This book provides the reader with an introduction to the concept and practice of terrorism embedded within a firm understanding of politics and social structure. It explores the major theories, typologies, strategies, ideologies, practices, and responses to contemporary political terrorism.;Demystifying terrorism: the myths and realities of contemporary political terrorism / Michael Stohl -- Some characteristics of political terrorism in the 1960s / Ted Robert Gurr -- The urban context of political terrorism / P.N. Grabosky -- Political disintegration and latent terror / Peter R. Knauss and D.A. Strickland -- Societal structure and revolutionary terrorism: a preliminary investigation / Harry R. Targ -- The theoretical utility of typologies of terrorism: lessons and opportunities / Peter A. Fleming, Michael Stohl, and Alex P. Schmid -- Terror in the United States: three perspectives / Frederic D. Homer -- Governance by terror / Raymond D. Duvall and Michael Stohl -- National interests and state terrorism in international affairs / Michael Stohl -- Terrorism at home and abroad: the U.S. government view / Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Patterns of global terrorism: 1985 / U.S. Department of State -- Ethnic and ideological terrorism in western Europe / Raymond R. Corrado, with Rebecca Evans -- Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa / Robert A. Denemark and Mary B. Welfling -- Terrorism in Latin America / George A. Lopez -- Terrorism in the Middle East: the case of the Arab-Israeli conflict / Ilan Peleg -- Political terrorism in the United States: historical antecedents and contemporary trends / Ted Robert Gurr -- Responding to the terrorist threat: fashions and fundamentals / Michael Stohl.