Terrorists engage in propaganda and rhetoric, even though they prefer the power of deed over word. They use a wide variety of mechanisms of moral disengagement to convince themselves of the rightness of their actions, a necessary prerequisite for taking up arms. The articles collected together in this excellent volume focus on the rhetoric and propaganda used by insurgent terrorists to justify their resort to violence. The volume includes a thoughtful introduction which summarizes the main findings of the literature, drawing attention to the many different kinds of terrorist propaganda and the underlying similarity between them.

This book examines a series of controversies surrounding Israel's use of force and its failure to prevent violence.

Influenced by Weber's definition of the state as the 'monopoly of violence', politcial scientists and criminologists alike have focused their attention on the legitimation struggles of non-state actors who resort to violence. This book redresses the balance. Chapters are devoted to the public discourse about Palestinian and Jewish terrorism, the war in Lebanon, the alleged connection between verbal violence of government leaders and the physical violence of its supporters, and the use of history to justify the state use of force. The conclusion considers why these controversies play such a central role in Israeli politics and presents a number of suggestions as to the function they fulfil in other Western societies.

Heavily influenced by Max Weber's definition of the state, political scientists and criminologists alike have focused their attention on the legitimization struggles of non-state actors who resort to violence. This book constitutes an attempt to redress that imbalance by examining a series of controversies concerning the State of Israel's use of force and its failure to prevent the violence of others. Separate chapters deal with the public discourse about Palestinian and Jewish terrorism, the war in Lebanon, the alleged connection between the verbal violence of government leaders and the physical violence of their supporters, and the use of history to justify the state use of force. The concluding section considers why these controversies play such a central role in Israeli politics and offers a number of suggestions as to the function they fulfill in other Western societies.

This title was first published in 2001. The modern state's claim to a monopoly of legitimate force bestows the concomitant duty of preventing the resort to violence by non-state actors. Consequently, failure to do so often leads to debates, concerning the legitimation of the perpetrators themselves and the legitimation of the authorities who were unable or unwilling to prevent their violent actions. Narratives of Violence constitutes the first work which relates these stigma contests to each other by analyzing the public discourse about right-wing violence in Israel. The result is an absorbing book which provides a fundamental re-evaluation of the causes and consequences of political violence and its societal boundaries. Its conclusions will have a resounding impact on the Israeli body politic and for democratic governments around the world.

Terrorists engage in propaganda and rhetoric, even though they prefer the power of deed over word. They use a wide variety of mechanisms of moral disengagement to convince themselves of the rightness of their actions, a necessary prerequisite for taking up arms. The articles collected together in this excellent volume focus on the rhetoric and propaganda used by insurgent terrorists to justify their resort to violence. The volume includes a thoughtful introduction which summarizes the main findings of the literature, drawing attention to the many different kinds of terrorist propaganda and the underlying similarity between them.

This title was first published in 2001. The modern state's claim to a monopoly of legitimate force bestows the concomitant duty of preventing the resort to violence by non-state actors. Consequently, failure to do so often leads to debates, concerning the legitimation of the perpetrators themselves and the legitimation of the authorities who were unable or unwilling to prevent their violent actions. Narratives of Violence constitutes the first work which relates these stigma contests to each other by analyzing the public discourse about right-wing violence in Israel. The result is an absorbing book which provides a fundamental re-evaluation of the causes and consequences of political violence and its societal boundaries. Its conclusions will have a resounding impact on the Israeli body politic and for democratic governments around the world.