1st Edition

The Geography of International Terrorism An Introduction to Spaces and Places of Violent Non-State Groups

By Richard M. Medina, George F. Hepner Copyright 2013
    258 Pages 62 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    While geography is not the only factor to shape human behavior, its influence on terrorists’ motivations, behaviors, options, and activities is a primary consideration in understanding terrorism. Taking a different approach than many other books on terrorism, The Geography of International Terrorism: An Introduction to Spaces and Places of Violent Non-State Groups presents an accessible, cross-disciplinary approach to managing terrorism on a global scale. The authors articulate the role of physical and human geography in terrorist ideology, operations, haven formation, and control.

    Providing the wider perspective required for preempting and countering terrorism, the book focuses on the geographic perspective in a more explicit manner than previous treatments of the topic. The authors examine networks as global systems and discuss new geospatial technologies in counterterrorism, supplying a blend of concepts and techniques that support policy development within the governing counter terrorist community.

    There are hundreds of books on terrorism, but few if any focus on the influence of geography, geospatial analysis, and geospatial intelligence approaches. A combination of academic theory and practical applications, this book provides the vertical linkage between topics at the high resolution level, such as sense of place and cultural identity of a clan or tribe with regional and global geographic-scale issues critical to understanding 21st century international terrorist groups.

    Terrorism and Geography
    Terrorism Defined
    Context of International Terrorism
    Geography, Theories of Space and Place, and Applications to Terrorism Research
    Introduction to Geospatial Information for Terrorism and Counterterrorism

    Terrorist Networks in Geographic-Social Hybrid Space
    Terrorist Networks and Their Organizational Structures
    Terrorist Network Flows

    The Geography of Terrorism, Cultural Areas, Insurgent Havens and Places of Warfare
    Geography of the Imagined Nations
    Havens and Places of Warfare

    Technologies, Information, and Opportunities for Countering Effects of Terrorism
    Geography of cultural identity - Social Science in Counterterrorism

    Issues for the Future
    Use of Geographic Perspective and Geospatial Intelligence Approach to Support Policy and Programs
    Predicting the Next Terrorist Havens

    Biography

    George Franklin Hepner is Professor and Departmental Chair, Department of Geography at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He specializes in land resources analysis and management, geographic information science (GIS), geography of terrorism, and remote sensing industry policy and workforce development.

    Richard Matthew Medina is Professor, Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He conducts research on terrorist activity spaces and sociogeographic organizational structures. His recent focus has been on global terrorist networks and activities in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Northern Africa, and the United States.