Force of Words: The Logic of Terrorist Threats

by Joseph M. Brown

Overview

Terrorist groups attain notoriety through acts of violence, but threats of future violence are just as important in attaining their political goals. Force of Words is a groundbreaking examination of the role of threats in terrorist strategies. Joseph M. Brown shows how terrorists use threats, true and false, to achieve key outcomes such as social control, economic attrition, and policy concessions. Brown demonstrates that threats are integral to terrorism on a tactical level as well, distracting security forces, drawing police into traps, and warning civilians out of harm’s way when terrorists seek to limit casualties.

Force of Words reorients the field of terrorism studies, prioritizing the symbolic, psychological dimension that makes this form of conflict distinctive. It expands the study of terrorist propaganda by detailing how militants tailor their threats to send the desired political message. Drawing on rich interview data, quantitative evidence, and case studies of the IRA, ETA, the Tamil Tigers, Shining Path, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, Boko Haram, the Afghan Taliban, and ISIL, the book offers practical guidance for interpreting terrorists’ threats and assessing their credibility. Force of Words is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the logic of terrorism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231193689
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Series:	Columbia Studies in Terrorism and Irregular Warfare
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joseph M. Brown is assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Threats: A Theoretical Framework
2. The Provisional IRA: A Full Spectrum of Threats
3. ETA and the Tamil Tigers: Comparable Threats for Social Control and Negotiation; Contrasting Threats for Legitimacy, Disruption, and Advantage
4. The MRTA and the Shining Path: Common Enemy; Virtually No Threat in Common
5. The Taliban, ISIL, and Boko Haram: Comparable Threats for Social Control; Contrasting Threats for Legitimacy, Negotiation, Aggrandizement, and Advantage
6. Quantitative Analysis: When to Expect Truthful Warnings
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Terrorism has always been about more than violence. It involves projecting the constant threat of that violence. In this superb book, Brown explores the warnings, pledges, hoaxes, and bluffs that prove terrorists know just how much power and control lie in their use of language. Force of Words is a remarkable, innovative resource for students and practitioners of counterterrorism worldwide.

John Horgan

Brown offers the first comprehensive scholarly study of how terrorists use words to coerce, warn, inspire fear, legitimate, negotiate, and ultimately change the perceptions and behavior of governments and the general public. His rich case studies combine impressive fieldwork and sophisticated quantitative analysis to skillfully explain the threats of some of the world’s most prominent terrorist organizations.

Peter Krause

Joseph M. Brown is an excellent terrorism scholar. He has found an area of terrorism that is both fundamental to the subject and yet largely unaddressed in the academic literature. Force of Words offers the first unified theoretical account of terrorist threats in the world.

Max Abrahms

In conclusion, Force of Words represents a major achievement. It is unquestionably the most sophisticated assessment of terrorist threats to date. The book also stands as a leading work in the area of terrorist signaling—an important but often overlooked aspect of extremist violence. At its core, Force of Words is not simply a book about terrorist tactics and targeting. Rather, it is a discerning examination of extremist groups’ specific goals that demonstrates how radical organizations use violence and threats of violence to try to influence civilians and governments. For these reasons, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in non-state terrorism.

Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books

Well researched, clearly argued, and takes the study of communications from the sidelines to a center position in terrorism studies.

Choice