The Political Psychology of Al-Qaeda

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The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of Al-Qaeda , which is known to be a terrorist group , in politics through analysing the composition and the structure of the group , the psychology of Osama Bin Laden, the leader , and through analysing the psychology of its members.
It is crucial to note that groups have a very important role in politics that can not be neglected , and that groups with a large number of members , like Al-Qaeda , have big role not only in politics but also in decision making (Cottam , Uhler , Mastors and Preston , 2010 , p.65).
This paper will go through the political psychology of Al-Qaeda by using theories from Political Psychology of Groups , Political Extremists and the Political Psychology of Terrorism.The scope of this paper is limited to qualitative secondary resources using books and articles.
This paper argues that the Psychology of Al-Qaeda members and Osama Bin Laden made it a terrorist and extremist group.Burke (2004 , p.18) states that the actions and the ideology of Al-Qaeda resulted from the hatred of the West and the Zionists ; that is why all their actions are violent , moreover , Al-Qaeda’s objective is to establish an Islamic community by eradicating the regimes that opposed their ideology by force (Burke , 2004 , p.19).
This paper will tackle three main ideas.Firstly , it will discuss the composition of Al-Qaeda as a group.Secondly , it will analyse the group structure of Al-Qaeda.Moreover , it will tackle how Bin Laden became an extremist.Finally , it will point out why some individuals tend join Al-Qaeda and their behaviour.
Applying theories of Political Psychology of groups ; firstly , the composition of Al-Qaeda as a group ; whenever the number of members of a certain...

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... by counterterrorist Michael Eber.Retrieved 26th ,2013 from http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/joe/eber1.html

6)Gerges,F.(2011).The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda.USA:Oxford University Press.

7)Marion,R.&Uhl-Bien,M.(2003).Complexity theory and Al Qaeda:Examining Complex Leadership.USA:University of Nebraska-Lincoln Press.

8)Psychological characteristics of Usama Bin Laden.(n.d.).Retrieved November 28th,2013 , from www.uniphiz.com/faces/usama_bin_laden.htm

9)Steiner,J.(2012).The Psychology of Terrorsim:A case study of Osama Bin Laden.Retrieved November 28th,2013 , from https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/557650/Steiner_georgetown_0076M_11575.pdf?sequence=1

10)Wins,W.(2006).AQ Documents show Inner Conflicts.Retrieved November 26th,2013 , from www.americanintelligence.us/index.php?app=blog&module=display§ion=blog&blogid=1&showentry=17779

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