Engineers of Jihad: The Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education

Awards:   Winner of Middle East (Terrorism & Counterterrorism) 2016 2016
Author:   Diego Gambetta ,  Steffen Hertog ,  Diego Gambetta ,  Steffen Hertog
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   Revised edition
ISBN:  

9780691178509


Pages:   208
Publication Date:   28 November 2017
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
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Engineers of Jihad: The Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education


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Awards

  • Winner of Middle East (Terrorism & Counterterrorism) 2016 2016

Overview

The violent actions of a few extremists can alter the course of history, yet there persists a yawning gap between the potential impact of these individuals and what we understand about them. In Engineers of Jihad, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog uncover two unexpected facts, which they imaginatively leverage to narrow that gap: they find that a disproportionate share of Islamist radicals come from an engineering background, and that Islamist and right-wing extremism have more in common than either does with left-wing extremism, in which engineers are absent while social scientists and humanities students are prominent. Searching for an explanation, they tackle four general questions about extremism: Under which socioeconomic conditions do people join extremist groups? Does the profile of extremists reflect how they self-select into extremism or how groups recruit them? Does ideology matter in sorting who joins which group? Lastly, is there a mindset susceptible to certain types of extremism?Using rigorous methods and several new datasets, they explain the link between educational discipline and type of radicalism by looking at two key factors: the social mobility (or lack thereof) for engineers in the Muslim world, and a particular mindset seeking order and hierarchy that is found more frequently among engineers. Engineers' presence in some extremist groups and not others, the authors argue, is a proxy for individual traits that may account for the much larger question of selective recruitment to radical activism. Opening up markedly new perspectives on the motivations of political violence, Engineers of Jihad yields unexpected answers about the nature and emergence of extremism.

Full Product Details

Author:   Diego Gambetta ,  Steffen Hertog ,  Diego Gambetta ,  Steffen Hertog
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   Revised edition
Weight:   0.340kg
ISBN:  

9780691178509


ISBN 10:   069117850
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   28 November 2017
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Reviews

One of Foreign Affairs' Best Books on the Middle East (Terrorism & Counterterrorism) 2016 This is an important study... The wealth of statistical data they bring to bear provides what was once a hypothesis with solid empirical grounding. --Malise Ruthven, Financial Times [A]n interesting and important book... Definitely recommended. --Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution That's really good work, and they deserve credit for that observation... It is thrilling and intriguing as a theoretical issue. --Jeffrey I. Victoroff, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Chronicle of Higher Education That's really good work, and they deserve credit for that observation... It is thrilling and intriguing as a theoretical issue. --Jeffrey I. Victoroff, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Chronicle of Higher Education Wonderful. --Jacob N. Shapiro, Princeton University, Chronicle of Higher Education [They] really help us refine our understanding of what the risk factors are. --Jessica Stern, Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies, Chronicle of Higher Education Data-driven and carefully constructed. --John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs Intriguing... There's a clear need to try and understand the motivation for this breed of terrorism that Gambetta and Hertog address in a thorough way that avoids alarmism. --Dominic Lenton, Engineering & Technology Opening up markedly new perspectives on the motivations of political violence, Engineers of Jihad yields unexpected answers about the nature and emergence of extremism. --Islam and Muslim Societies This relatively small book breaks significant new ground and should generate many more significant studies in this area. It should prove to be an important waystation on the path to better understanding not only of violent Islamism but of other political and politico-religious phenomena. It deserves a wide readership among those seriously interested in these subjects. --William Shepard, Journal of Global Analysis


One of Foreign Affairs' Best Books on the Middle East (Terrorism & Counterterrorism) 2016 This is an important study... The wealth of statistical data they bring to bear provides what was once a hypothesis with solid empirical grounding. --Malise Ruthven, Financial Times [A]n interesting and important book... Definitely recommended. --Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution That's really good work, and they deserve credit for that observation... It is thrilling and intriguing as a theoretical issue. --Jeffrey I. Victoroff, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Chronicle of Higher Education Wonderful. --Jacob N. Shapiro, Princeton University, Chronicle of Higher Education [They] really help us refine our understanding of what the risk factors are. --Jessica Stern, Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies, Chronicle of Higher Education Data-driven and carefully constructed. --John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs Intriguing... There's a clear need to try and understand the motivation for this breed of terrorism that Gambetta and Hertog address in a thorough way that avoids alarmism. --Dominic Lenton, Engineering & Technology Opening up markedly new perspectives on the motivations of political violence, Engineers of Jihad yields unexpected answers about the nature and emergence of extremism. --Islam and Muslim Societies This relatively small book breaks significant new ground and should generate many more significant studies in this area. It should prove to be an important waystation on the path to better understanding not only of violent Islamism but of other political and politico-religious phenomena. It deserves a wide readership among those seriously interested in these subjects. --William Shepard, Journal of Global Analysis


Author Information

Diego Gambetta is professor of social theory at the European University Institute, Florence, and official fellow of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. His books include The Sicilian Mafia and Codes of the Underworld (Princeton). Steffen Hertog is associate professor of comparative politics at the London School of Economics. He is the author of Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats.

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