About the Book
Many popular ideas about terrorists and why they seek to harm us are fueled by falsehoods and misinformation. Leading politicians and scholars have argued that poverty and lack of education breed terrorism, despite the wealth of evidence showing that most terrorists come from middle-class, and often college-educated, backgrounds. In "What Makes a Terrorist", Alan Krueger argues that if we are to correctly assess the root causes of terrorism and successfully address the threat, we must think more like economists do. Krueger is an influential economist who has applied rigorous statistical analysis to a range of tough issues, from the minimum wage and education to the occurrence of hate crimes. In this book, he explains why our tactics in the fight against terrorism must be based on more than anecdote and speculation. Krueger closely examines the factors that motivate individuals to participate in terrorism, drawing inferences from terrorists' own backgrounds and the economic, social, and political conditions in the societies from which they come. He describes which countries are the most likely breeding grounds for terrorists, and which ones are most likely to be their targets.
Krueger addresses the economic and psychological consequences of terrorism. He puts the terrorist threat squarely into perspective, revealing how our nation's sizeable economy is diverse and resilient enough to withstand the comparatively limited effects of most terrorist strikes. And he calls on the media to be more responsible in reporting on terrorism. "What Makes a Terrorist" brings needed clarity to one of the greatest challenges of our time.
Table of Contents:
PREFACE ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Who Becomes a Terrorist? Characteristics of Individual Participants in Terrorism 11 Chapter 2: Where Does Terror Emerge? Economic and Political Conditions and Terrorism 53 Chapter 3: What Does Terrorism Accomplish? Economic, Psychological, and Political Consequences of Terrorism 105 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOLLOWING THE LECTURES 143 REFERENCES 163 INDEX 173
About the Author :
Alan B. Krueger is the Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Princeton University and an adviser to the National Counter-terrorism Center. He is the coauthor of "Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies?"and "Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage" (Princeton).
Review :
What are the individual and societal causes of terrorism? The book's great strength is its focus on new sources of data examined in new ways. The most compelling analysis in the book is of biographical information on operatives from Hezbollah and Hamas. This is a substantial contribution, offering insight into who becomes a terrorist and, as important, pushing terrorism studies in a productive new direction, toward microlevel data. The book provides a valuable service in dispelling the stereotype of the poor, ignorant terrorist. -- Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, Science It seems universally obvious that poverty and poor education breed terrorism. But it's wrong... [Alan Krueger] went in search of evidence for the terrorism part of the proposition and found next to none. He has set out his findings in What Makes A Terrorist. -- Peter Martin, Canberra Times This new book by Alan Krueger, full of first-rate empirical work, punctures many myths about terrorism. -- Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution [Krueger] seeks to put the risks Americans face from terrorism into 'proper perspective' with his unique book. -- John McCaslin, Washington Times What Makes a Terrorist brings together disparate data, such as academic studies and government reports, arraying them into a concise, accessible argument against the notion that we can defeat terrorism through aid and education. While Krueger is careful to affirm that these are useful in combating many social ills, he is adamant that terrorism is not one of them. He offers skilled analysis to show that an aggressive foreign policy based on this fallacious assumption has cost several nations dearly and also warns that continuing along this course may provoke further terrorist acts. -- Tony Azios, Christian Science Monitor Using raw data from government, academic, and think-tank sources and citing the work of other economists on poverty, race, terrorism, and hate crimes, Krueger explains in clear and accessible prose that the average terrorist suspect is highly educated, professionally employed, from a middle- or higher-class background, and, most important, from a country that suppresses civil liberties...Avoiding jargon whenever possible and defining it when unavoidable, Krueger excels in making his difficult subject easy to grasp without reducing its inherent complexity. The occasional pop culture reference (e.g., to the Daily Show) adds to the appeal. Highly recommended for both academic and public collections. -- April Younglove, Library Journal What makes a terrorist? Are the drivers primarily political or economic? Princeton economist Alan Krueger has made a great study of this question...What Makes a Terrorist lacks a question mark. That's because Krueger, marshaling persuasive statistics and analysis, comes down firmly on the side of politics, noting most terrorists are middle-class and well-educated. -- Thomas P.M. Barnett, Knoxville News Sentinel Economist Alan Krueger explores this phenomenon with a systematic study of the evidence... All in all, the research that Krueger gathers together suggests that if there is a link between poverty, education and terrorism, it is the opposite of the one popularly assumed. -- Tim Harford, Financial Times [Krueger] analyzed data from NCTC and elsewhere, and came up with often counter-intuitive findings...Krueger's book collects comprehensive evidence. -- Zack Phillips, Government Executive An invaluable little book... What Makes a Terrorist uses standard tools of economics and statistical analysis to get at the truth about terrorism... Krueger finds one familiar fact in all his numbers. Countries with fewer civil liberties tend to produce more terrorists. -- Daniel Finkelstein, Times Krueger's book is a necessary read for anyone who wishes to understand terrorism, especially because many of the popular notions of what causes it are not rooted in reality. One wishes that politicians, especially, would pay attention. -- Amit Varma, Live Mint [Krueger] in his groundbreaking new book, What Makes a Terrorist, enlists the 'dismal science' to tackle the despicable one. Provocative, dispassionate and accessible, Krueger's book is a breath of fresh air in the stifling climate of empty speculation that dominates the terror dialogue in post-9/11 America. -- Ryan Hagen, Brooklyn Rail In a compelling analysis, Krueger points out how a lack of legitimate political expression and civil liberties turns some individuals to terrorism. He also provides a pointed and witty account of the problems the U.S. administration has faced in its own attempts at empiricism... This book is a model of how academics can contribute to major public policy debates. -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs To challenge the widespread view that terrorism is caused by economic deprivation and lack of education, Krueger redirects thinking about terrorism by raising three provocative questions that can be answered by scrutiny of evidence from an economic perspective...Krueger shows how complex the data and issues are, the dangers of moving from correlation to cause--and how to think clearly and courageously about politically motivated violence. -- L.J. Alderink, Choice I am quite sure that this book will be very widely read; it builds on recent literature by both Krueger and a young breed of scholars who have used technical sophistication to disprove the expected positive effect of poverty and ignorance on terrorism. -- Siddhartha Mitra, Eastern Economic Journal [E]minently readable and informative. -- Ira Smolensky, Magill Book Reviews
