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Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.325
EAN: 9780812240658
ISBN: 0812240650
Label: University of Pennsylvania Press
Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 208
Publication Date: January 03, 2008
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Studio: University of Pennsylvania Press
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Editorial Review:In the post-September 11 world, Al Qaeda is no longer the central organizing force that aids or authorizes terrorist attacks or recruits terrorists. It is now more a source of inspiration for terrorist acts carried out by independent local groups that have branded themselves with the Al Qaeda name. Building on his previous groundbreaking work on the Al Qaeda network, forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman has greatly expanded his research to explain how Islamic terrorism emerges and operates in the twenty-first century.In Leaderless Jihad, Sageman rejects the views that place responsibility for terrorism on society or a flawed, predisposed individual. Instead, he argues, the individual, outside influence, and group dynamics come together in a four-step process through which Muslim youth become radicalized. First, traumatic events either experienced personally or learned about indirectly spark moral outrage. Individuals interpret this outrage through a specific ideology, more felt and understood than based on doctrine. Usually in a chat room or other Internet-based venues, adherents share this moral outrage, which resonates with the personal experiences of others. The outrage is acted on by a group, either online or offline.Leaderless Jihad offers a ray of hope. Drawing on historical analogies, Sageman argues that the zeal of jihadism is self-terminating; eventually its followers will turn away from violence as a means of expressing their discontent. The book concludes with Sageman's recommendations for the application of his research to counterterrorism law enforcement efforts.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A different approach to understanding terrorism
This is an excellent book and provides numerous examples about looking at the root causes of terrorism. The author uses a somewhat scientific approach to looking at the root causes of terrorism, for example, he looked at the ages of terrorists, their education and background to debunk current thinking that terrorists have been disenfrancised. Instead he looks at radical islamists/terrorist as having been influenced by radical peers, the Iraqi invasion and the internet chat rooms. There is much to ... Read More
Rating:  - Leaderless Jihad
This seems to me an overrated, padded book, with little insight but much fodder for the author's future grant applications. There is some useful culling of statistical reports. The psychological profiles teach less than nothing about the individual jihadis. Sageman's main point, that terrorism is now decentralized and needs to be prevented by adequate psychological massaging of potential recruits, is undercut by his prefatory scene-setting admissions: the jihad has been reduced to low-level cells ... Read More
Rating: - Thoughtful analysis of jihad-developments
Marc Sageman knows jihadis first-hand. He trained Taliban for the CIA, and as a forensic psychiatrists he interviewed captured jihadis.
His comparison of the threat of local moslims in the USA and Europe is very interesting. So is his analysis of the person and his context behind the jihadi.
Sageman sees jihadis as a lunatic fringe, which should be reassuring, but is not. He proposes a US pullout from Iraq, and Israeli-Palestinian peace (keep dreaming!) as a way to de-escalate the tension ... Read More
Rating: - Must Read Book!
As an officer in the Air Force and analyst for DOD, I can not say strongly enough that this book is a must read for all Americans. Sageman diligently puts together a solid argument that considers context, scientific appreciation, individual and group psychology, and Middle East conditions. This book is extremely helpful in understanding the threat of Islamic terrorism and is vital for Americans to read if we are to appreciate, as a country united, the complexities of the terrorist threat. Bottom line: ... Read More
Rating: - Somebody who gets it
Marc Sageman gets it. He explains in detail how the third wave of terrorists are more apt to adopt their extremist views through social discourse and the need to fit in. Many people believe that this war is ideologically based i.e. people are driven out of religious doctrine. This may hold true for the al-Qaeda leadership, who wish to return to the 6 and 700s , but for the vast majority of new internet "terrorists", they just want to be cool; they essentially want to be fearless ninjas.
That being said, ... Read More
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