Terrorism as a tactic has been used by political and ideological groups for thousands of years. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression aims to address the complex causation and effects of terrorist activity by bringing together timely, consistently scientifically and theoretically sound papers addressing terrorism from a behavioral science perspective, (encompassing biological, evolutionary, developmental, ecological, personality, social, military, and neuroscience approaches to psychology). The journal is not intended as a forum for articles presenting policy or strategy analysis or those highly driven by opinion, but instead will publish empirical and theoretical papers, letters to the Editor and invited visionary pieces by leading experts in the field, which have a strong base in behavioral science research. The articles will also draw in insights from related disciplines, including anthropology, economics, history, political science, nonlinear dynamic systems, and sociology.

In particular, the journal seeks to further the understanding of key questions within terrorism research, including:

• What are the conditions that lead to the use of terrorist tactics?
• How can future terrorist attacks be predicted?
• How can terrorist attacks be prevented, or at least reduced?
• How are terrorists recruited?
• How can would-be terrorists and potential supporters be diverted?
• How do societies move towards democracies that do not foster terrorism?
• What is the impact of terrorism on societies that have been attacked?
• What are the effects of counterterrorism efforts on societies where such efforts are ongoing?
• How can recovery from the effects of terrorism on individuals and groups be expedited?