ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter we differentiated approaches to the study of terrorism along three broad dimensions: deterministic, intentional, and relational. We made this differentiation depending on the extent to which various theories resort to agency, structure, or both, or the extent to which there is a case for individual or organizational choice. In this and the following five chapters, we apply these dimensions to individual and organizational involvement in terrorism. We further dissect these dimensions into two: the why and the how, namely the causes or motivations for individuals and organizations to get involved in terrorism, and the ways in which they do so, or in other words, the process of involvement in terrorism. Involvement in terrorism and radicalization more broadly have been generally acknowledged as occurring over time and thus unraveling in the form of a ‘process.’ Therefore, all approaches address process to some extent.
