This collection brings together the very best research on terrorism as viewed from a global and comparative perspective. Many of the papers included are from the post-9/11 period, which has seen a significant increase in the volume of research on terrorism whose focus goes beyond individual groups or countries. There are also a number of extremely important contributions that trace the development of this strand of terrorism research in the second half of the twentieth century, in particular the 1980s and 1990s. The collection covers the following areas:

" Causes of Terrorism

" Tactics and Targets

" Religious Terrorism

" Ethnic/Nationalist Terrorism

" Ideological Terrorism

" Terrorist Groups and Criminal Organizations

" State Involvement in Terrorism

" Countermeasures

" The Global 'War on Terrorism'

The editors' introductory essay contextualises the selection, sets out a basic framework on terrorism and terrorists, and discusses some of the groups and countries that are especially relevant to the analysis of global terrorism.