Administration
of Justice/Political Science 439
The
Politics of Terrorism
Philip
Jenkins Class
meets 12.20-1.10 in 322 Sackett
Please
note: I check my e-mail regularly (obsessively?) and this is an excellent way
to get in touch with me if you have a quick question or if you want to make an
appointment for a more substantial discussion.
Introduction
Terrorism
has been in the news for years, but many people still find it hard to
understand the motivation of terrorists, or the political situations that drive
them to their acts. Failing to understand the problems means that it is
difficult for governments or law-enforcement agencies to respond or react
effectively. This course will describe the phenomenon of terrorism in the
modern world, with particular emphasis on the experience of Western Europe and
the Middle East, and the role of sponsor states such as Iraq and Libya.
However, we will also consider American terrorist groups like the Order, the
FALN, and the Weather Underground, and the subculture that gave rise to the
bomb attack in Oklahoma City. We will debate the effectiveness of various
anti-terrorist strategies; and study the impact of recent events like the Iraqi
conflict, the end of the Cold War, and the outbreak of new conflicts in eastern
Europe and north Africa.
Required
Texts
1.
Yossef Bodansky, Terror!, S.P.I. books/ Shapolsky 1994. ISBN:
1-56171-301-5
2.
Jonathan R. White, Terrorism: an Introduction, Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/ Cole. ISBN: 0-534-13920-5
3.
Brent L. Smith, Terrorism in America SUNY Press, 1994. ISBN:
0-7194-1760-3
All
the books are in paperback.
Grading
The
grade for the course will be based on three examinations and a paper.
The
exams will occur on February 9; March 22; and April 26. Each will be objective
in format, with a mixture of multiple-choice and true-false questions. Each
exam is worth 20% of the grade. There is no comprehensive exam.
The
remainder of the grade derives from a term paper, which will be due in final
exam period. Please note that I absolutely have to approve your topic in
advance, and February 5 is the deadline for notifying me: ie don’t turn
up at the end of the course with an unannounced paper on the IRA. I am flexible about topics, and will
accept most reasonable ideas within the general scope of the course: more
details to follow. I will of course help you with reading lists and
bibliography, but you should check out the bibliographies in ALL the various
textbooks before asking..
Deadlines
Deadlines
matter, and I intend to enforce them strictly. If you miss a deadline without
getting an extension in advance, you get a non-negotiable grade of F on that
particular exam, paper or project. Do not try getting in touch with me after
the fact to explain why you missed an exam, unless you produce a proper medical
note. Excuses must always be supported by documentation. Valid reasons include
medical problems and the like. I am aware that ROTC sometimes makes strange
demands on its members, and these reasons would be valid: but note that ROTC
also provides documentation for these absences, which must be produced if you
want to claim this as a reason for an extension. "I have other exams that
day" is not a valid reasons for an extension, so please don't ask
(ask the other professors for the extension)
Syllabus of Classes
1.
January 8
Themes
of course.
READ:
White, Terrorism: an Introduction
2. January 10
Definitions
of terrorism - myths and stereotypes.
3. January 12
Aims
and goals of terrorism.
4. January 15
Provocation
and deception in terrorism: Belgium
5. January 17
Ideas
of state sponsorship and state terrorism.
6. January 19
Debates
in American counter-terrorism policy.
7.
January 22
History
of the terrorist phenomenon.
8.
January 24
1968
and all that: Creating the ideology of terrorism.
9.
January 26
The
Algerian experience.
10-11. January 29-31
Film
of Battle of Algiers.
12.
February 2
The
Middle East: introduction of terms and issues.
13.
February 5
Palestine
and the Palestinians
I
need to know the theme of your term papers today
14. February 7
Palestinian
terrorism 1968-present
15.
February 9
EXAM
ONE
16.
February 12
Lebanon
READ:
Bodansky, Terror!,
17.
February 14
The
American experience in Lebanon
18.
February 16
Sword
of Islam
19.
February 19
Shi’ite
terrorist networks
20.
February 21
Middle
Eastern terrorism in Europe
21.
February 23
Arms
dealing as a context for terrorism
22.
February 26
Iraq
and state sponsorship
23.
February 28
Europe
1968-1990: trends, waves, strategies. Typology of groups.
24.
March 1
Italy
25.
March 11
Libya:
state sponsorship or international manipulation?
26.
March 13
Project
on interpreting a terrorist incident
27.
March 15
Predicting
future trends in European terrorism. the Balkans, the new Algerian struggle,
the FSU
28.
March 18
Counter-terrorism
29.
March 20
Terrorism
in the community: ETA
30.
March 22
EXAM
TWO
31.
March 25
Terrorism
in the community: IRA
READ:
Smith, Terrorism in America
32.
March 27
Peru
33.
March 29
Terrorism
in the United States: “It Can’t Happen Here”
34.
April 1
Klan,
Bund and Christian Front
35.
April 3
Neo-Nazi
and ultra-Right terrorism in the United States: Reading William L. Pierce
today,
I need to see a rough bibliography of your term papers.
36.
April 5
Case-study:
Oklahoma City
37.
April 8
Leftist
terrorism: Weatherman
38.
April 10
FILM:
Weatherman
39.
April 12
Leftist
terrorism: UFF
40.
April 15
The
anti-abortion movement
41.
April 17
Other
terrorist groups and traditions in the United States
42.
April 19
Case-study:
the World Trade Center bombing
43.
April 22
Terrorist
prisoners; Through the Wire
44.
April 24
The
prospects for future terrorism in the United States. Summary and conclusion
45.
April 26
EXAM
THREE