NCJ Number
72531
Editor(s)
H Schwind
Date Published
1978
Length
174 pages
Annotation
A collection of essays analyzes the causes and preconditions of West German terrorism from a sociological and psychological perspective.
Abstract
The object of the reports is to prevent spread of terrorist practices among generations now growing up by identifying and eliminating factors conducive to terrorists' development. Studies relate to the evolution to 1978; an overview of the literature on causes of terrorism; psychological characteristics of West German terrorists and possible motivations for their behavior; and terrorism as a disturbance of the developing personality according to Erikson's thesis; the influence of family dynamics, school experiences, and socioeconomic status on the evolution of radical rightists and leftists; and an analysis of the state of monoperceptosis (i.e, obsession with a particular idea) which is illustrated with the case of a young murderer and then applied to terrorists. The final essay outlines the possible causes of terrorism which are with potential for application to police preventive measures. A bibliography, biographies of authors, separate notes for a number of the essays, and a chronological list of important events in the evolution of West German terrorism are supplied. For individual articles, see NCJ 72532-39.