How Terrorist Groups End: Studies of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

Terrorism studies are far too young to have their Arnold Toynbee. At this writing there remains a need for broad and searching inquiries into why and how terror groups have declined or ended. The project requires detailed knowledge of scores of important groups, extant and extinct, worldwide. It also demands originality. This article reluctantly sets aside the useful framework developed in 2003 and worked publicly for five years. A fresh approach in this vital field will help with understanding what we expect in the twenty-first century. This article begins with a look at early forms of violence in the twentieth century and proceeds to specific examples in the American experience. Revolutionaries of the 1960s and terroristic religious groups are also addressed. Finally, the project presents a nine-part framework for understanding terrorist groups.