This document provides an overview of the topics to be covered in a seminar on terrorism as an international phenomenon over 10 weeks. Week 1 will introduce the history of terrorism, examine the differences between state-sponsored and international terrorism, and discuss the relationship between terrorism and both the media and religion. The seminar will then analyze the causes of terrorism, historical case studies of motivations, terrorist strategies and tactics, comparisons to freedom fighting, international law, state sponsorship, and in-depth case studies of Libya, Syria and Iran as state sponsors.

1. Week #1
An Introduction to Terrorism
as an International
Phenomenon

2. Introduction
 Opening discussion of complexity of terrorism.
 Synopsis of Balance of the Lecture:
 1) An introductory primer on the history of terrorism.
 2) An examination of the distinctions between state-based
terrorism and international terrorism.
 3) A general assessment of the relationship between terrorism
and the media.
 4) A general assessment of the relationship between terrorism
and religion.
 5) Preview of balance of the seminar.

3. The History of Terrorism
 Development of broad range of terrorist groups and regimes
over course of ancient and modern history.
 Basic types of terrorism are state- and non-state based in
character.
 The “Terror” of the French Revolution of 1789-99 as point of
departure for modern state-based terrorism.
 Terrorism and the road to the outbreak of World War I.
 Terrorism of the Cold War years, with an emphasis on leftist
groups such as the Baader-Meinhof Gang in West Germany
during the 1970s.

4. State-Based vs. International Terrorism
 Cases of State-Based Terrorism:
 Revolutionary France (1789-99).
 National Socialist Germany under dictatorship of Adolf Hitler
(1933-45).
 Communist Soviet Union under dictatorship of Joseph Stalin
(1924-53).
 Cambodia under Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot (1975-79).
 Cases of International Terrorism:
 Distinctions between domestic and transnational terrorism.
 The late Osama bib Laden’s Al Qaeda (1990-2011) as most
significant contemporary example.

5. Terrorism and the Media
 Reporting on terrorism dates to dawn of mass distribution of
newspapers in the 1800s.
 Use of media coverage to pressure governments and regimes
they are attempting to overthrow.
 Evolution of media and implications for terrorist groups with
the onset of the Internet age.
 Palestinian “suicide bombing” videos one significant example.
 Distribution of Al Qaeda videos via outlets such as Al Jazeera
another significant example.

6. Terrorism and Religion
 Notwithstanding some previous historical anomalies, terrorism
inspired by religious beliefs predominantly a mid- to late-20th
century phenomenon.
 Religion has been used to inspire behavior by terrorist groups
in a range of contexts, including some with ideological,
nationalistic and other political overlap (please see Week #3
Lecture for historical cases of hybrid motivations for
terrorism).
 Terrorists have used multiple religions to inspire their actions,
including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

7. Preview of Balance of the Seminar
 The balance of the seminar is divided into following 10 weeks:
 1) An examination of the causes of terrorism.
 2) An examination of historical cases of economic,
ideological, nationalistic, religious and hybrid motivations for
terrorism.
 3) An examination of terrorist strategies and tactics.
 4) A comparative examination of terrorism and freedom
fighting.
 5) An examination of international law and terrorism.
 6) An examination of state sponsorship of terrorism.
 7) Case Study of Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism.
 8) Case Study of Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism.
 9) Case Study of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
 10) Review of central themes addressed in the seminar.