INR 3084 Spring 2011 Terror and Politics Instructor: Christine Mele Office: Bellamy 218 E-mail: csm07f@fsu.edu Office Phone: 644-5727 Class: MWF 1:25-2:15pm in HCB 217 Office Hours: MF 2:30-3:30pm and by appointment (email for appointment) Course Purpose INR 3084 is an upper-division course focusing on the nature of terrorist organizations and government responses to them. Terrorism has been described as the poor man s air force and as a tactic used by states to achieve foreign and domestic policy goals. This description of terrorism highlights the complexity of terrorism, which is a tactic used by individuals, groups, and states for a variety of goals. No single course can give you an understanding of this topic, but this course hopes to provide the tools necessary to become educates consumers of news in a post-9/11 word. This course will not focus on the typical polemics, but instead will provide a careful analysis of different aspects of terrorism: its historical context, the organizational structure of terrorist groups; the available weapons and tactics of both national and sub-national terror; mobilization and recruitment within terror networks; terrorist finance; methods of counterterrorism, and will examine various terrorist groups. While this course will cover many aspects of terrorism, it is important to remember that this course is a primer and should be viewed as such. The goal of this course is to increase your knowledge of terrorism. At a minimum, you should leave this course more informed about terrorism than you were before you took the class. My hope for this course is that you are able to contribute to the academic and/or professional field. In pursuit of that goal, the culmination of the course will be a paper in which you will act in the role of an intelligence analyst, dissecting a sub-national terrorist organization discussed in class in order both to assess the organization for the target state s head of intelligence, and to provide counter-terror strategies for minimizing its impact. Course Requirements There are three components to your grade. These will be discussed in greater detail below: Attendance and Participation - 20% Midterm exam on Friday, February 24th - 20% Final exam on April 24th from 5:30-7:30pm - 25% Policy Memo - 35% The letter grade will be assigned according to the standard table: 93-100 gives A, 90-92 gives A-, 87-89 gives B+, 83-86 gives B, 80-82 gives B-, 77-79 gives C+, 73-76 gives C, 70-72 gives C-, 67-69 gives D+, 63-66 gives D, 60-62 gives D-, and 00-59 gives F. 1. Attendance and Participation (20%) - Decisions made concerning terrorism have wide-reaching effects, and therefore it is important to be able to express oneself clearly and objectively when discussing it. As such, regular attendance and participation is vital and will be graded accordingly. I expect that you will come to class having read the material and participate in the discussion by asking and answering questions, engaging fellow classmates and myself, and think about the course material. Since terrorism is a sensitive topic, all comments will be prefaced with your name, and kept as scholarly in nature as possible. 1
2. Midterm exam on Friday, February 24th (20%) - The midterm will be worth 20% and will contain multiple choice questions. 3. Final exam on April 24th from 5:30-7:30pm (25%) - The final exam is cumulative, covering material from the entire semester. It will contain the same type of questions as those present on the midterm. 4. Policy Memo (35%) - For the Policy Memo, you will choose a sub-national terrorist group and write a policy memo phrased for the head of the intelligence of the targeted state. For the sub-national group, you may choose one of the groups listed on the syllabus to be discussed in the class Weeks 14-16. This will be the group you will both use for your policy memo and for your group presentation. You must email me your group choice by the start of class on Monday, January 30th. You will provide a brief summary of the situation and you will present your proposal for policy in the region going forward. This memo should make use of the analyses discussed during the course. It must be between 6 and 10 pages (double-spaced), not including a title, references, or other supporting pages, and should be kept to 12 pt Times New Roman Font with 1 inch margins. This policy memo should follow guidelines that will be posted on Blackboard at the midterm, and will be graded in terms of how well it satisfies the assignment as well as the quality of the writing. Memos will be due the last day of class, Friday, April 20th, but may be turned in earlier. Textbook and Readings Enders, Walter, and Todd Sandler. 2005. The Political Economy of Terrorism. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-61650-6. Hoffman, Bruce. 2007. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN: 0-231-12699-9. Both of these texts should be available at the FSU Bookstore. As noted above, they are required. Please notify me as soon as possible if you have trouble obtaining the texts. We will also be reading articles from newspapers and journals throughout the semester. I will post the article on the Blackboard website when it is not available through JSTOR. What I Expect From You 1. Academic Honesty 2. Complete all assignments on time. 3. Attend class. Attendance is also necessary to learn the material that is not addressed in the readings but will be on the exams. 4. Keep up with the readings. This course has a heavy reading load. If you fall behind, you will be lost during the class and will have difficulty in catching up before the exams. 5. Do not come to class late or leave early. 6. Turn your cell phone to silent before the class begins and do not text message during class. 7. Do not use your computer or electronic equipment for searching the web or playing a game. They are to be used for note taking only. 8. Do not start packing your bags or backpacks until class has ended. 9. Treat everyone with respect. This means that you must show respect for alternative opinions and points of view, listen when either the instructor or a fellow student is speaking and refrain from insulting language and gestures. 2
What You Can Expect From Me 1. My lectures will be well prepared and organized. 2. I will treat all students with the respect I demand from them. 3. I will do my best to be fair and impartial and present different sides. 4. I will grade your papers and exams promptly and accurately. 5. I will remain accessible and will hold office hours regularly. 6. During the third week of class, I will ask for anonymous evaluations to make adjustments so that I may improve the course. Attendance Guidelines and Guidelines for Late Work Attendance will be taken sporadically; excuses of a limited nature will be accepted for absences, assuming documentation is provided in a timely-fashion. Make-up exams for the midterm and final are possible, but only with prior notice and proper documentation. No late work will be accepted. This means late policy memos will not be accepted under any circumstances. Memos are due promptly at the beginning of the last day of class, provided to me in person in hard copy. If there is a problem for any reason, memos may be given to me in person earlier than this date. It is your responsibility to ensure that this deadline is met. I advise starting the task as soon as possible, so as to prevent last minute unexpected events from causing problems. All information necessary to write the memo - save only the details of the case to be studied - will have been provided by the mid-term on February 24th. The following (and only the following) absences are eligible to be excused for exams: absences due to representing FSU at official functions, including intercollegiate and/or varsity sports events, verified emergencies, and/or medical illness. A student may reschedule a test if I receive notice from that student regarding the absence before the test begins or with documentation if an emergency or illness. Tests may only be postponed for the reasons explained above. Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations must (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), and (2) bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating that you need academic accommodations. This must be done within the first week of class. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the Student Disability Resource Center, 97 Woodward Avenue, South, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167, (850) 644-9566 (voice), (850) 644-8504 (TDD), sdrc@admin.fsu.edu http://www.fsu.edu/ staffair/dean/studentdisability/ FSU s Academic Honor Code The academic honor system of The Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility: (1) To uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student s own work, (2) To refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) To foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community. Please see the following web site for a complete explanation of the Academic Honor Code. http://www.fsu.edu/books/student-handbook/codes/honor.html 3
Violation: If any student is caught cheating on one of my exams or is found to have plagiarized on the policy memo assignment you will receive an F in the course. 4
What follows is a tentative reading schedule and will be updated at times during the class. Please see Blackboard s Schedule of Readings for an up-to-date schedule. Week 1: Introduction and Definitions Wednesday, January 4th - Introduction to the Course Daniel Finkelstein. Terrorism: let s do the maths. Times Online, August, 23 2006 Friday, January 6th - Defining Terrorism Hoffman, Chapter 1 Timothy Garton Ash. Is there a good terrorist?, November 29 2001 Week 2: History of Terrorism Monday, January 9th: Definitions and History Michael Stohl. The Politics of Terrorism, chapter Demystifying Terrorism: The Myths and Realities of Contemporary Political Terrorism, pages 1 28. Marcel Dekker, inc, 1983 Boaz Ganor. Defining terrorism: Is one man s terrorist another man s freedom fighter? Police Practice and Research, 3(4):287 304, 2002 Wednesday, January 11th: Contexts and History Martha Crenshaw. Terrorism in Context, chapter Introduction: Thoughts on Relating Terrorism to Historical Contexts, pages 3 24. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Enders and Sandler, Chapter 1 (1st and 2nd Edition) Friday, January 13th: Origins of Modern Terrorism Hoffman, Chapter 2 Martin Miller. Terrorism in Context, chapter The Intellectural Origins of Modern Terrorism, pages 27 41. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Week 3: The Logic of Terrorism and Tactics I Monday, January 16th: Martin Luther King Day No class today for celebration of Martin Luther King Day Wednesday, January 18th: Rationalist Approach to Terrorism Martha Crenshaw. Origins of Terrorism, chapter The Logic of Terrorism, pages 7 24. Woodrow Wilson Press Center, 1998 David A. Lake. Rational extremism: Understanding terrorism in the twenty-first century. Dialogue IO, 1(01):15 29, 2002 5
Friday, January 20th: Tactics I: Strategic Overview and Psychological Warfare David Fromkin. The strategy of terrorism. Foreign Affairs, 53(4):pp. 683 698, 1975 Jeffrey Ian Ross. Political Terror: An Interdisciplinary Approach, chapter Chapter Three: Exploring the Causes, pages 77 91. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, 2006 Boaz Ganor. Terror as a strategy of psychological warfare. ICT Publication, July 15 2002 Week 4: Democracy and Terrorism Monday, January 23rd: Dilemma of Democracies Hoffman, Chapter 3 Quan Li. Does Democracy Promote or Reduce Transnational Terrorist Incidents? Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(2):278 297, 2005 Wednesday, January 25th: Indifference Curve Approach Day 1 Enders and Sandler, Chapter 2 (1st and 2nd Edition) Powerpoint notes on Indifference curves Friday, January 27th: Indifference Curve Approach Day 2 Enders and Sandler, Chapter 2 (1st and 2nd Edition) Powerpoint notes on Indifference curves Week 5: Tactics II: Hijacking and Hostage Taking Monday, January 30th: Political Parties and Terrorism Subnational group choice due Erica Chenoweth. Democratic competition and terrorist activity. The Journal of Politics, 72(01):16 30, 2010 Leonard Weinberg. Turning to terror: The conditions under which political parties turn to terrorist activities. Comparative Politics, 23(4):pp. 423 438, 1991 Wednesday, February 1st: Hijacking and Hostage Taking Simulation Day I Enders and Sandler, Chapter 7 (1st and 2nd Edition) Friday, February 3rd: Hijacking and Hostage Taking Simulation Day II Simulation Day II 6
Week 6: Religion and Terrorism Monday, February 6th: Hijacking and Hostage Taking Simulation Day III Simulation Day III, De-briefing Wednesday, February 8th: Introduction and Background Hoffman, Chapter 4 Friday, February 10th: Religion and Suicide Terrorism E. Berman and D.D. Laitin. Religion, terrorism and public goods: Testing the club model. Journal of Public Economics, 92(10-11):1942 1967, 2008 Week 7: Tactics III: Suicide Bombing and Tactics IV: Weapons of Mass Destruction Monday, February 13th: Introduction to Suicide Terrorism Hoffman, Chapter 5 Wednesday, February 15th: Strategic Logic of Suicide Terror Robert A. Pape. The strategic logic of suicide terrorism. American Political Science Review, 97:343 61, 2003 Assaf Moghadam. Suicide terrorism, occupation, and the globalization of martyrdom: A critique of dying to win. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 29(8):707 729, 2006 Friday, February 17th: Introduction to Weapons of Mass Destruction CIA. Terrorist cbrn: Materials and effects, May 2003. https : //www.cia.gov/library/reports/general reports 1/terrorist c brn/terrorist C BRN.htm Walter Laqueur. The New Global Terrorism: Characteristics, Causes, Controls, chapter Postmodern Terrorism, pages 151 159. Prentice Hall, 2003 Richard Falkenrath. Confronting nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism. Survival, 40(3):43 65, 1998 Week 8: Tactics IV: Weapons of Mass Destruction and Midterm Monday, February 20th: Study Day - NO CLASS No Class. Use this time to look over the study guide and to develop questions for the Review Day. Wednesday, February 22nd: Review Day Come with questions! 7
Friday, February 24th: MIDTERM Bring a pencil! Good Luck! Week 9: Mobilization and Recruitment Monday, February 27th: Suicide Terrorism and Public Support Mia M. Bloom. Palestinian suicide bombing: Public support, market share, and outbidding. Political Science Quarterly, 119(1):pp. 61 88, 2004 Wednesday, February 29th: Who Joins? Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Maleckova. Education, poverty, and terrorism: Is there a causal connection. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(4):119 144, 2003 Friday, March 2nd: Jihadi Networks Marc Sageman. Understanding Terror Networks, chapter Social Networks and the Jihad, pages 137 173. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004 Week 10: SPRING BREAK Monday, March 5th: No Class Wednesday, March 7th: No Class Friday, March 9th: No Class Week 11: Counter-Terrorism Part I Monday, March 12th: Game Theoretic Approach to Counter-Terrorism Enders and Sandler, Chapter 4 (1st and 2nd Edition) Wednesday, March 14th: Homeland Security, Intelligence, and Counter-Terrorism Enders and Sandler, Chapter 10 (1st Edition), Chapter 11 (2nd Edition) - Title is Homeland Security Loch Johnson. The New Global Terrorism: Characteristics, Causes, Controls, chapter Strategic Intelligence: the Weakest Link in the War against Terrorism, pages 239 252. Prentice Hall, 2003 Friday, March 16th: Exploiting Organizational Vulnerabilities JACOB N. SHAPIRO and DAVID A. SIEGEL. Underfunding in terrorist organizations. International Studies Quarterly, 51(2):405 429, 2007 Joseph et al. Felter. Organizational vulnerabilities and recommendations to exploit them. Combating Terrorism Center: Harmony and Disharmony Report, February 14 2006. http : //www.ctc.usma.edu/aq p df.asp 8
Week 12: Counter Terrorism Part II: Breaking Networks and Repression Monday, March 19th: Networks Valdis Krebs. Mapping of terrorist network cells. Connections, 24(3):43 52, 2002 Wednesday, March 21st: Breaking Networks Catherine Lotrionte. When to target leaders. The Washington Quarterly, 26(3):73 86, 2003 Friday, March 23rd: Repression and Terrorism David Siegel. When does repression work?: Collective action and social networks, Sections I, V, VI James I. Walsh and James A. Piazza. Why respecting physical integrity rights reduces terrorism. Comparative Political Studies, 43(5):551 577, 2010 Week 13: Financing Terror and State Sponsored Terrorism Monday, March 26th: Political Economy of Terrorist Financing Jeanne K. Giraldo and Harold A. Trinkunas. The Political Economy of Terrorism Finance and State Responses: A Comparative Perspective, chapter Chapter 1: The Political Economy of Terrorist Financing, pages 1 24. Stanford University Press, 2006 Matthew A. Levitt. The political economy of middle east terrorism. Middle East Review of International Affairs, 6(4):49 65, December 2002 Wednesday, March 28th: State Sponsored Terrorism Part I Daniel Byman. Passive sponsors of terrorism. Survival, 47(4):117 144, 2005 Fareed Zakaria. Terrorists don t need states. Newsweek, April 5th 2004 Friday, March 30th: State Sponsored Terrorism Part II State Sponsors of Terrorism, Chapter 3, found at http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2010/170260.htm Paul Wilkinson. Can a state be terrorist? International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), 57(3):pp. 467 472, 1981 Week 14: Types of Terrorist Groups - Part I Monday, April 2nd: Rightist/Reactionary Council on Foreign Relations, Militant Extremists in the United States, http://www.cfr.org/terroristorganizations/militant-extremists-united-states/p9236 Martin Durham. The american far right and 9/11. Terrorism and Political Violence, 15(2):96 111, 2003 9
Wednesday, April 4th: Leftist/Revolutionary Part I: The Shining Path of Peru Martha Crenshaw Hutchinson. The concept of revolutionary terrorism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 16(3):pp. 383 396, 1972 David Scott Palmer. Terrorism in Context, chapter The Revolutionary Terrorism of Peru s Shining Path, pages 249 308. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Friday, April 6th: Leftist/Revolutionary Part II: Urban Guerrilla of Argentina Richard Gillespie. Terrorism in Context, chapter Political Violence in Argentina: Guerrillas, Terrorist, and Carapintadas, pages 211 248. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Week 15: Types of Terrorist Groups - Part II Monday, April 9th: National-Separatist Groups Daniel Byman. The logic of ethnic terrorism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 21(2):149 169, 1998 Wednesday, April 11th: Nationalism - Iran Jerrold Green. Terrorism in Context, chapter Terrorism and Politics in Iran, pages 553 594. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Friday, April 13th: Ethnic Separatism - ETA Goldie Shabad and Francisco Llera. Terrorism in Context, chapter Political Violence in a Democratic State: Basque Separatism in Spain, pages 410 469. The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995 Week 16: Types of Terrorist Groups - Part III Monday, April 16th: Nationalistic to Religious Terror: Hammas and Hezbollah International Crisis Group. Dealing with hamas, 2004, Sections II and III Council on Foreign Relations, Backgrounder: Hezbollah, (at http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/) International Crisis Group. Hizbollah: Rebel without a cause, 2003 Wednesday, April 18th: Religious Terror: Al-Queda Leah Farrall. How al qaeda works: What the organization s subsidiaries say about its strength. Foreign Affairs, 128:128 138, 2011 Brian Michael Jenkins. Al qaeda after bin laden: Implications for american strategy. Rand Cooperation, June 2011 Daniel Milton. Jihad in english: Inspire magazine Friday, April 20th: Review Day and Policy Memo Due!! Review Day for the Final Exam. Bring your questions. 10
Final Exam Tuesday, April 24th: Final Exam from 5:30-7:30pm Bring a pencil! 11