Global Alert

The Rationality of Modern Islamist Terrorism and the Challenge to the Liberal Democratic World

Boaz Ganor

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2015
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9780231538916
• Subtopic: Democracy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Many associate terrorism with irrational behavior and believe only lunatics could perpetuate such horrific acts. Global Alert debunks this myth by anatomizing the rationale behind modern terrorism. It draws a distinct picture of its root and instrumental causes and plots the different stages of a terrorist attack, from indoctrination and recruitment to planning, preparation, and launch.

Global Alert also exposes the measured exploitation of democratic institutions by terrorists to further their goals. Despite its strong capabilities and extensive resources, the modern liberal-democratic state is nevertheless subject to the rules of war, which partially restrict the state's ability to operate and maneuver. Boaz Ganor shows how terrorist organizations exploit these values to paralyze or neutralize the states they oppose. In outlining this new "hybrid" terrorist organization and its activity in both the military–terrorist arena and the political–welfare arena, Ganor advances an international doctrine for governing military operations between state and nonstate actors as part of a new type of armed conflict termed "multidimensional warfare."

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents 
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Introduction to Multidimensional Warfare: Defining Terrorism, Redefining War
• 2. The Challenges and Dilemmas Faced by Liberal Democracies Coping with Modern Islamist Terrorism
• 3. The Proportionality Dilemma in Countering Terrorism
• 4. State Involvement in Terrorism
• 5. The Hybrid Terrorist Organization
• 6. Is Liberal Democracy the Solution to Terrorism—or Is It Part of the Problem?
• 7. The Rationale of Modern Islamist Terrorism
• 8. The Practical Aspects of an Islamist Terrorist Organization’s Rationale
• 9. Understanding the Rationale Behind Different Types of Terrorist Attacks
• 10. The Rationale of the Modern Islamist Terrorist Organization: Hamas as a Case Study
• 11. Conclusion
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index