A Mental Health Perspective of Contemporary Political Terrorists: Have Motivation Profiles Changed?

• In Event: Terrorism

Abstract

The initial debate about the motivations for political terrorism in the second half of the 20th century included assertions about the importance of primarily romantic idealism, still within largely rational choice theoretical perspective, versus mental disorders ranging from psychoses to personality disorders such as extreme narcissism and psychopathy/megalomania included. This paper explores whether original theoretical models and related individual level typologies remain relevant in describing and explaining motivational profiles of contemporary political terrorists especially those in more globally oriented organizations such as the Islamic State.

Authors

• Raymond Corrado, Simon Fraser University

• Garth Davies, Simon Fraser University

• Irwin Cohen, University of the Fraser Valley