INTL420 Week 6 Discussion

INTL420 Week 6

Discussion Board writing assignment for Week Six

Q1: Summarize how, according to Rodney Stark, social movements arise and how they succeed?  Describe where a "shared grievance" might arise from a population. 

Q2: In The True Believer, Eric Hoffer opines, “Discontent by itself does not invariably create a desire for change.”According to Hoffer, what other factor(s) have to be present to create a desire for change? What is required for success? Is Hoffer different from Stark? Explain why or why not.

Q3: Why in Toth's view, did Islamism take root in Southern Egypt? What political, economic and social conditions does Toth attribute to the rise of Islamism in Egypt?  What does Toth cite as the catalyst for the shift of some Islamists in Egypt from pacificism to militancy?   

Q4. What is the "strategic logic of suicide terrorism," according to Robert Pape?  Describe the five principal findings of Pape's study.  What evidence did Pape find for "the apparent success of suicide terrorism?"