What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews for this product are not available at this time.

Author Information

Bio of Alan B. Krueger

At the time of publication, Alan B. Krueger was on leave from Princeton University and the National Bureau of Economic Research, serving as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Customer Reviews

• Must read for citizen of the Earth

  Posted August 05, 2009 by Vaclav Haken, Drogheda, Ireland

  I really like the book as it brought many new avenues to understanding what is going on. It certainly provided many new facts and figures that are not common knowledge but should be. As much as this is model based exercise, it fits what I have known about the topic and what I can see around myself. This is a must read for anyone remotely interested in the topic.
  
  My only complaint is unrelated to the book itself but rather how it is formatted for Sony eBook reader - as it contains many tables and graphs, these are hard to read on the reader so reader may need to switch to PC.

Additional Info

Imprint

Princeton University Press

Filesize

4.76 MB

Number of Pages

216

eBook ISBN

9781400828838