Martha Crenshaw
Biographic Data
| ID | 332883 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martha Crenshaw |
| GIVEN NAMES | Martha |
| FAMILY NAME | Crenshaw |
| SIGNATURE | CRENSHAW M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wesleyan University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 28 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 618 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1980 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Will failed insurrection lead to terrorism in the United States
The following discussion outlines the attractions of a strategy of terrorism and its implications for political order. It also argues that a body of knowledge has been built up over time that provides a foundation for explaining current events. Research has shown that terrorism can be an effective substitute for the mobilization of large numbers when that mobilization is thwarted. Terrorism can sustain an illusion of power, provoke official over-…
The Oath Keepers
Oath Keepers (OK) is a prominent organization within the militia/patriot movement in the United States. The group rejects the legitimacy of the Biden administration and played a major role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Reasons for OK’s predominance include not only its record of opposition to the federal government but also its national reach and its ability to recruit former military and law enforcement personnel. Members …
Terrorism and International Cooperation
This book examines the possibility of East-West cooperation against terrorism and assesses the prospects for American-Soviet agreement. It looks at the nature of terrorism and, in examining the background to the issue, questions some of the assumptions on which past American policy has been based
Encyclopedia of World Terrorism
This three-volume reference on terrorism in the 20th century places this growing phenomenon in the context of modern history. It provides students with both detailed information and the historical perspective tie terrorism to the high school and college curriculum. "Volume 1" defines terrorism, explores the historical perspective from the dawn of Western Civilisation through World War II, and discusses specific activities of modern terrorist grou…
Terrorism and International Cooperation
Transnational Jihadism & Civil Wars
When rebels also employ terrorism, civil wars can become more intractable. Since the 1980s, jihadism, a form of violent transnational activism, has mobilized civil war rebels, outside entrepreneurs, foreign fighters, and organizers of transnational as well as domestic terrorism. These activities are integral to the jihadist trend, representing overlapping and conjoined strands of the same ideological current, which in turn reflects internal divis…
International Encyclopedia of Terrorism
This timely reference book places the growing 20th century phenomenon of terrorism in an historical context. Starting with the use of assassination in Ancient Greece and including the recent bombing of the American military complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, this encyclopedia covers the globe in its presentation of all aspects of terrorism: history, theories of, types of, and responses to, as well methods and techniques. There is a chronology of m…
The Long View of Terrorism
The deep roots of extremist violence make military responses in most cases ineffective
Terrorism Research
Looking back at the beginnings of academic research on terrorism just over 40 years ago, it is extraordinary to see that what was once a marginal subject for social science has developed into a full-fledged program of “terrorism studies.” In fact, recently a sociologist considered the subject of sufficient importance to write a doctoral dissertation and then a book on the “social construction” of the field (Stampnitzky 2013). This essay highlight…
Trajectories of terrorism
Research Summary Although researchers began to assemble open‐source terrorism event databases in the late 1960s, until recently most of these databases excluded domestic attacks. This exclusion is particularly misleading for the United States because, although the United States is often perceived to be the central target of transnational terrorism, the domestic attacks of foreign groups targeting the United States are often ignored. We began this…
Intimations of Mortality or Production Lines? The Puzzle of “Suicide Terrorism
Explaining Suicide Terrorism
Martha Crenshaw is the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor of Global Issues & Democratic Thought and Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, Middletown, ct. She is a Lead Investigator with the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism (nc-start), funded by the Department of Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. I thank Richard Boyd and the past and present editors of Security Studies for their help…
Counterterrorism in Retrospect
A Welcome Antidote
Why America? The Globalization of Civil War
Terrorism should be seen as a strategic reaction to American power in the context of a globalized civil war. Extremist religious beliefs play a role in motivating terrorism, but they also display an instrumental logic
Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process
(2001). Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism: Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 329-337
The Psychology of Terrorism
Research on political terrorism, which began in the early 1970s, faces some persistent problems. These involve defining the concept, collecting empirical data, building integrative theory, and avoiding the attribution of terrorism to personality disorders or “irrationality.” Furthermore, analysis risks being driven by events or the concerns of policymakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that psychological explanations of terrorism must t…
Democracy, commitment problems and managing ethnic violence
Based on a case study of the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka's ethnic war from 1987 to 1990, this article explores the conditions under which democracies can act as effective third parties to resolve civil violence. India's experience as guarantor of a peace settlement in Sri Lanka suggests that not only the intractability of civil conflicts but the power of domestic pressures shape intervention policies and outcomes. Decision‐makers depend on t…
Political violence in Algeria
It is estimated that over 20,000 people have died in civil conflict in Algeria since January, 1992, and no resolution is in sight. This article analyzes the current state of civil violence in Algeria in terms of a theory of collective rebellious behaviour stressing falsification of public preferences, adapted from the work of Timur Kuran. The theory links social and psychological factors to explain why the outcome of the political challenge mount…
The Mind of the Political Terrorist
Current research on terrorism
Most definitions of terrorism, however divided on other points, agree that it is a form of political violence. Unfortunately, this rare unanimity has only infrequently served as a foundation for research on political terrorism, which is typically isolated from the broader field. There are advantages to be gained from integrating research on terrorism into the analysis of political violence. The study of terrorism, which is widely recognized as th…
Award Recipients
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button
How terrorism declines
The decline of oppositional terrorism is a critical question for both scholars and policy‐makers. The former have neglected the issue, while the latter have tended to assume that government policies of prevention and deterrence are the key determinants of outcomes. This analysis suggests that government actions must be seen in the context of the internal organizational dynamics and strategy of the opposition groups using terrorism. In some cases,…
Theories of terrorism
(1987). Theories of terrorism: Instrumental and organizational approaches. Journal of Strategic Studies: Vol. 10, Inside Terrorist Organizations, pp. 13-31
Books in review
The Causes of Terrorism
Terrorism occurs both in the context of violent resistance to the state as well as in the service of state interests. If we focus on terrorism directed against governments for purposes of political change, we are considering the premeditated use or threat of symbolic, low-level violence by conspiratorial organizations. Terrorist violence communicates a political message; its ends go beyond damaging an enemy's material resources.' The victims or o…
The Psychology of Terrorism
Research on political terrorism, which began in the early 1970s, faces some persistent problems. These involve defining the concept, collecting empirical data, building integrative theory, and avoiding the attribution of terrorism to personality disorders or “irrationality.” Furthermore, analysis risks being driven by events or the concerns of policymakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that psychological explanations of terrorism must t…
Why Violence Spreads
This study examines the spread of international terrorism from 1968 to 1974. Using Poisson and negative binomial probability models, a diffusion of international terrorism was found in the first segment of the time period (1968–1971) and contagion as a direct modeling process in the second (1973–1974). Accordingly, the theory of hierarchies in which the diplomatic status of a country predicts its degree of imitability was found to operate among L…
How terrorism declines
The decline of oppositional terrorism is a critical question for both scholars and policy‐makers. The former have neglected the issue, while the latter have tended to assume that government policies of prevention and deterrence are the key determinants of outcomes. This analysis suggests that government actions must be seen in the context of the internal organizational dynamics and strategy of the opposition groups using terrorism. In some cases,…
Theories of terrorism
(1987). Theories of terrorism: Instrumental and organizational approaches. Journal of Strategic Studies: Vol. 10, Inside Terrorist Organizations, pp. 13-31
Trajectories of terrorism
Research Summary Although researchers began to assemble open‐source terrorism event databases in the late 1960s, until recently most of these databases excluded domestic attacks. This exclusion is particularly misleading for the United States because, although the United States is often perceived to be the central target of transnational terrorism, the domestic attacks of foreign groups targeting the United States are often ignored. We began this…
Current research on terrorism
Most definitions of terrorism, however divided on other points, agree that it is a form of political violence. Unfortunately, this rare unanimity has only infrequently served as a foundation for research on political terrorism, which is typically isolated from the broader field. There are advantages to be gained from integrating research on terrorism into the analysis of political violence. The study of terrorism, which is widely recognized as th…
Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process
(2001). Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism: Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 329-337
Transnational Jihadism & Civil Wars
When rebels also employ terrorism, civil wars can become more intractable. Since the 1980s, jihadism, a form of violent transnational activism, has mobilized civil war rebels, outside entrepreneurs, foreign fighters, and organizers of transnational as well as domestic terrorism. These activities are integral to the jihadist trend, representing overlapping and conjoined strands of the same ideological current, which in turn reflects internal divis…
The Oath Keepers
Oath Keepers (OK) is a prominent organization within the militia/patriot movement in the United States. The group rejects the legitimacy of the Biden administration and played a major role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Reasons for OK’s predominance include not only its record of opposition to the federal government but also its national reach and its ability to recruit former military and law enforcement personnel. Members …
Terrorism Research
Looking back at the beginnings of academic research on terrorism just over 40 years ago, it is extraordinary to see that what was once a marginal subject for social science has developed into a full-fledged program of “terrorism studies.” In fact, recently a sociologist considered the subject of sufficient importance to write a doctoral dissertation and then a book on the “social construction” of the field (Stampnitzky 2013). This essay highlight…
Intimations of Mortality or Production Lines? The Puzzle of “Suicide Terrorism
Democracy, commitment problems and managing ethnic violence
Based on a case study of the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka's ethnic war from 1987 to 1990, this article explores the conditions under which democracies can act as effective third parties to resolve civil violence. India's experience as guarantor of a peace settlement in Sri Lanka suggests that not only the intractability of civil conflicts but the power of domestic pressures shape intervention policies and outcomes. Decision‐makers depend on t…
The Mind of the Political Terrorist
"Rejoinder to "Observations on 'Why Violence Spreads
Journal Article Rejoinder to “Observations on ‘Why Violence Spreads’” Get access Manus I. Midlarsky, Manus I. Midlarsky Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Martha Crenshaw, Martha Crenshaw Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Fumihiko Yoshida Fumihiko Yoshida Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Studies Quarterly, Volume 24, …
"Rejoinder to "Observations on 'Why Violence Spreads
Journal Article Rejoinder to “Observations on ‘Why Violence Spreads’” Get access Manus I. Midlarsky, Manus I. Midlarsky Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Martha Crenshaw, Martha Crenshaw Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Fumihiko Yoshida Fumihiko Yoshida Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Studies Quarterly, Volume 24, …
Why Violence Spreads
This study examines the spread of international terrorism from 1968 to 1974. Using Poisson and negative binomial probability models, a diffusion of international terrorism was found in the first segment of the time period (1968–1971) and contagion as a direct modeling process in the second (1973–1974). Accordingly, the theory of hierarchies in which the diplomatic status of a country predicts its degree of imitability was found to operate among L…
The Causes of Terrorism
Terrorism occurs both in the context of violent resistance to the state as well as in the service of state interests. If we focus on terrorism directed against governments for purposes of political change, we are considering the premeditated use or threat of symbolic, low-level violence by conspiratorial organizations. Terrorist violence communicates a political message; its ends go beyond damaging an enemy's material resources.' The victims or o…
Books in review
Theories of terrorism
(1987). Theories of terrorism: Instrumental and organizational approaches. Journal of Strategic Studies: Vol. 10, Inside Terrorist Organizations, pp. 13-31
How terrorism declines
The decline of oppositional terrorism is a critical question for both scholars and policy‐makers. The former have neglected the issue, while the latter have tended to assume that government policies of prevention and deterrence are the key determinants of outcomes. This analysis suggests that government actions must be seen in the context of the internal organizational dynamics and strategy of the opposition groups using terrorism. In some cases,…
Current research on terrorism
Most definitions of terrorism, however divided on other points, agree that it is a form of political violence. Unfortunately, this rare unanimity has only infrequently served as a foundation for research on political terrorism, which is typically isolated from the broader field. There are advantages to be gained from integrating research on terrorism into the analysis of political violence. The study of terrorism, which is widely recognized as th…
Award Recipients
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button
The Mind of the Political Terrorist
Political violence in Algeria
It is estimated that over 20,000 people have died in civil conflict in Algeria since January, 1992, and no resolution is in sight. This article analyzes the current state of civil violence in Algeria in terms of a theory of collective rebellious behaviour stressing falsification of public preferences, adapted from the work of Timur Kuran. The theory links social and psychological factors to explain why the outcome of the political challenge mount…
The Psychology of Terrorism
Research on political terrorism, which began in the early 1970s, faces some persistent problems. These involve defining the concept, collecting empirical data, building integrative theory, and avoiding the attribution of terrorism to personality disorders or “irrationality.” Furthermore, analysis risks being driven by events or the concerns of policymakers. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that psychological explanations of terrorism must t…
Democracy, commitment problems and managing ethnic violence
Based on a case study of the Indian intervention in Sri Lanka's ethnic war from 1987 to 1990, this article explores the conditions under which democracies can act as effective third parties to resolve civil violence. India's experience as guarantor of a peace settlement in Sri Lanka suggests that not only the intractability of civil conflicts but the power of domestic pressures shape intervention policies and outcomes. Decision‐makers depend on t…
Why America? The Globalization of Civil War
Terrorism should be seen as a strategic reaction to American power in the context of a globalized civil war. Extremist religious beliefs play a role in motivating terrorism, but they also display an instrumental logic
Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process
(2001). Counterterrorism Policy and the Political Process. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism: Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 329-337
Counterterrorism in Retrospect
A Welcome Antidote
Explaining Suicide Terrorism
Martha Crenshaw is the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor of Global Issues & Democratic Thought and Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, Middletown, ct. She is a Lead Investigator with the National Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism (nc-start), funded by the Department of Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. I thank Richard Boyd and the past and present editors of Security Studies for their help…
Trajectories of terrorism
Research Summary Although researchers began to assemble open‐source terrorism event databases in the late 1960s, until recently most of these databases excluded domestic attacks. This exclusion is particularly misleading for the United States because, although the United States is often perceived to be the central target of transnational terrorism, the domestic attacks of foreign groups targeting the United States are often ignored. We began this…
Intimations of Mortality or Production Lines? The Puzzle of “Suicide Terrorism
The Long View of Terrorism
The deep roots of extremist violence make military responses in most cases ineffective
Terrorism Research
Looking back at the beginnings of academic research on terrorism just over 40 years ago, it is extraordinary to see that what was once a marginal subject for social science has developed into a full-fledged program of “terrorism studies.” In fact, recently a sociologist considered the subject of sufficient importance to write a doctoral dissertation and then a book on the “social construction” of the field (Stampnitzky 2013). This essay highlight…
International Encyclopedia of Terrorism
This timely reference book places the growing 20th century phenomenon of terrorism in an historical context. Starting with the use of assassination in Ancient Greece and including the recent bombing of the American military complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, this encyclopedia covers the globe in its presentation of all aspects of terrorism: history, theories of, types of, and responses to, as well methods and techniques. There is a chronology of m…
Transnational Jihadism & Civil Wars
When rebels also employ terrorism, civil wars can become more intractable. Since the 1980s, jihadism, a form of violent transnational activism, has mobilized civil war rebels, outside entrepreneurs, foreign fighters, and organizers of transnational as well as domestic terrorism. These activities are integral to the jihadist trend, representing overlapping and conjoined strands of the same ideological current, which in turn reflects internal divis…
Terrorism and International Cooperation
This book examines the possibility of East-West cooperation against terrorism and assesses the prospects for American-Soviet agreement. It looks at the nature of terrorism and, in examining the background to the issue, questions some of the assumptions on which past American policy has been based
Encyclopedia of World Terrorism
This three-volume reference on terrorism in the 20th century places this growing phenomenon in the context of modern history. It provides students with both detailed information and the historical perspective tie terrorism to the high school and college curriculum. "Volume 1" defines terrorism, explores the historical perspective from the dawn of Western Civilisation through World War II, and discusses specific activities of modern terrorist grou…
Political science (26 works) · Law (23 works) · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (21 works) · Terrorism (19 works) · Criminology (16 works) · Politics (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Economics (8 works)