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Does a repressive counterterrorist strategy reduce terrorism? An empirical study of Israel's iron fist policy for the period 1968 to 1987

This dissertation examines the relationship between Israel's counter-terrorist policy and the extent and intensity of terrorism in Israel. The time frame of the study is from 1968 to 1987. Israel's counter-terrorism policy has been characterized as an iron fist approach to terrorism because of a consistent use of three categories of repressive actions: military reprisals, collective punishment, and legal imprisonment. / It has been suggested by a number of scholars that a repressive policy is the only way a government can combat terrorism. However, the evidence to date has not supported this claim, rather it indicates that repression increases rather than decreases terrorism. Because Israel has been consistent in its application of a repressive strategy, the policy of Israel was examined as a test of this assumption. The dissertation has revealed three major findings. First, military actions covary with the extent and intensity of terrorism. Second, the largest reduction of terrorism in Israel was caused by the Jordanian civil War. When Jordan exiled the leadership of the PLO and a bulk of PLO fighters to Lebanon, terrorism staged in Jordan completely disappeared. Moreover, even though the PLO was able to stage terrorism in Lebanon, the extent and intensity of this violence did not reach proportions similar to levels of terrorism originating in Jordan from 1968 to 1970. Lastly, Israel's indiscriminate application of military force and collective punishment has radicalized the Palestinian population on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and is thought to be an important cause of the Intifada that began in January of 1987. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-07, Section: A, page: 2135. / Major Professor: Monte Palmer. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77193
ContributorsTrapp, Frank Joseph., Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText
Format251 p.
RightsOn campus use only.
RelationDissertation Abstracts International

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