Al Qaeda
3700: 392/690
Prof. Karl Kaltenthaler
Office: Olin 214
Tel: 972-8060
e-mail:[email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-3pm
And by appointment
Course Description
This course examines the causes and consequences of Al Qaeda. The main questions
addressed in the class are: Why do some individuals or organizations turn to terrorism in the
name of Al Qaeda? What types of societies breed terrorism? Why does Al Qaeda choose the
methods that it does to achieve its goals? Under what conditions will Al Qaeda succeed and
under what conditions will it fail?
Course Requirements
It is expected that each student will do the assigned readings by the date of assignment.
Although lectures will cover the readings, they may also cover material that is not in the
readings; the student is responsible for the material in both the readings and the lectures. This
means coming to each class having read the material and being able to offer your input. The
class participation grade is based on attendance, evidence of having done the reading,
frequency of participation, and cogency of class comments.
Your participation grade will be given as one of three possible grades. A student can get two
points added to her final percentage grade for outstanding participation, one point added for
good participation, and no points added for no active participation. Students can miss up to
two days of class, unexcused, and not be penalized in their participation grade. Any days
missed beyond the two allowed absences will be assessed a 1%/day penalty to your final
class grade.
The course also requires two exams, including the final. The final will not be comprehensive. It
is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor, beforehand, if they are unable to
complete any of the class responsibilities at the assigned time. Exams must be taken on the
1
assigned day at the assigned time unless the student is too ill to take the exam or their has
been a death in the family. No rescheduling because of travel plans!
Office Hours
I strongly encourage you to discuss anything related to the class in my office hours. If you
cannot meet me during my office hours, please e-mail me and make an appointment. This
will ensure you ample time with me to speak.
Policy Brief Paper
Each undergraduate student in the class is required to hand in a five page policy brief on the
issue they choose. It is to be their own personal views on the policy issue they have been
assigned. It must include citations of material used for the brief. The grade will be given
based on answering all of the required questions in the brief completely.
Students will do a policy brief paper on one of the following policy topics:
What should the US do to defeat Al Shabaab?
How should the US try to defeat Al Qaeda in Pakistan?
What should the US do about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula?
What should the US about Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb?
Each student must answer the following questions in their policy brief:
1.) What is the policy problem and why does it matter to the United States?
2.) What policy options are available to the US government?
3.) What are the full range of pros and cons for each of the policy options?
4.) What is the best policy option for the United States and why?
***Graduate Students:
Each graduate student in the class is required to hand in a ten page policy brief on the issue
they choose.
Breakdown of grading:
Midterm: 40%
Final Exam: 40%
Policy Paper: 20%
2
Texts:
Required books:
Marc Sageman. Understanding Terror Networks. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
2004. (aka UTN)
Any other readings can be found on Springboard
Daily Schedule
June 4: Introduction
June 5: What is Al Qaeda? (Farrall “How Al Qaeda Works”)
I. Theories of Terrorism
June 6: Sociological Theories (Bergen “A Discussion of Some of the Causes of the Underlying
Causes of Al Qaeda Terrorism”).
June 7: Psychological Theories and Rational Choice Theories (Victoroff “The Mind of the
Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches;” Pape “Strategic Logic of Suicide
Terrorism”)
June 8: No Class
June 9: Religious Terrorism (Wiktorowicz and Kaltner “Killing in the Name of Islam)
II. Development of Al Qaeda
June 12: The Development of Islam (Farah Islam, Chps. 1 and 2)
June 13: Salafi Jihadism (Sageman UTN, Chp.1; Wiktotowicz “The Anatomy of the Salafi
Movement”)
3
June 14: Egypt (Berman “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror; Nedorocsik “Extremist Groups in
Egypt”).
June 15: Afghanistan (Anonymous, Chps. 7 and 11).
June 18: Al Qaeda Attacks I (Sageman UTN Chp. 2; UBL “Declaration of Jihad;” UBL “The World
Islamic Front;” Timeline of AQ Attacks and Plots)
June 19: Al Qaeda Attacks II
June 20: Exam One
Part III: Al Qaeda
June 21: The Ideology and Structure of Al Qaeda (Zabel “The Military Strategy of Global
Jihad”)
June 22: The Profile of Al Qaeda Members (Sageman UTN Chps. 3 &4)
June 25: Al Qaeda Cells/Loners in the West (Leiden “Europe’s Angry Muslims”)
June 26: Al Qaeda in Iraq: (Benraad “Assessing AQI’s Resilience After April’s Leadership
Decapitation;”)
June 27: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (Porter “AQIM’s Objectives in North Africa”)
June 28: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Hegghammer “The Failure of Jihad in Saudi
Arabia.”)
June 29: The Somali Shabaab (Wise “Al Shabaab”)
July 2: Al Qaeda Central (CTC ”Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined?”)
Part IV: Allied Jihadi Groups
July 3: Pakistani Jihadis: (Abbas “A Profile of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan)
July 4: No Class
July 5: The Afghan Taliban (Rashid Taliban, Chps. 1 and 7)
4
Part V: The Future
July 6: The Killing of Osama bin Laden and the Future of Al Qaeda (Schmidle “Getting bin
Laden”)
Final Exam: TBA
5