Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives and Issues

As in previous editions, Understanding Terrorism, Third Edition offers a multi-disciplinary, comprehensive exploration of contemporary terrorism that helps readers develop the knowledge and skills they need to critically assess terrorism in general and terrorist incidents in particular. The Third Edition offers new, updated theories and cases, covers homeland security in the opening chapter and throughout the book, offers a consolidated discussion of ideological terrorism, and offers new photographs, updated tables, enhanced graphics and a new two-color design. 

Key Features 

• Provides a “one-stop shop” for understanding terrorism, emphasizing contextual analysis and multiple perspectives
• Offers new or expanded case studies and profiles, covering such topics as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, women as terrorists, events in Zimbabwe, the Palestinian movement and other religious terrorism, the death of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, Hezbollah, FARC (including the Betancourt operation), recent narco-terrorist events in Mexico, and terrorist profiles of Leila Khaled and Abu Nidal
• Includes “Opening Viewpoints” at the beginning of each chapter with relevant examples to introduce readers to the themes and theories in the discussion that follows
• Updated throughout with new Chapter Perspectives, Cases in Point, photos, literature references, recommended readings, web exercises, and recommended web pages
• Ends each chapter with “Discussion Boxes” that provide controversial information, along critical thinking questions to stimulate classroom discussions

C. Augustus “Gus” Martin is Assistant Vice President for Faculty Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he is also the former chair of the Department of Public Administration & Public Policy. He has served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, where he was an Administration of Justice professor. His research and professional interests are terrorism and extremism, juvenile justice, administration of justice, and fair housing. He has served as a panelist for university and community symposia and interviews on the subjects of administration of justice, terrorism, and fair housing. He has also been a consultant to government and private agencies. Prior to joining academia, he was a “floor” legislative assistant to Congressman Charles B. Rangel of New York and Special Counsel to the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition, he served as managing attorney for the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, where he was also director of a program created under a federal consent decree to desegregate public and assisted housing.