The Political Economy of Terrorism Interdisciplinary Studies Program Summer 2022 July 4-Week - Amsterdam

Although the phenomenon of terrorism has been studied extensively from descriptive and theoretical viewpoints, many of its underlying motivations and dynamics remain difficult to pin down empirically. For example, the US alone has spent trillions of dollars on the 'War on Terror', only to harvest widespread hostility across many Middle Eastern countries. Why is that so and what could be done to perhaps avoid such undesirable consequences? This course explores what we know about terrorism. Firstly, we study whether, when, and why terrorism has been successful to varying degrees. Secondly, we turn to the intimate relationship between terrorism and the media; exploring whether and how news coverage is likely so crucial for terror groups; and what this means for a free press. Thirdly, we consider the role of religion in terror movements, as well as radicalisation along several historical and contemporary movements (e.g., for Nazi Germany and Islamist extremism). Fourth and finally, we evaluate counterterrorism strategies, explore the few cases for which empirical evidence is available, distinguishing between approaches based on force vs. hearts-and-minds.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA's recommended credits are based on the contact hours assigned by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam): 15 contact hours equals 1 U.S. credit