Trends and developments in lone wolf terrorism in the western. Understanding lone wolf terrorism global patterns, motivations. Recent attacks in canada and new york city by homegrown, lonewolf terrorists remind us again that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. This important work offers much for a general, concerned audience, as well as for specialists charged with combating terrorism. Jasparros 2010 study asserts that lone wolf terrorism is not a big threat, as lone wolf attacks carry a poor record of success, and result in fewer fatalities. Lone wolf terrorism requires the individual to make a plot and undertake their violent actions alone. Hamm and ramon spaaij provides the national security professional with an exceptional overview. The myth of the lone wolf terrorist news the guardian.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lone wolf. Lone wolf terrorism introduction problem background and significance in the united states terrorism incidents such as the attack in 1995 in oklahoma by timothy mcveigh and the september 11th attack in 2001, have led to the realization that lone wolf terrorism posses a grave threat to the safety of the public. 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. Understanding the growing threat reprint by jeffrey d. Jessica sterns detailed, interviewbased research remains a vital source. We are going to have to deal with stopping these smallscale events, which may be less bloody and kill fewer people, but that are much harder to detect and therefore much harder to deter. 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. In the aftermath of the boston marathon terrorist attack, america can learn a few vital lessons on how to stop the next lone wolftype assault. Lone wolf terrorism a brief bibliography updated august 2019 show summary open resource pdf open full abstract this bibliography, compiled by greta e. Hamm and spaaij carefully distinguish between lone wolves and individuals radicalized within a group dynamic. Hamm and sociologist ramon spaaij discuss stochastic terrorism as a form of indirect enabling of terrorists. Although we have faced some longlived groups in recent years, the average age of a terrorist group is about eight years.
Hamm and spaaij provide a thoughtful analysis and critical insights about the nature of lone wolf terrorism and terrorists. He believes that the most serious threats remain those posed by groupbased terrorists12. The lone wolf is upon us an israeli expert on terrorism believes the u. Domestic terrorism and related radical violence as opposed to terrorist attacks emanating from abroad continue to plague the nation.
The book is a mustread for scholars, policymakers, and law enforcement officials. Lone wolf attacks are becoming more common and more. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned about the potential terrorist threats from violenceprone individuals in our midst. Jul 14, 2016 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 age of lone wolf terrorism. In a forthcoming book, the age of lone wolf terrorism. The age of lone wolf terrorism provides an important datadriven extension to our current understanding of who lone wolves are and the factors that led them to undertake the acts that they did.
What can be done about the lone wolf terrorist threat. A fter 911, lonewolf terrorism suddenly seemed like a distraction from more serious threats. This article aims to define and analyze the main features and patterns of lone wolf terrorism in fifteen countries. 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. Omar mir seddique mateen, who assaulted a gay discotheque in orlando florida in 2016, and sirhan sirhan, who assassinated senator robert f. Jun 27, 2018 countering lone wolf terrorism in the 2020s is going to get more difficult countering lone wolf terrorism in the 2020s is going to get more difficult. The lethality of lone wolf terrorism has reached an alltime high in the united states.
The tactics used by british terrorist khalid masood in his horrifying attack on wednesday outside londons parliament were typical of the selfproclaimed islamic state, or isis. This mistaken view often leads to the conclusion that fighting terrorism is like waging a war with large military units. Jul 31, 2017 bruce hoffman talked about his book, inside terrorism, about the historical evolution of terrorism around the world and november 22, 2017 joseph augustyn on homeland security. In the second edition of his book originally published in 20, simon the terrorist trap. A study on the connection between mental illness and loneactor terrorism. What drives the lone wolf terrorist to commit mass violence. 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.
This paper aims to outline an initial theoretical framework that will allow for comparisons between lone wolf terrorism and related nonterrorist lone actor phenomena, which can enable policy transfer with regard to detection, prevention and treatment. Popular war on terror books meet your next favorite book. It is also the culmination of a lot of hard thinking about the interior world and entanglements of that most quintessentially american iteration of con temporary terrorism. 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. Dec 06, 2015 extremists acting on their own to carry out socalled lone wolf terrorist attacks are difficult to predict and extremely hard to stop, an expert has warned in the wake of a knife assault on. The definitions incorporated in the literature concerning lone wolf terrorism do not differ greatly. While fear of terrorist attacks overshadows the olympic games, the lone wolf terrorist is a cause for concern. To introduce this terrorism profile portfolio system, lets compare two prominent lonewolf terrorists.
In the wake of friday nights violent attacks in paris, the wall street journal asked several experts for book recommendations on the evolution of terrorism in the middle east. Hewitts 2003 study identified 30 cases of lone wolf terrorism in the united states between. Aug 02, 2012 while fear of terrorist attacks overshadows the olympic games, the lone wolf terrorist is a cause for concern. The book is heavily notated and makes frequent reference to other works on terrorism so the reader learns the names and works of other authors on terrorism. They write that stochastic terrorism is the method of international recruitment used by isis, and they refer to anwar alawlaki and alex jones as stochastic. Overall, between 1968 and 2010, lone wolf attacks accounted for about 1. The lone wolf myth also helps security services, which are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of information, explain serious failures in intelligence that might have prevented an attack from taking place. Foreign affairs lone wolf terrorism is a wakeup call to those who view terrorism solely as a threat that. In lone wolf, maryanne vollers brings the reader deep inside one of the most sensational cases of domestic terrorism in american history. After a brief discussion of the epistemological and phenomenological difficulties associated with the concept of lone wolf terrorism, a number of possible counterterrorist approaches are discussed.
Mar 30, 2017 a fter 911, lone wolf terrorism suddenly seemed like a distraction from more serious threats. A new era in terrorism is emerging and the lone wolf is at the forefront. Dec 11, 2017 a study of lone wolf terrorism in the u. Jeffrey simons chilling and compelling account of the rise of lonewolf terrorism proves prescient, as the recent. There is no any link which could lead back to the group or even someone who could be providing. Oct 02, 2017 for the years between 1970 and 2010, i combined terroristgroupattack data from the global terrorism database with lonewolfattack data from ramon spaaijs book understanding lone wolf. But given the trend toward increased lone wolf terrorism over time, the annual average of lone wolf attacks by the 2000s had reached 7. This study also reveals that the vast majority of this violence is coming from lone wolves or leaderless resistance groups, most of. There are single issue lone wolves who act in the name of a particular issue, such as antiabortion, environmental and animal rights, and so forth. As he grew older, which was mostly in my absence, my firstborn son, alexander, became ever more humorous and courageous. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
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. Still, apart from scholarly articles in such specialist venues as the journal of terrorism and political violence, the literature is relatively sparse. Mar 15, 2017 the year 2016 was the year of the lone wolf terrorist. In an attempt to find how an investigated and is inspired extremist commits an act of lone wolf terrorism without any suspicion of authorities was the key focus. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lone wolf terrorism. Jeffrey simon has written a readable analysis of the phenomenon of the lone wolf terrorist. Another is ramon spaaijs 2011 book, understanding lone wolf terrorism. Lone wolf terrorism is shown to be more prevalent in the united states than in the other countries under study. In december 2015, husband and wife syed rizwan farook and tashfeen malik attacked a christmas party.
They write that stochastic terrorism is the method of international recruitment used by isis, and they refer to anwar alawlaki and alex jones as stochastic terrorists. Biology mary ann clark, jung choi, matthew douglas. Understanding the growing threat kindle edition by simon, jeffrey d. An assessment the term lone wolf terrorism encompasses terrorist attacks which are carried out by one person, who does not belong to an organised terrorist group. The age of lone wolf terrorism studies in transgression mark hamm, ramon spaaij, simon cottee on. 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. Americas lonewolf terrorists are unpredictable in almost. The age of lone wolf terrorism columbia university press. According to spaaij 2010 in the enigma of lone wolf terrorism. Lone wolf terrorism was adopted by al qaeda after september 11, 2001, when us military forces attacked its operational base in afghanistan. The 19 men who carried out the attacks were jihadis who had been hand picked, trained, equipped and. This study also reveals that the vast majority of this violence is coming from lone wolves or leaderless resistance groups, most of the latter composed of just two men. A lone wolf terrorist ahead of his time, internationally renowned terrorism expert jeffrey d.
There are islamic extremist lone wolves and white supremacist lone wolves. The study of lone wolf terrorism takes a significant leap forward in this important book. Lone wolf terrorism a risk analysis risk analysis stuvia. A new history, mark hamm, a criminology professor at indiana state university, and ramon spaaij, a. Historical data is broken into pre911 and post911 groupings for analysis. For the years between 1970 and 2010, i combined terroristgroupattack data from the global terrorism database with lonewolfattack data from ramon spaaijs book. The book also successfully avoids the conceptual confusion present in so much research on lone actors by explicitly defining its relevant. The boundaries of lone wolf terrorism are fuzzy and arbitrary.
The myth of the lone wolf terrorist the tower the tower. Lone wolf terrorism cuts across the entire political and religious spectrum. But recently, lone wolves have proved extremely deadly and may be inspiring others to act. There came a time, as the confrontation with the enemies of our civilization became more acute, when he sent off various applications to enlist in the armed forces. The 19 men who carried out the attacks were jihadis. There are single issue lone wolves who act in the name of a particular issue, such as antiabortion, environmental and.
After a brief discussion of the epistemological and phenomenological difficulties associated with the concept of lone wolf terrorism, a number of. In the last two years, lone wolf jihadists seemed to emerge as the new face of terrorism. Countering lonewolf terrorism in the 2020s is going to get more difficult countering lonewolf terrorism in the 2020s is going to get more difficult. Leaders of al qaeda prompted their followers to take part in independent acts of violence against their perceived enemies at any given moment. The prose is very readable and intriguing, pulling you through the book. A man types on a keyboard in front of a computer screen on which an islamic state flag is displayed, in this picture illustration taken in zenica, bosnia and herzegovina, february 6, 2016. What does the recent spate of lone wolf terrorist attacks.
In addition, we look into the challenge of countering lone wolf terrorism and map out possible responses to prevent attacks in this paper for the expert meeting entitled lone wolves. Extremists acting on their own to carry out socalled lone wolf terrorist attacks are difficult to predict and extremely hard to stop, an expert has warned in the wake of a knife assault on. The lethality of lonewolf terrorism has reached an alltime high in the united states. The book presents holistic information succinctly and in a readable fashion. May 04, 2017 lone wolf terrorism cuts across the entire political and religious spectrum. Marlatt at the naval postgraduate school, contains a list of resources related to lone wolf terrorism. My research demonstrates that there are six classic patterns of endings for a group. Preventing the next lone wolf terrorist attack requires.
The age of lone wolf terrorism, studies in transgression by. Bruce hoffman talked about his book, inside terrorism, about the historical evolution of terrorism around the world and november 22, 2017 joseph augustyn on homeland security. The age of lone wolf terrorism studies in transgression. The age of lone wolf terrorism does manage to break the typical mould of terrorism studies. Terrorism is an ancient phenomenon and, at its heart, a weak tactic. He had conjured up the fictitious group aliens of america, but it was soon discovered that he acted alone in a oneman war against government and society. The year 2016 was the year of the lone wolf terrorist. Lone wolf attacks are becoming more common and more deadly. 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. Trends and developments in lone wolf terrorism in the. Lone wolf terror attacks hard to stop, says security expert.
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