ABSTRACT

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of female terrorism in America, both past and present.

The volume takes a fresh look at women’s actions of left-wing political violence, right-wing political violence, and religious extremist violence (among others). It also examines the multitude of roles that women have played over the past few decades in such organizations (including leadership positions and more passive roles)—not to mention the diverse methods of recruitment, radicalization, and propaganda. The objective of this book is to examine—using a wide range of case studies, facts, statistics, and theoretical methodologies—how collective or personal factors have influenced or reinforced the actions that these women take.

Government agencies continue to underestimate the ability of women to support and perpetrate terrorism. As such, the United States is facing a wholly inaccurate and incomplete picture of the complexities of domestic terrorism, and this is contributing to a serious neglect of the issue at the national level. This volume ultimately aims to offer policy-relevant solutions to decrease the threat of domestic female political violence in the United States.

Female Terrorism in America will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, American politics, gender studies, and sociology.

chapter 1|13 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|22 pages

Definitions and background

chapter 3|19 pages

Theoretical perspectives

chapter 5|14 pages

Female Puerto Rican terrorism in America

chapter 7|24 pages

Roles in female terrorism

From leadership to more passive positions

chapter 8|30 pages

Radicalization to terrorism

chapter 9|16 pages

Depictions in the media

chapter 11|22 pages

Muslim female terrorists in America

chapter 12|25 pages

The influence of social media

chapter 14|17 pages

Conclusions, implications, and solutions