Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 192
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-1-4422-7497-6 • Hardback • January 2017 • $97.00 • (£75.00)
978-1-4422-7498-3 • Paperback • January 2017 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4422-7499-0 • eBook • January 2017 • $47.50 • (£37.00)
Jessica Davis is an Ottawa-based writer and researcher who has worked in government for more than fifteen years in various departments, including the Department of National Defence, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
Introduction: Women in Modern Terrorism
Defining Terrorism
Data Collection and Methodology
Studying Women in Terrorism
Chapter 1: Organizational Decision Making
Women’s Roles in Terrorist Organizations
Understanding the Integration of Women Using Structural and Group Factors
Predicting Women’s Involvement in Conflict
Chapter 2: Gender and the Radicalization Process(es)
The Process(es) of Radicalization
Gendered Radicalization?
Women as Lone Actors
Conclusions About Women’s Radicalization Processes
Chapter 3: Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Terrorist Groups
Hizballah’s Lack of Women Operatives
Women as Terrorists in Palestinian Terrorist Groups
Trends in Women’s Participation in Palestinian Terrorist Activities
Women: Participants in Political Violence in Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Chapter 4: Women in Ethno-nationalist Conflict
Women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Women in the PKK
Chapter 5: Women in Global Jihad: From Al Qaeda to Chechnya
Women in Al Qaeda Core
The Russia - Chechnya Conflict and Chechen Black Widows
Comparing Al Qaeda Core with Chechen Terrorist Groups
Chapter 6: Evolving Global Jihad: Boko Haram and Al Shabaab
Boko Haram’s Bombers: Women and Girls
Al Shabaab’s Inclusion of Women in Modern Terrorism
Comparing Boko Haram and Al Shabaab’s Use of Women in Modern Terrorism
Chapter 7: Women’s role in the Conflict in Iraq and Syria
Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq
Women in ISIL
The Draw of Fundamentalist Religion in the Recruitment of Women
Women in the (continually) evolving Jihad
Conclusion: Trends in Female Terrorism
Women’s Involvement in Modern Terrorism
Women as Lone Actors
Women’s other roles in terrorism
Addressing Women in Terrorism through Counter-Terrorism Initiatives
Annex: Women in Terrorism Incident Dataset
Al Shabaab / Somalia
Al Qaeda
Al Qaeda in Iraq
Boko Haram / Islamic State West Africa
Chechen Groups
ISIL
LTTE
PKK
Palestinian (Unknown group)
Palestinian - Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade
Palestinian - Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Palestinian - Fatah
Palestinian - Hamas
Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party
TTP
Unaffiliated Events (By Country)
Canada
Iraq
Israel
Lebanon
United Kingdom
United States of America
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
This is a well-written, empirically-based account of the role of women in modern terrorism.
— Perspectives on Terrorism
Women in Modern Terrorism is a well-structured and well-written book…. The book is accessible enough for readers with a general interest in the topic to benefit from…. The main strength of Women in Modern Terrorism is its comparative approach…. Davis sharply analyses existing literature and common perspectives on women and terrorism and political violence…. Women in Modern Terrorism provides a well-written overview of key debates in the field of terrorism studies and will provide a useful summary to the reader aware of the book’s limitations.
— The London School of Economics and Political Science Review of Books
Davis follows excellent leads and develops a database of women involved in conflicts involving jihadi movements from Chechnya to Nigeria to Sri Lanka and beyond.... The book has a crisp, clear logical structure and uses a large database of terrorist events (known as the Women in Terrorist Incidents database). One of the other aspects that Davis is successful in highlighting is the way in which ideas filter between these groups providing them with some commonality and enabling them to remain unique within their context.
— Politics, Religion & Ideology
‘Women inModern Terrorism’ demonstrates the consistent roles women have played in conflict across secular and religious groups. Through this analysis Davis provides evidence based conclusions to assist counter terrorism practitioners and further the field of women in terrorism studies.
— Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism
- Looks at the role of women in terrorist organizations, their motivations for joining, and why some organizations choose to employ women.
- Features many case studies that represent different types of terrorist groups and motivation for participation, including Hizballah, Chechnya, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shaabab, Iraq, and Syria.
- Unique, exhaustive examination of women in terrorism by an expert practitioner.
- Includes a dataset compiled by the author over many years, spanning over 44 terrorist and extremist groups, as well as general conflict and ideologically-motivated incidents of terrorism that were not claimed or reliably associated with a terrorist group.