Alumnus will discuss terrorist motivations

Bruce Hoffman '76

Bruce Hoffman’s fascination with terrorism took root at CC in the living room of Marshall House.

It was September 1972 and Hoffman, a freshman, was watching the events of the Munich Olympics unfold. Eleven Israeli athletes ultimately were killed. Hoffman wanted to know why.

Hoffman was also influenced by Professor Robert Lorish’s course on the military in American politics and chose to major in history and government as a result.

A 1976 CC graduate, Hoffman is now an international expert on terrorism. He was appointed as the first corporate chair in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency for the RAND Corporation this past May and will soon present his thoughts to a different audience in a familiar venue: his alma mater.

On Sat., Oct. 1 during Fall Weekend he will discuss “The Future of Terrorism.” His talk will span a wide range of trends and developments since 9/11, including the transformation of al Qaeda and the emergence of al Qaeda “clones.”

Hoffman also will discuss the ongoing insurgency in Iraq and the recent attacks in Madrid and London as examples of al Qaeda’s current strategy and future operations.

Hoffman sees the U.S. government’s battle against al Qaeda and other terrorist groups as both a military and ideological struggle. Well-versed in the political and religious factors that motivate violent extremists, he is often called on to advise international and federal authorities.

In briefings this past March and June in London, Hoffman had specifically argued that the next big attack was more likely to occur in that city than in either New York or Washington, D.C. He was proven to be right.

Hoffman, who received his doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, returned to teaching two years ago after a four-year hiatus. He was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he also chaired the department of international relations.

“Now it is important for me to be involved in educating a new generation of analysts of both international affairs in general and American national security in particular,” Hoffman said.

He now teaches undergraduate courses at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduate courses in the security studies program at Georgetown University. This past summer he taught a course on counterterrorism for the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

“Given Connecticut College’s acclaimed international studies center and program, it is a special honor to be more involved with my alma mater as well,” he said.

Hoffman recently finished a sequel to his 1998 book “Inside Terrorism.” It will be published by Columbia University Press and is scheduled to appear next July.