The emotional mechanics of lone wolf terroristic violence
Summary
Committing a violent act is emotionally difficult for an individual. Microsociological analyses of violence have demonstrated that there exists an emotional barrier that inhibits violence. Violence is only enabled through a number of situational factors. While most forms of terrorism have these enabling factors, lone-wolf terrorism presents a unique challenge for an individual looking to navigate through the emotional barriers and engage in violence. This is particularly true of some recent incidents where the attacker has not used remote bombings or arson, but highly confrontational, face-to-face forms of violence. By using Collins’ microsociological conception of violence, …show more content…
There is not space in this proposal to give enough attention to this issue, though it is important to draw attention to trouble of definition. Spaaij’s definition captures the more traditional idea of lone wolf terrorism with three key elements: they operate individually, do not belong to an organised terrorist group or network, and plan and direct their own attacks without outside influence. However, this definition excludes a number of recent, high-profile attacks where the perpetrators may have had links to international terrorist networks, whom may have helped in planning and the provision of equipment. However, given this project seeks analyse a limited point in time when an individual is isolated from wider networks and operating alone (the moment of violent action), I believe Gill, Horgan and Deckert’s definition of a “individual terrorist with command and control links” is an acceptable alternative to Spaaij’s definition. This term includes those who may have links to international networks, but crucially operate autonomously – essentially, they have a very high level of agency in conducting their attacks. For the purpose of this project, this definition is satisfactory. It avoids the difficult issue of attribution (did this person belong to a network? If so, how relevant is that?) and allows for a focus on the primary issue of this project: how …show more content…
It is hoped that this analysis will provide insight into the mechanics of this kind of violence and why some individuals are able to engage in violence whereas others are not. Of particular interest to this project are attacks which are relatively protracted and which force the attacker to maintain contact with their antagonist/s over a relatively long period of time. These are active shooter scenarios, hostage situations and the like – “medium length” tunnels of violence under Collins’ definition. These scenarios further challenge the ability of a single individual to pass through, and resist, tension and fear. In contrast, bombings (both remote and suicide), arson, quick, targeted assassinations, or other attacks which minimize the time spent dealing with the ct/f are more easily explained by
Summary
Committing a violent act is emotionally difficult for an individual. Microsociological analyses of violence have demonstrated that there exists an emotional barrier that inhibits violence. Violence is only enabled through a number of situational factors. While most forms of terrorism have these enabling factors, lone-wolf terrorism presents a unique challenge for an individual looking to navigate through the emotional barriers and engage in violence. This is particularly true of some recent incidents where the attacker has not used remote bombings or arson, but highly confrontational, face-to-face forms of violence. By using Collins’ microsociological conception of violence, …show more content…
There is not space in this proposal to give enough attention to this issue, though it is important to draw attention to trouble of definition. Spaaij’s definition captures the more traditional idea of lone wolf terrorism with three key elements: they operate individually, do not belong to an organised terrorist group or network, and plan and direct their own attacks without outside influence. However, this definition excludes a number of recent, high-profile attacks where the perpetrators may have had links to international terrorist networks, whom may have helped in planning and the provision of equipment. However, given this project seeks analyse a limited point in time when an individual is isolated from wider networks and operating alone (the moment of violent action), I believe Gill, Horgan and Deckert’s definition of a “individual terrorist with command and control links” is an acceptable alternative to Spaaij’s definition. This term includes those who may have links to international networks, but crucially operate autonomously – essentially, they have a very high level of agency in conducting their attacks. For the purpose of this project, this definition is satisfactory. It avoids the difficult issue of attribution (did this person belong to a network? If so, how relevant is that?) and allows for a focus on the primary issue of this project: how …show more content…
It is hoped that this analysis will provide insight into the mechanics of this kind of violence and why some individuals are able to engage in violence whereas others are not. Of particular interest to this project are attacks which are relatively protracted and which force the attacker to maintain contact with their antagonist/s over a relatively long period of time. These are active shooter scenarios, hostage situations and the like – “medium length” tunnels of violence under Collins’ definition. These scenarios further challenge the ability of a single individual to pass through, and resist, tension and fear. In contrast, bombings (both remote and suicide), arson, quick, targeted assassinations, or other attacks which minimize the time spent dealing with the ct/f are more easily explained by