In his opinion piece, Dr Simon Cottee looks at, in his own words, ‘what makes terrorists tick?’
Describing the quest to find the answer as the ‘Holy Grail of terrorism studies,’ Dr Cottee engages with a recent documentary which claimed neuroimaging of the brain reveals “clues as to what makes people willing to fight and die for their beliefs.” So can commitment or personal belief really be seen in the neural pathways of the brain? Dr Cottee thinks not, he says:
“At the very core of this wisdom is the ancient theological notion that evil leaves a human stain which can be mapped and, with the right intervention, exorcised from the world.”
Read the full article in The Daily Beast online.
Dr Simon Cottee is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Kent. His research interests focus on apostacy deviance, political violence, terrorism and war. He teaches modules on war, atrocity and genocide as well as crime, culture and control.