Terrorism is one of the most important phenomena of our contemporary world. There have been several attempts to explain different aspects of this problem. This research is important for several reasons. It will enable us to understand terrorism with a comprehensive approach. Also, terrorism is analyzed from a different conceptual framework and underlying causes of terrorism with case studies are presented.

Underlying causes of terrorism, such as poverty, inequality, injustice, instability stemming from immigration, or effects of globalization should be targeted. While responding to terrorism, it should be kept in mind that fundamental human rights and liberties must be protected.

This book includes the proceedings from the NATO 2006 Advanced Research Workshop on “Understanding and Responding to Terrorism: A Multi-dimensional Approach”, which was held at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on September 08–09, 2006.

The editors of this book, Dr. Suleyman OZEREN and Ismail Dincer GUNES are members of the Turkish National Police. Both of these researchers developed independent projects to study different issues related to terrorism. Dr. Suleyman OZEREN's project titled “Sociological Approaches to the Al-Qaeda Terror Organization” and Ismail Dincer GUNES' project titled “The Assessment of Social Impact of Al-Qaeda Attacks and Overt Security Measures in Target Countries” were submitted to the NATO Headquarters in November, 2005. The NATO granted their two proposals and combined them under the Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) entitled “Social and Psychological Aspects of Terrorism.”

In line with the content of the presentations, the book has been organized under five major parts:

1. Understanding terrorism: Conceptual framework and individual and organizational terrorist behavior,

2. Understanding causes of terrorism: Multidisciplinary approach,

3. Responding to terrorism: A comprehensive review,

4. Legal aspects of responding to terrorism: A delicate balance,

5. The impact of communication and technology on terrorism: Effective facilitators.

We hope that through this book, we will have the opportunity to make a contribution to the field of responding terrorism, which is very complex with multifaceted issues.

Recep GULTEKIN, Ph.D., Head of the Foreign Relations Department, Turkish National Police