Religious Knives Historical and Psychological Dimensions of International Terrorism

In this timely multidimensional study, historian Jouni Suistola and psychoanalyst Vamik D. Volkan draw on their respective disciplines and their own personal and professional experiences to investigate the historical and psychological roots of terrorism. Specifically, what is it in human nature that allows people to terrorize and kill the other, and what societal factors—whether political, economic, or religious—lead to terrorism? And, in turn, how might terrorist ideologies and groups be defeated, especially when a society’s realistic fears are contaminated with xenophobia, racism, and fantasized dangers? Focusing specifically on modern-day radical Islamist terrorism, the authors argue that studying the minds of individual terrorists can tell us something about those individuals, but that only by examining the deeper historical, political, and society-wide psychological processes at work will we be able to uncover the core causes of terrorism. Only through such understanding, they conclude, will the world be positioned to prevent further radicalization and create lasting and peaceful solutions to the seemingly intractable problem of terrorist violence.

Jouni Suistola, PhD, studied history and social sciences at Oulu University. He served as professor of international relations at Near East University in Nicosia. Vamik Volkan, MD, studied medicine at the University of Ankara, Turkey. He is an emeritus professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia.