TERRORIST MENTALITY: A COMMON LINK THROUGHOUT HISTORY? A Comparison of Narodnaya Volya, the French Reign of Terror, And the Muslim Brotherhood

Abstract

With the destruction of the twin towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, counter-terrorism moved to the forefront of national security priorities for the United States. Analyzing the strategies and tactics of a terrorist group is useful in order to effectively combat the terrorist group. This research takes a step further to provide an equally valuable tool for recognizing and countering terrorist groups, and that is to understand the terrorist mentality common to each terrorist group. This analysis compares the terrorist mentality of the leaders of the French Reign of Terror, the Narodnaya Volya and the Muslim Brotherhood. This work will provide the historical background and development of each group. Also, the ideologies that formed through the writings and/or speeches of the radical leader(s) for each group will then be carefully analyzed. In addition, an examination of the beliefs that formed the terrorist mentality of each group will be compared and clarified. This thesis will show how terrorist groups are identifiable at the onset of their development and provide strategies for recognizing the characteristics of terrorism.