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MASARYK UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND EUROPEAN STUDIES
Spring 2010
Syllabus for International Terrorism, Political Violence, & the Law
David McCuan, Ph.D. Office Location: FSS 424
Email: david.mccuan@sonoma.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays,
Office Phone: +420-549-49-3881 9:30-10:30 am
Course Description & Purpose:
* An introduction to the topics of terrorism, political violence, and domestic and
international laws & conventions governing the same. This course covers one of the
most pressing issues of the day ­ the prosecution and execution of violence for the
purposes of creating terror. For this seminar, the focus is on the relationships between
terror and political violence, as well as the role of domestic and international legal
protocols that govern our understanding of what constitutes terror and how we as a
nation, and as a society, respond to instances of violence. Given the importance of the
Global War on Terror (the GWOT, sometimes now called, the "War on Radical Islam"
and "The Long War"), in the aftermath of the events since 9/11, we examine and
analyze terrorism, and its older cousin, political violence, from the perspective of both
classic and contemporary treatments of the subject matter. Thus, any understanding of
the nature of where we find ourselves today in is rooted in an understanding of the
common language, traditions, and frameworks that govern this emerging subject
matter. This seminar is designed thus as an exploration of how our government and
western societies have come to wage and understand the phenomena of terrorism
linked to political disputes. The focus is both on domestic and international instances
of terrorism as well as on modeling and creating theories to explain these very
different, yet, in some ways, similar trends.
* To better understand the rise of terrorism leading to the events of 9/11, and what has
pushed our response as a result, we begin with defining terrorism, understanding the
rationales and motivations of terror subjects, and attempt to interpret how terrorism
and political violence have changed in the recent past. We also examine the many
distinct ways and methods that have come to be characterized as "terrorism" and
"political violence."
Course Learning Objectives:
1. To gain an understanding of social science conceptions of "terrorism" and
"political violence."
2. To gain knowledge of terrorism actors, motivations, organizations, and the
forces that mark the increased use of violence for political gain.
3. To gain knowledge of the historical epochs of political violence in the recent
past, and the controversies that result from a response by targeted nations and
actors.
4. To create theories, concepts, and explanations that informs both practical and
intellectual understandings of terrorism and political violence.
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Required & Recommended Texts
To maintain lower costs for students, the Instructor will provide weekly readings available via
online sources from the electronic resources of Masaryk University & through the web. Most
of these documents will be in PDF or HTML format. Additional citations that are
REQUIRED reading are noted below in the course schedule.
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT: FINAL
REPORT (US Government Printing Office, 2004; Available for free via the Web)
Bruce Hoffman, INSIDE TERRORISM (Columbia University Press, Revised and Expanded
Edition, 2006; Note that we do not want the first edition published in 1998)
Patrick Morgan, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS (CQ Press,
2006)
Marc Sageman, LEADERLESS JIHAD: TERROR NETWORKS IN THE 21ST
CENTURY
(University of Pennsylvania Press / Penn Press, 2008)
Al Qaeda Training Manual: UK MOD Version (2002); Available for free via the Web
Mia Bloom, DYING TO KILL (Columbia University Press, 2004)
Jason Burke, AL-QAEDA (McLaren Publishing, 2003)
Cindy Combs, TERRORISM IN THE 21ST
CENTURY (Prentice Hall, 2000)
Isaac Cronin, CONFRONTING FEAR (Columbia University Press, 2002)
Walter LaQueur, A HISTORY OF TERRORISM (Princeton University Press, 2001)
Robert Pape, DYING TO WIN: THE STRATEGIC LOGIC OF SUICIDE TERRORISM
(University of Chicago Press, 2005)
Paul Pillar, TERRORISM & U.S. FOREIGN POLICY (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)
**You will find useful the data and analysis provided on terrorism & political violence at:
www.start.umd.edu, www.mipt.org, and at www.rand.org. Many libraries also subscribe to
the very helpful CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online) database collection which has
a wealth of materials for interested students.
Grading and Assignments:
Attendance and participation 25%
Midterm (In class, held first or second week of April 2010) 30%
Final Exam (To be announced in class several times) 45%
Assignment Notes:
A good portion of the course is in seminar format, so plan to attend each session and to have
read the assignment. Much of the reading is in the first half of the semester to provide the
necessary information for both the Midterm and Final Exams.
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Course Outline:*This is a tentative schedule that is adapted as the semester progresses.
Week Topic* Assigned Readings*
1
Introduction to Terrorism &
Political Violence: Common
Language, Common
Frameworks
Skim 9/11 Commission Report;
Morgan, Chapter 1; Hoffman, Chapter 1
Sageman, Preface, Introduction
2
Defining Terrorism;
Understanding Terrorism
Yesterday & Today
Typologies, Causes, &
Conditions Leading to Terror
9/11 Commission Report, Preface, & Chapter 1;
Morgan, Chapter 2; Hoffman, Chapter 2
3
History & Psychology of
Terrorism ­ Who Are the
Terrorists? Frameworks for
Studying Terrorism
9/11 Commission Report, Chapters 2, 3;
Morgan, Chapters 3-5; Hoffman, Chapter 3;
Sageman, Chapter 1
4
Terrorism: Radicalization,
Feminization, & Radical
Jihadists-Techniques &
Responses to Terror Events;
9/11 Commission Report, Chapters 4, 5;
Hoffman, Chapter 4; Sageman, Chapters 2-4
5
Goals, Logic, & Methods of
Terrorism & Pol Violence
9/11 Commission Report, Chapters 6 - 9;
Hoffman, Chapters 5-6; Morgan, Chapters 9,
10; Sageman, Chapter 5
6
MIDTERM PREP REVIEW
SHEET AVAILABLE VIA
MASARYK INFO SYSTEM
READING WEEK ­ CATCH UP ON ALL
READINGS TO DATE
Morgan, Chapters 6-8; Hoffman, Chapters 1 ­ 5
7 MIDTERM WEEK
8 READING WEEK READINGS ASSIGNED BY INSTRUCTOR
9
Responses to Terrorism:
Legal, Political, &
Institutional Responses
(Financing,
Organizational Responses,
Public Opinion, & Threat
Response)
9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 10;
Morgan, Chapters 11, 12; Hoffman, Chapter 7;
Sageman, Chapter 6
10
"New" versus "Old"
Terrorism: Proliferation of
Techniques, Threats, &
Methods
9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 11;
Hoffman, Chapter 8; Sageman, Chapter 7
11
Legal Structures, Rulings &
Precedents: International &
Domestic Law on Terrorism
9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 12;
12
The Future of Terrorism &
The Future of Conflict
9/11 Commission Report, Chapter 13;
Morgan, Chapter 13 ; Hoffman, Chapter 9 ;
Sageman, Chapter 7 (redux), & Chapter 8
13 Exam Prep, Conclusions
14 FINAL EXAM