scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

Domenico Tosini

Bio: Domenico Tosini is an academic researcher from University of Trento. The author has contributed to research in topics: Terrorism & Social system. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 19 publications receiving 138 citations.

Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest the importance of combining the paradigm of instrumental rationality with that of axiological rationality to understand the cultural and symbolic elements which justify and encourage the martyrdom of suicide attackers.
Abstract: Over the last 25 years, suicide attacks have become an alarming threat. They are a political tool which has been adopted by several organizations in Sri Lanka, Palestine and the Occupied Territories, Turkey, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and, in particular, by the Al-Qaeda-led insurgency in Iraq in its struggle against the US and its allies. Recent analyses have traced back the use of suicide terrorism to its 'strategic logic': organizations and their militants resort to suicide attacks mainly because they view this form of violence as an efficient weapon for their revolutionary and nationalist campaigns. An explanation based on the paradigm of rational choice theory or instrumental rationality alone is, however, insufficient. This article suggests the importance of combining the paradigm of instrumental rationality with that of axiological rationality. Only this kind of explanation is able to clarify the crucial role played by those cultural and symbolic elements which justify and encourage the martyrdom of suicide attackers. Moreover, by adopting a multi-causal analysis of the armed organizations, their constituencies and the attackers, as well as of their interaction, the article outlines a theoretical model of the most important social mechanisms underlying the use of suicide tactics.

36 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline a social science understanding of terrorist threat, with special reference to political violence of new terrorist groups, fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to outline a social science understanding of terrorist threat, with special reference to political violence of new terrorist groups, fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda. Four main terrorism topics will be examined: (i) Definition of terrorism. We will make explicit the political and moral implications of the word ‘terrorism’ by tracing a brief history of terrorism; at the same time, a definition of terrorism will be proposed based on an overview of terrorism studies. (ii) Typology of terrorism. The topic to be addressed here concerns the classification of terrorist groups, paying special attention to contemporary fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations (particularly after World War II). (iii) Explanation of terrorism. Criticism will be made of psychological explanations of terrorism that try to trace political violence back to specific personal traits or psychopathological profiles of terrorists. We will offer an alternative explanation, focusing on specific social, cultural and religious factors to be considered the root causes of terrorism. Suicide terrorism will be used as a case study. (iv) Counterterrorism policy. Here, we will discuss some of the limitations and counterproductive effects of the counterterrorism measures adopted by governments after 9/11, including new antiterrorism legislation, the case of special detention at Guantanamo Bay, and the Iraq invasion. Most of such limitations are due to a misunderstanding of the political culture and ideology of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism (Islamism). Some concluding remarks will summarise the findings of the article and underline the most important suggestions for a future research agenda in the sociology of terrorism and counterterrorism.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Results of an exploratory investigation into male-perpetrated familicides in Italy between 1992 and 2015 are presented, which provides a more nuanced conceptualization of familicide occurrences than those examined in previous research.
Abstract: This article adds to the literature on familicide by providing specific insights from the Italian experience. It presents results of an exploratory investigation into male-perpetrated familicides in Italy between 1992 and 2015. Familicide is defined as the killing of the spouse or intimate partner, and at least one child, at the hand of the other spouse/partner. Incidents of familicide were collated from newspaper reports. We identified 90 cases, resulting in 207 deaths. On average, perpetrators were middle aged (M = 46.8; age ranging from 25 to 76), and most (n = 66; 73%) committed, or attempted to commit, suicide. While significant contributory roles were played by health problems and financial worries, the origin of the primary emotional upset for the killers tended to be interpersonal conflicts involving their partners. For those cases with available information (n = 56; 62%), six types of familicide were also identified on the basis of the murderer's homicidal motivations. Most frequent were three circumstances. Fifteen cases concerned the "doubly-protective familicide" (which corresponds to the "suicide-by-proxy"), characterized by the preservation of the family in the face of a presumed catastrophic event. Triggers included the killer's financial distress, health troubles, or anxiety associated with other personal problems. Thirteen cases referred to "doubly-punitive familicide," whose distinctive feature, in addition to punishing the partner because of her estrangement, her infidelity, or other disputes, is to directly involve the child(ren) in the punitive homicidal act. The children are viewed as contributory factors to the killer's stress, or are considered to be in league with the mother. Twelve cases exemplified "indirectly-punitive familicide" (also termed "murder-by-proxy"), in which the victimized child(ren) are killed as an extension of the partner. Overall, this typology provides a more nuanced conceptualization of familicide occurrences than those examined in previous research.

17 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical framework is proposed to identify the main ideal types of motivations underlying suicide missions in terrorist campaigns, with special reference to Sunni extremists, such as Al-Qaeda and its allies.

14 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The main purpose of as discussed by the authors is to present the fundamental concepts of a theory of social systems, with special reference to the concepts of medium and form, and their application in sociology.
Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to present the fundamental concepts of a theory of social systems, with special reference to the concepts of medium and form, and their application in sociology....

10 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global by Fawaz A. Gerges as mentioned in this paper is a good starting point for a discussion of the roots of Al-Qaeda's strategy of targeting the United States.
Abstract: The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global. By Fawaz A. Gerges. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 358p. $27.00. The 9/11 attacks have already produced a substantial literature that seeks to explain the roots of Al Qaeda's strategy of targeting the United States. Explanations range from simplistic statements—“They hate us,” “They hate freedom”—to arguments about revenge or punishment for various American policy choices, to more complex arguments that Osama bin Laden and his associates sought to draw America into a trap of sorts. One problem, of course, is that no one really has much of an idea of precisely what led bin Ladin and his top associates to plot the 9/11 attacks. Scholars do not, quite frankly, have a lot to work with here.

202 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a method to solve the problem of homonymity of homophily in the context of homomorphic data, and no abstracts are available.
Abstract: No abstract available.

195 citations

01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this article, King and Thornhill present the first comprehensive analysis of Luhmann's highly original theory of the operations of the legal and political systems, and describe how from the perspective of his "sociological enlightenment" Luhlmann continually calls to account the certainties, the ambitions and rational foundations of The Enlightenment and the idealized versions of law and politics that they have produced.
Abstract: Niklas Luhmann's social theory stands in direct opposition to the dominant "anthropocentric" traditions of legal and political analysis. King and Thornhill now offer the first comprehensive, critical examination of Luhmann's highly original theory of the operations of the legal and political systems. They describe how from the perspective of his "sociological enlightenment" Luhmann continually calls to account the certainties, the ambitions and rational foundations of The Enlightenment and the idealized versions of law and politics that they have produced.

122 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The meaning of Jihad has become a household word and a frightening one since 9/11/01, despite an abundant literature, both scholarly and popular, its meaning remains dubious.
Abstract: Since 9/11/01, jihad has become a household word and a frightening one as well. Despite an abundant literature, both scholarly and popular, its meaning remains dubious. Conventionally it is transla...

99 citations