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The Four Horsemen of Terrorism : It's Not Waves, It's Strains
Title / Series / Name
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Authors
Editors
Keywords
Anarchist
Exclusionist
Huntington
Marxist
Nationalist
Rapoport
Religious
Socialist
horsemen
strains
waves
Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Sociology and Political Science
Safety Research
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Exclusionist
Huntington
Marxist
Nationalist
Rapoport
Religious
Socialist
horsemen
strains
waves
Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Sociology and Political Science
Safety Research
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27429
Abstract
David Rapoport's concept of Four Waves of terrorism, from Anarchist terrorism in the 1880s, through Nationalist and Marxist waves in the early and mid-twentieth century, to the present Religious Wave, is one of the most influential concepts in terrorism studies. However, this article argues that thinking about different types of terrorism as strains rather than waves better reflects both the empirical reality and the idea that terrorists learn from and emulate each other. Whereas the notion of waves suggests distinct iterations of terrorist violence driven by successive broad historical trends, the concept of strains and contagion emphasizes how terrorist groups draw on both contemporary and historical lessons in the development of their tactics, strategies, and goals. The authors identify four distinct strains in total—Socialist, Nationalist, Religious, and Exclusionist—and contend that it is possible to trace each strain back to a “patient zero” active in the 1850s.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2016-03
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1080/09546553.2015.1112277