Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I : definitions and historical frameworks. An introduction to terrorism : terms, definitions and the quest for power -- Surfing the historical "waves" of terrorism -- Terrorist groups as learning organizations -- Part II : Underlying contexts that motivate and facilitate terrorism. Grievances and opportunities : an introduction -- Radicalization -- Media and the internet -- Economic dimensions -- Financial and criminal dimensions -- Political dimensions -- Part III : Terrorist group ideologies and strategies. Ethnonationalist/separatist terrorism -- Left-wing terrorism -- Right-wing terrorism -- Religious terrorism -- Al-Qaeda, part 1 : history and evolution -- Al-Qaeda, Part 2 : ideology and targeting strategies -- Part IV : The worst weapons of terrorism. Suicide bombings -- Weapons of mass destruction : an introduction -- Assessing the WMD terrorist threat -- Part V : Concluding thoughts. The future of terrorism.

Delve into the history of terrorism, its root causes, its many forms and organizations, as well as the frameworks that analysts use to determine the scope of a terrorist threat.