Motivations

This week’s lessons juxtapose the use of terrorism as a defense against the choice of violence for the sake of being violent. The two sides of this issue, which are articulated by Crenshaw and Post in the Reich “Origins of Terrorism” book, echo a fundamental rift in modern society about the basis of terrorism.

Your discussion assignment is as follows:
While Crenshaw argues that terrorism is a rational choice made to achieve the goals of the group, Post argues that terrorists are driven by psychological forces that attract people to violence. His arguments have caused controversy because some people believe that it seeks to absolve terrorists from the responsibility of their acts. For this discussion, chose a side and present your rationale for believing its ideas have merit. It doesn’t matter which side you choose here, but you must choose one for your initial post due by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) and defend it using your readings as support for your stand. No fence straddling; you must choose a side to earn points.

These are controversial and emotional topics. In this upper-level undergraduate university course, please to formulate the position statements based on available facts and not personal beliefs.