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Cerberus Unleashed

The Three Faces of the Lone Wolf Terrorist

Bibliographic Data

ID3757736
AuthorsMark Pitcavage (Anti-Defamation League, New York, NY, USA, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume59
Issue13
Pages1655-1680
Publication date2015-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764215588817
OpenAlexW2282100594
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited12

The concept of the "lone wolf" terrorist slowly emerged in recent decades, often drawing media attention as a "new" or "dangerous" threat. It has only been in the past several years that the concept has begun to receive serious attention from scholars and experts, and no consensus has yet emerged on exactly what a lone wolf terrorist actually is. It is commonly believed that extremist or terrorist movements promote the notion of lone wolf violence because of the difficulties authorities have in detecting or preventing such acts, which gives lone wolves the chance to strike again. Many extremists do promote this sort of decentralized activity, but, as the example of the white supremacist movement shows, there are just as many extremists who oppose the use or promotion of lone wolf violence. An analysis of several dozen incidents of apparent lone wolf violence from the past two decades in the United States, incidents in which suspected lone wolves actually succeeded in killing at least one person, reveals some patterns and similarities among lone wolf offenders. These include, among others, the typical status of the offender on the periphery of the movement which they support, the tendency to use simple and easily acquirable weapons such as firearms, and the fact that most lone wolf offenders never succeed in launching a second act of violence

Criminology · Political science · Sociology · Terrorism · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

  • Profiling Lone-Actor Terrorists

    Open Access•Mohammadmoein Khazaeli Jah, A Khoshnood•Journal of Strategic Security•2019

  • Leaderless Resistance and the Truly Leaderless

    Michael Sweeney•Studies in Conflict and Terrorism•2017

  • Scattered Attacks

    Open Access•Stefan Malthaner, Flannery O''Connor et al.•Perspectives on Politics•2024

  • Lone Wolf Terrorism Through a Gendered Lens

    Open Access•Jude Mcculloch, Sandra Walklate et al.•Critical Criminology•2019

  • Radicalization

    Open Access•Stefan Malthaner•European Journal of Sociology•2017

  • Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism

    Open Access•Ramón Spaaij•Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism•2012

  • Eco-Warriors, Nihilistic Terrorists, and the Environment

    Lawrence E Likar•Eco-Warriors, Nihilistic…•2011

  • Understanding Terrorism in America

    Christopher Hewitt•Understanding Terrorism in America•2003

  • Dancing With Wolves

    Open Access•Rodger A Bates•The Journal of Public and…•2012

  • Terrorism and Beyond

    Brian Michael Jenkins•Studies in Conflict and Terrorism•2001

  • The Enigma of Lone Wolf Terrorism

    Ramón Spaaij•Studies in Conflict and Terrorism•2010

  • European terrorism

    Hans Josef Horchem•Terrorism•1982

  • Individual Terror

    Open Access•Ze'ev Iviansky•Journal of Contemporary History•1977

  • Alchemists of revolution

    Adrian Guelke•International Affairs•1988

  • Anthropology as Reality Show and as Co-production

    Open Access•Terry Turner•Critique of Anthropology•2006

Citations per year0.56
Citation span2017 - 2024 (8)
Highly citedNo

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