs to be emphasized that terrorism linked with political ideology common in pre-cold war and colonial times is still present. The Naxalite movement in India is a case in point. It is also entangled with matters of globalization and foreign direct investment. In many countries, examples of terrorism particularly by minority and tribal groups against multinational corporations can be cited. But this book with contributions from distinguished scholars deals with political terrorism.

It starts with an attempt to define terrorism and a terrorist acknowledging that no single definition exists. No clear-cut link between terrorism and religious extremism can be established. However, multiple views are beneficial to develop a general system based on rational choice theory. Next, contributors look for the motives for terrorism, its measurements, its varieties (foreign and home grown), forecasting, cyber terrorism, organized crime, etc. The subject matter of this volume is very focused to the theme of the book series.

Manas Chatterji

Series Editor