Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Threats: A Theoretical Framework
2. The Provisional IRA: A Full Spectrum of Threats
3. ETA and the Tamil Tigers: Comparable Threats for Social Control and Negotiation; Contrasting Threats for Legitimacy, Disruption, and Advantage
4. The MRTA and the Shining Path: Common Enemy; Virtually No Threat in Common
5. The Taliban, ISIL, and Boko Haram: Comparable Threats for Social Control; Contrasting Threats for Legitimacy, Negotiation, Aggrandizement, and Advantage
6. Quantitative Analysis: When to Expect Truthful Warnings
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Joseph M. Brown is assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Reviews

Brown offers the first comprehensive scholarly study of how terrorists use words to coerce, warn, inspire fear, legitimate, negotiate, and ultimately change the perceptions and behavior of governments and the general public. His rich case studies combine impressive fieldwork and sophisticated quantitative analysis to skillfully explain the threats of some of the world’s most prominent terrorist organizations.
*Peter Krause, author of Rebel Power: Why National Movements Compete, Fight, and Win*

Terrorism has always been about more than violence. It involves projecting the constant threat of that violence. In this superb book, Brown explores the warnings, pledges, hoaxes, and bluffs that prove terrorists know just how much power and control lie in their use of language. Force of Words is a remarkable, innovative resource for students and practitioners of counterterrorism worldwide.
*John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism*

Joseph M. Brown is an excellent terrorism scholar. He has found an area of terrorism that is both fundamental to the subject and yet largely unaddressed in the academic literature. Force of Words offers the first unified theoretical account of terrorist threats in the world.
*Max Abrahms, author of Rules for Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History*

In conclusion, Force of Words represents a major achievement. It is unquestionably the most sophisticated assessment of terrorist threats to date. The book also stands as a leading work in the area of terrorist signaling—an important but often overlooked aspect of extremist violence. At its core, Force of Words is not simply a book about terrorist tactics and targeting. Rather, it is a discerning examination of extremist groups’ specific goals that demonstrates how radical organizations use violence and threats of violence to try to influence civilians and governments. For these reasons, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in non-state terrorism.
*Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books*

Well researched, clearly argued, and takes the study of communications from the sidelines to a center position in terrorism studies.
*Choice*