ABSTRACT
After proposing a definition of what we should understand by terrorism, Chapter 7 analyses random killing and martyrdom, attempting to capture the causes and the logic of this extreme form of political violence. The chapter notes the limits of explanations of terrorism as a result of social exclusion. It discusses the findings of psychological studies and of research centred on ideological aspects. Recruitment in terror networks is another area of interest, and it is linked here with international aggression and illegitimate invasions. Young immigrants, it will be contended, may be motivated by marginalization and forged by the existential vacuum, but can also be led to violent action by the resentment and humiliation suffered by people to whom they feel close. An analysis of suicide completes this chapter, noting the precedents found in the history of self-inflicted death and examining its rationale, including the refusal of the power over life and death detained by the sovereign.
