Internal Organizational Problems and the Sources of Tensions of Terrorist Movements as Catalysts of Violence

• NCJ Number: 70594
• Journal: Terrorism Volume: 1 Issue: 3 and 4 Dated: (1978) Pages: 277-285
• Author(s): J K Zawodny
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the Conference 'Terror, Terrorism and Terrorists' at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California, April 9 and 10, 1976

Annotation

This paper discusses how violent action by members of terrorist organizations can be triggered by problems within the organization rather than by external factors only.

Abstract

Two categories of problems are discussed: command problems and political problems. Command problems include (1) the reconciliation of security with efficient communication, (2) the propensity of ethnic groups to cluster under stress and therefore affect the cohesion of an organization, (3) possible competitive tensions and displays of machismo through violence that occur because of the presence of women members, and (4) members who are pathologically prone to violence and who can initiate such violence without orders and involve other members acting in good faith. Political problems include the potential of terrorist organizations for future counterrevolution, inflated membership figures which may cause leaders to initiate or intensify violence to prove their strength, and the role of the terrorist leaders in providing moral dispensation for terrorist actions they cannot fully control. Finally, the terrorists themselves can never predict the level and intensity of violence to which they will actually be subjected, either as possible killers or as victims. One footnote is provided.