Toward a Phenomenology of Terrorism

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

   PDF

2. What Comes Before

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 1-24

3. What’s in a Name: Constructing Terrorism

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 25-53

4. The Phenomenology of the Nomos

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 55-82

5. Toward a Phenomenology of Jihad: Salifist Jihadi Perspectives

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 83-119

6. Al-Qaeda and the Rise of Global Jihad

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 121-143

7. The Islamic State and the Return of the Caliphate

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 145-172

8. The Taliban and Hezbollah: Political Parties or Terror Organizations

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 173-192

9. White Supremacy and the Digital World: The Social Construction of White Identity

   • David Polizzi

   Pages 193-221

10. The Reemergence of the Far-Right

    • David Polizzi

    Pages 223-243

11. Beyond Who Is Killing Whom

    • David Polizzi

    Pages 245-255

12. Back Matter

    Pages 257-261

    PDF

This book examines the socio-psychological dynamics and drivers of terrorism from a humanistic perspective. Most interpret terrorism as meaningless, asocial violence but this book argues that it's not just a case of seeing 'who is killing whom' but that defining and understanding terrorism is configured by historical context and immediate experience. The author argues that these acts of terrorist violence can be interpreted as the external expression of repressed feelings and impulses that have been tabooized by mainstream society. Upon release, these terrorists gain a new 'nomos' which generates a sense of meaning and significance for them. This book draws on psycho-analytical theories of repression, Heideggerian existentialism, Berger’s anthropological concept of culture as ‘nomos’, and Roger Griffin’s analysis of terrorist fanaticism, adding to the understanding terrorism andcriminality from a new perspective and beyond the usual literature situated in political science, security/war and peace studies. This book seeks to provide: a definition of terrorism, an account of the psychological theory, an explanation of the nomic dimension of terroristic violence, an exploration of the relevance of the new approach to understanding: Salafi jihadism, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, the Taliban, White Supremacism, the rise of the Radical Right, and reflections on this for combating terrorism. It appeals to those interested in terrorism, conflict, terrorist radicalization and motivation, international relations, politics and religious politics, and to counter-terrorism agencies.

• repression
• analytical psychology
• social philsophy
• psychosocial
• jihad
• al-Qaeda
• Islamic State
• white supremacy
• terrorism and security
• alt right
• philosophy of the social sciences
• terrorism
• violence and crime

“A methodological innovator of the highest order, David Polizzi has combined a creative synthesis of forensic psychotherapy, criminology, existential phenomenology, and social anthropology with extensive research into the mirror-universes of religious fundamentalist and white supremacist extremism … This is a book for anyone keen to break out of the conventional othering discourses of most terrorism studies to identify the deeper all-too-human wellsprings of the modern world’s epidemic of fanatical violence. In the right hands it should enable counter-terrorist professionals to adopt a more humane and empathetic understanding, and hence more effective policies to combat it.” (Professor Roger Griffin, Oxford Brookes University, UK)

• School of Criminology & Security Studies, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, USA

  David Polizzi

David Polizzi is currently teaching in the School of Criminology and Security Studies at Indiana State University, USA. He has a PhD in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Humanistic Psychology along with an MA in International Affairs. Prior to pursing his PhD in Clinical Psychology, he worked as a forensic psychotherapist both in maximum security penitentiary settings along with individuals returning to the community. 

Policies and ethics