Georgetown College. Georgetown University.

By Theodora Danylevich

In light of volatile political conditions throughout the world today, many of which lead to increased threats of terrorism, it is important to address this serious problem from as many angles as imaginable. It behooves scholars to ask the question: How does such a horribly destructive political phenomenon come about in the first place?

For Dr. Fathali Moghaddam, an avid lifelong researcher, a passionate teacher, and a professor in Georgetown’s Department of Psychology, it is only logical to consider the ways in which research can be harnessed and channeled as a powerful tool to combat terrorism. The disquieting title of one of his latest books, From the Terrorist’s Point of View, advocates for a deep and nuanced understanding of the underlying social, psychological, and political conditions that may lead to the emergence of individuals who are predisposed to commit acts of terrorism. As uncomfortable as it may be to attempt to put oneself in the shoes of a terrorist, Dr. Moghaddam’s book, endorsed and published by Praeger Security International, does so with the specific aim of helping to develop effective long-term plans to prevent, and ultimately eradicate, this political monster.

Dr. Moghaddam makes the argument that cultural identity crisis plays a powerful role in the recent surge in Islamic terrorism, and his book describes a five-step psychological progression that leads to terrorist convictions and activities.

This recent project is a natural outgrowth of Dr. Moghaddam’s lifelong commitment to research and fieldwork in social and cultural psychology, focusing on intergroup conflict and modes of categorization.

Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and educated in Britain, Dr. Moghaddam has led a truly international career, having worked in the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and finally in the United States. These experiences left him with a well-informed and well-rounded approach and a deep understanding of social and cultural psychology. Questions of cultural difference and intergroup conflict drew his attention in his early work in Britain. In 1979, Dr. Moghaddam returned to Iran, where his focus on conflict and radicalization emerged. In 1983, he worked for the United Nations helping to set up Afghan refugee camps in Baluchestan, around the borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where cultural identity crisis was a very real issue.

After his work in the Middle East, Dr. Moghaddam worked at McGill University in Canada for six years, conducting extensive research on immigrant and minority discrimination. Since coming to Georgetown in 1990, Dr. Moghaddam’s research has focused again on the conflict aspect of justice and peace studies.

“My understanding of ‘the terrorists’ point of view’ is based on my over quarter of a century of research on group and intergroup dynamics, and particularly the role of identity in intergroup conflict,” he says. “Seeing the world from the terrorists’ point of view does not mean condoning terrorism; rather, it means better understanding terrorism so as to end it. I believe it is not to individual but to societal characteristics that we must look to understand and to end terrorism. We must pay attention to the ‘big picture’ and the cultural conditions that give rise to a morality supportive of terrorism. We must give priority to transforming these cultural conditions. My intention is to highlight a need for long-term policies to transform social, economic, and political conditions.”

Dr. Moghaddam ultimately advocates the development of “contextualized democracies”—democracies that are adaptable to local cultures—in order to attack the problem at its roots. While Dr. Moghaddam recognizes that short-term goals targeting individual terrorists are important in order to deal with imminent terrorist threats, he sees his approach as “complementary to equally necessary short-term approaches in order to support long-term security.”

Dr. Moghaddam consistently publishes articles co-authored with his undergraduate students. In fact, his first publication at Georgetown was with an undergraduate student. Working with students is a very important component of Dr. Moghaddam’s work, and a rewarding one: “Undergraduates are great at coming up with new ideas because they are not inhibited by the literature—they’re brave enough to put forward their own ideas and that often works.”

As for the relationship between his research and his teaching, he says, “For me, there is really no wall between the two. I tend to teach exactly what I’m researching. Typically, I work around the theme of the classes I teach to develop ideas for my writing. This benefits both my students and myself—the students gain a contextualized understanding of key concepts through my research, and I get to receive fresh feedback on my work from them.”

Dr. Moghaddam has an impressive list of published books, including two that are forthcoming in 2008 (see related article). Since joining Georgetown in 1990, he has published 14 books and 90 scientific papers.

“Although I was very productive before joining Georgetown, I have found the Georgetown culture particularly inspiring,” says Dr. Moghaddam. His book Great Ideas in Psychology (Oneworld Publications, 2005) arose directly out of his experiences in teaching General Psychology, which is one of Dr. Moghaddam’s favorite courses to teach. “Teaching the introductory class, you can influence them early,” he says.

Dr. Moghaddam was recently honored for his work, receiving the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence, a division of the American Psychological Association.

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