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Psychological Profile and Types of Leaders of Terrorist Structures – Generic Views and Experiences From the Activities of Illegal Groups and Organizations in the Republic of Macedonia
The paper intents to elaborate a part of the important issues relating to the establishment and operation of illegal structures that use violence as a main method for realizing political goals, and are called terrorist groups and organizations. Namely, it is a clarification of the role of leaders of terrorist groups and organizations through interpenetration in their psychological profile, which is the basis for trying to get to the typology of the leaders of these illegal structures. It starts by explaining the objective importance of social conflicts, from whose opposition the formation and activities of terrorist groups and organizations is derived, that leads to individuals to clearly and directly project their goals and interests and determine the specific methods available in order to achieve the most immediate change. In terms of the psychological profile of leaders of terrorist groups and organizations, these aspects are taken into consideration: motives; motivating processes; opinions that affect planning and organization and implementation of specific violent acts that lead to the realization of the given political purposes. The typology of leaders is established according to five criteria - political-ideological matrix, consistency, readiness for physical sacrifice, the radius of action and linkage to external factors. In the second part of the paper three cases of leaders of illegal structures in Macedonia are presented, with drawing conclusions based on theoretical settings psychological profile and typology of leaders of terrorist groups and organizations.