Enigma of Islamist Violence
Amelie Blom (Editor), Laetitia Bucaille (Editor), Luis Martinez (Editor)Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
The debate surrounding Islamist violence remains locked in oppositional sterility. Are such attacks perpetrated by Islamists as a matter of belief or do they reflect socio-economic realities? Is the suicide bomber a pathological case, as the psychologist maintains, or a clever strategist, as those steeped in the geopolitical approach claim? This book aims to transcend both the culturalist or underdevelopment explanations by focusing on the highly variegated nature of the phenomenon. For example, suicide attacks are relatively common in Kashmir and Israel/Palestine but almost non-existent in Algeria and Yemen, both of which have experienced long-running campaigns by violent Islamist groups. However a more nuanced reading, based on a series of case studies, reveals a less obvious set of meanings for suicidal political violence. These bring us closer to the Islamists' political mindset: a quest for purity in the next world that replaces the justice here on earth of which the militant despairs; the distress caused by the degeneracy of a failing ethno-nationalist rebellion, which encourages a shift in the struggle to the timelessness of death; or the paradoxical desire to assert one's individuality when the wider group is powerless by carrying out an 'exemplary' act of war against an enemy that is increasingly imagined rather than real. These are among the complex motivations of suicide attacks that this book brings to light.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"A well-structured, well-researched, and engaging book that will make a timely and significant contribution to the debate on Islamist violence."--Claire Heristchi, University of Aberdeen
"Extremely interesting and highly recommended to all those with an interest not only in Islamism, but political violence in general."--Francesco Cavatorta, MESA Bulletin
Claire Heristchi
A well-structured, well-researched, and engaging book that will make a timely and significant contribution to the debate on Islamist violence.
MESA Bulletin
extremely interesting and highly recommended to all those with an interest not only in Islamism, but political violence in general.
MESA Bulletin
extremely interesting and highly recommended to all those with an interest not only in Islamism, but political violence in general.— Francesco Cavatorta