The Faces of Terrorism: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

• Gets closer to the perspectives of terrorists - their views, how their acts are conceptualized by the public and by national leaders, and how this knowledge can be put to use
• Brings together international experts from psychology, psychiatry, law and policing
• Edited by one of the world’s foremost forensic psychology experts, David Canter

In The Faces of Terrorism, an international selection of experts, from a variety of disciplines, provide professional perspectives on a range of issues surrounding terrorism today. While focusing on current concerns with terrorism that has its roots in Islam, the book also explores links between organized crime and radical violence, and examines a variety of terrorist acts beyond bombing, such as kidnapping for ransom and cyberterrorism. The contributors also examine the dynamics of social networks, which have come to play an essential role for terrorist groups. The subtleties of all these processes are illustrated with fascinating case studies of terrorists around the globe.

This book offers a much needed account of a growing consensus across different disciplines about the variegated nature of terrorism. Bringing together state-of-the-field perspectives on this increasingly important topic, it shows that counter-insurgency activities need to embrace the public rhetoric that castigates terrorism, as well as engage with processes that could potentially place people on pathways to violent political action.

David Canter is Professor of Psychology and Director of the International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology at the University of Huddersfield, and founding editor of the Wiley Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling. He has worked with police forces all over the world on 'profiling', which led to the emergence of Investigative Psychology. This has included unique studies of terrorists. Since 1986, Professor Canter has contributed to over 150 investigations of many different kinds of crimes around the world, and was recently awarded a BPS Honorary Fellowship. He has also written two award-winning books, Criminal Shadows: Inside the Mind of the Serial Killer (1995) and Mapping Murder: The Secrets of Geographical Profiling (2003).