The psychology of the terrorist: An interview with Jerrold M. Post

Abstract

The psychological factors that motivate terrorist acts-particularly ones such as the suicide bombings that characterized the September 11th attacks-ean be especially difficult to fathom. Understanding the psychology of terrorism, however, can be invaluable in helping victims of terrorism work toward making sense of what they have been subjected to and why. Dr. Jerrold Post, a psychiatrist who specializes in political psychology and who has considerable experience in the study and profiling of terrorists, is interviewed. He explains what constitutes terrorism, its purpose, how profiling "at-a-distance" is conducted, the various categories in a typology of terrorism, and the psychological and socio-political forces that support terrorism in general and suicide bombings in particular.