Mental health and political violence
Mental health as a cause of terrorism and violence has appeared before on the Forum, but appears to be increasingly important after recent attacks in Europe and the USA.
Many issues, not just prediction and response, are involved and these two articles help.
Within the first article. Some may alight on Brian Jenkins thought: 'stray dogs' not 'lone wolves':
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...looking for a cause that will give them meaning and make sense of their mental turmoil. Crucially, an extremist ideology offers them the possibility of transforming their identity: to re-imagine themselves not as
failures, but as warriors, whose prior difficulties are not personal shortcomings, but evidence of the cultural decadence that they now disavow.
Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/benjamin-ramm/we-need-to-rethink-relationship-between-mental-health-and-political-violence?
The second is an article from The Guardian, with a sub-title:
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It is possible to be both a terrorist and mentally unstable
(A sample passage) As with any kind of sectarian indoctrination, religion can become a kind of healing or means of achieving redemption after a dissolute past, which corresponds perfectly with the apocalyptic vision of Isis. Many conversions to jihadism are preceded by a trail of violence and humiliation.
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...s-attacks-nice
Incidentally IIRC the Forum has looked at US mass killings, notably at schools, but those posts appear to be a wider US terrorism / lone wolves thread. Mental Health appears in too many threads. Maybe the thread on Congresswoman Gifford's shooting will help:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=12229
Mental health and political violence
Mental health & terrorism: no clear conclusion
An article in CTC's Sentinel and the Abstract states:
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The wave of Islamic State-linked terrorism experienced in the West over the past couple of years has rekindled debates surrounding mental disorders and terrorist engagement. A very preliminary survey by the authors found that out of 55 attacks in the West where the 76 individuals involved were possibly influenced by the Islamic State, according to media reports, 27.6% had a history of apparent psychological instability, a percentage comparable to that found in the general population. This figure is driven largely by individuals inspired by the Islamic State, as opposed to those directed by it, however. The percentage is likely overinflated for several noteworthy reasons, including poor reporting, low benchmarks, and the tendency to overuse mental health problems as a ‘silver-bullet’ explanation for terrorist involvement. The relationship is, in fact, far more complex than typically presented.
Their conclusion starts with:
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It is simply too early to come to a definitive answer regarding the role of mental health problems and various forms of Islamic State terrorism. Mental disorders appear more prevalent among those inspired by Islamic State than those directed by it. Beyond that, however, it is difficult to make clear conclusions.
Link:https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/is-th...-islamic-state