The Enigma of the Suicide Bomber : A Psychoanalytic Essay / by Franco De Masi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

De Masi, Franco, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Suicide bombings--Psychological aspects.

Suicide bombings.

Psychoanalysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (170 p.)

Edition:

1st English ed.

Place of Publication:

Boca Raton, FL : Routledge, [2018].

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why does someone resolve to take his own life in order to murder other people? What is the state of mind which allows him to commit such a monstrous act? This book explores the mental state that compels certain individuals to perform murderous, suicidal acts and emphasizes that, whereas a suicidal terrorist attack can be described as a crime against humanity, its protagonists cannot necessarily be classified as criminal or insane. There is no such a thing as a "typical" suicide terrorist - each attacker differs in age, sex, family status, culture, and even religion. Indeed, the common elements in suicide terrorism should perhaps be sought not so much in the individuals concerned as in the dynamics rooted in their group, family history or country. It may be extreme situations experienced by the group situations that are either objectively extreme or perceived as such that give rise to paradoxical behaviour at individual level. Psychoanalysis is well placed to consider this terrain.

Contents:

COVER; CONTENTS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; ABOUT THE AUTHOR; FOREWORD; PREFACE; Introduction; CHAPTER ONE A strategic aim; CHAPTER TWO Psychoanalytic contributions; CHAPTER THREE Origins and profile; CHAPTER FOUR Martyrdom and the sadomasochistic link; CHAPTER FIVE Murder-suicide; CHAPTER SIX The network and filicide; CHAPTER SEVEN The female suicide bomber; CHAPTER EIGHT Trauma; CHAPTER NINE Dehumanization; CHAPTER TEN Dissociating emotions; CHAPTER ELEVEN Unique identity and omnipotence; CHAPTER TWELVE A cannibal God; CHAPTER THIRTEEN Terrorism: reversible or irreversible?; Conclusions; NOTES

REFERENCESINDEX

Notes:

First published in Italian as Trauma, deumanizzazione e distruttività in 2008.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-429-92063-6

0-429-90640-4

0-429-48163-2

1-283-30587-9

9786613305879

1-84940-906-4

9780429481635

OCLC:

758334219