Resource Tag: POLITICAL MOTIVATION

This article addresses the misconception that contemporary suicide terrorists from the Middle East are crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in poverty & ignorance. The author argues that recent research indicates they have no appreciable psychopathology & are as educated & economically well-off as surrounding populations. He argues that a first line of […]

This article examines the psychology of a suicide bomber. The suicide bomber is examined from a psychohistorical, mythological, & psychoanalytic perspective. Suicide bombers can sometimes express internal frustrations, which are communicated through various primitive defenses: shame, fear of dependency, unresolved Oedipal issues, & omnipotent denial. The author attributes the underlying conflicts in Islam as having […]

The author argues that suicide must be divided into two separate categories. One type of suicide lies at the heartland of the concept, and will remain there in spite of linguistic shifts of changes in moral appraisals. The other tupeof suicide lies at the frontiers of the concept and depends upon conventional understanding of the […]

The central finding of this paper is that the suicide rate in East Germany declined by about 1/3 after the reunification of Germany. The suicide rate in West Germany declined by 1/4. Possibly the political liberation and the drop in fatalistic suicide, accounts for this decline in suicide rates.

Shulman presents case studies of historical figures who he believes committed suicide when they were overpowered by a sense of failure or loss, or both. The cases of Forrestal, Rebreanu, Fadeyev, Mishima, Mayakovsky, Zweig, Lindsay, Teasdale, & Tsvetayeva are discussed. It is stated that all of these people had developed grandiose, but unstable, illusions on […]

Also published in “Philosophy”, v.59, 1984.

This chapter looks at the fact that most organizers of terrorism are sane individuals who have cold and calculated views on how to carry out their plans. The author focuses primarily on the cultural differences beween American and Islamic groups of the Middle East.

This article details suicidal behavior in New Guinea, emphasizing female suicide. The author describes suicide in this country as a culturally recognized behavior that acts as a form of social sanction. She presents many case examples of suicides brought on shame, an unwanted marriage, etc. Compensation is usually paid to the suicide victim’s family by […]

This news report describes the suicide of Teh Cheang Wan, Singapore’s Minister of National Development. Teh committed suicide while under investigation for corruption. Honour & good name was very important to Teh, & the Singapore government is known for clean, efficient government. This article details the publically-known evidence against Teh. (VM)

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This study the influence of presidential elections on the rate of suicide in the U.S. The author found that the number of suicides was lower than average for 7 of 9 elections. The 2 increases were after Kennedy won in 1960 & after Reagan won in 1984. No effect on homicide rates was found. The […]

The author analyzes Mishima Yukio’s suicide in terms of goal means discrepancy & alienated self-conception, using as a background his major works & his life experiences. Attitudes toward his suicide, both in Japan & internationally, are examined. 38 Refs. (NBB)

The use of the hunger strike as a form of political protest in Ireland is discussed. The Dublin uprising of Easter, 1916, the declaration of self-rule by the 1919 Dublin parliament, & Britain’s use of black & tans to terrorize the Irish Catholics is outlined. The 1920 hunger strike of Cork’s Mayor, James McSwiney, after […]

Using data from the Lusi-speaking Kaliai of northwest New Britain, the author demonstrates that suicide is part of a pattern of behaviour for powerless people, that this pattern is communicated in oral literature, that it follows rules, & that it has predictable results. In this context, suicide is a political alternative that permits the powerless, […]

This brief article discusses the premise that suicide in a death-dealing capitalist society can be both the ultimate surrender & the ultimate defiance. The real issues of suicide are said to be political ones & suicidal people are encouraged to analyze politically the conditions that have made their despair, to turn their anger outward, & […]

An existential study of the life of Robert Starobin who committed suicide, in 1971, at the age of 31. The author offers several theories to explain the life & death of this politically active, socially concerned historian. (NBB)

Data collection by questionnaire from a sample (N=432) of young people attending a political gathering in Chicago in 1968 incidates a relationship exists between suicidal preoccupation & two life style aspects, drug use & political protest activities. A direct relationship was found between frequency & variety of drug use & suicidal preoccupation, & an inverse […]

A wide-ranging discussion of suicide in Finland. The author explores the history and culture of Finland to illustrate the origins of present-day attitudes toward suicide in this country. 16 ref. (NBB)

Hikau Kerns examines the circumstances surrounding the suicidal death of Ichiro Nakagawa, a parliamentary leader who was a member of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party. (NBB)

During WWII, many Japanese pilots were trained to undertake kamikaze flights. Such a mission involved flying the airplane into an enemy target, such as a ship or military unit. This letter was written by a 23-year old Japanese pilot prior to his suicidal flight. The pilot’s name was Teruo Yamaguchi.

An overwhelming majority of the self-immolations throughout the world in the last decade were political acts. More than 1/3 were committed by Buddists, for whom the act is a deed of supreme sacrifice. Several cases, from different countries, are presented & motivations in each case are discussed. 12 refs.

Discussed are the contents of 4 papers that are part of a workshop on political suicide. Topics included are the role of suicide in terrorism; suicide among political prisoners who have been tortured; suicidal behavior in jails & prisons; & political suicide in India. (NBB)