The article analyzes the state of the research of non-state terrorism, methodological research problems of studying terrorism, conceptualization, operationalization of terrorism and typologies of terrorist activities, structural factors and root causes of terrorism, analysis of terrorists’ behavior from the rational choice perspective and the relationship between political regimes and the risk of terrorism. Special attention is given to ethnic terrorism in divided societies and structural causes fostering terrorism. At present the academic consensus has been reached about the minimalist definition of terrorism as a protest strategy using the means or threat of violence against civilians, but there is no agreement about main preconditions, factors and triggers of terrorism.

The author understands the terrorism as a complex phenomenon, based on interconnected factors, which can be understood at different levels of analysis. In the article the societal level of analysis is used to explain terrorism through the historical development and cultural background of the society which is viewed as a large and complex system, including its political, social and economic environments as well as its historic development as it undergoes the modernization process. The author tries to identify casual relationship between features of a distinct society and the occurrence of terrorism in that society.

The article undertakes to identify the roots and nature of a link between religion and terrorism, which is highlighted in both numerous terroristic acts in the name and on behalf of the God and often cited notion of «religious terrorism». It states the phenomenon is hard to define, critically analyses main scientific approaches to treating the interlinkage between religion and terrorism, discusses the traits of religious terrorism and its kinds. The author shows that religion can give a new dimension to social and political conflict and underscores the necessity to study religious terrorism in the context of problems and contradictions of the modernization and globalization processes and accounting for the specificity of religious traditions.

The article sees terrorism as a special kind of armed political violence, intensified by systemic problems and contradictions of modern civilization. Considering terrorism as a city phenomenon, the author assumes that modern tendencies of urbanization that modify the urban environment lead to changes in the nature of terrorist organizations, the structure of terrorist groups, and mechanisms for recruiting personnel for terrorist activities. Two models of terrorism are presented: terrorism as an instrument of broadly defined national liberation struggle (or separatism or ethnic and cultural expansion), and as a form of a frozen at the embryotic stage civil war. Focus is drawn to the fact that nowadays a third model of terrorism is being formed in cities, synthesizing the first two. It is based on the mutual spread of civilizations into their internal spaces under the influence of globalization. The author concludes that modern civilization cannot eradicate political terrorism in view of the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon, which stems from internal and international political processes. Terrorist organizations have evolved into independent players on the global scale.

The article examines the influence of digitalization (informational revolution) on development of political terrorism in the present day. It is stated that digitalization would make many societies lag further and further behind, which would deepen the social and political conflict and empower terrorism as a special kind of such conflict. At the same time, it would create conditions for the rise of new methods and forms of political terrorism such as cyberterrorism. The author shows the relationships between political terrorism and media structures, namely the interest of the media to follow the terrorists’ activities and new ways terrorists can use media in a digitalized society. The article goes on to discuss how the informational policy is changing in respect to terrorism and in general terms the measures to efficiently prevent it.

The article discusses the peculiarities of creation, distribution and reformatting of counterterrorism discourse. Based on various concepts of discourse (hegemony, discursive struggle, archeology of knowledge, imaginary formation of society, discourse-system) the author presents different manifestations of counterterrorism discourse in the course of the informational and political confrontation between states. By analyzing specific cases, he shows the possibility of creating a counterterrorism discourse which can be depicted as a set of destructive utterances that use terrorism as a tool influencing public conscience, in order to form a unique terrorist picture of the world.

The article analyzes the typology, factors, and geography of the spread of youth extremism. Based on the analysis of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation data, a quantitative analysis and classification of extremist organizations and extremist materials is carried out. Within the framework of R. Merton's concept, an algorithm for applying soft technologies for the prevention of extremism in the student environment is proposed.

The article is devoted to migration of ideological concepts, especially the right-wing radical ones. This phenomenon is considered on the basis of a sociological survey carried out students of the Don region. Migration of concepts makes it much more difficult for political scientists to identify the ideological attitudes of citizens, which in the case of extremist ideas in the youth environment constitutes a serious political problem. In the theoretical part of their research, the authors rely on the notion of ideology realized in the works of T. van Dijk, as well as on the morphological approach proposed by M. Freeden for the analysis of ideologies. Conclusions are made about the interaction of universalist and particularistic values in the Don students attitudes to the topical social and political issues, the degree of susceptibility of student consciousness to migration influence from right-wing radical concepts, as well as on the forms of ideological decontesting by which this migration is accompanied. Particular attention is paid to the concepts of the «Russian world» and «empire», their migration through the periphery of liberal, conservative and right-wing ideological attitudes.

The article sheds light on the questions connected with formation and evolution of the Palestinian movement Hamas, part of which discourse and practice represents rejection of Israel. The traits which classify this movement as terroristic are apology and use of violence based on religious dogma. The focus of the article, however, is not drawn towards methods the movement utilizes to achieve its goals, but on reasons why Hamas turned to Islamic rhetoric and activities it fuels. The author stipulates that these reasons arise out of necessity to confront the main opponent of the organization - the Fatah movement and Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority. It is stated that Hamas has not only been able to devise its own political project, but to evolve into a clear national entity. This tendency has been predetermined by seizure of power in the Gaza strip, changes in the top political leadership of the movement and by regional political shifts. It is expected that further development of its stance will follow the real drive of all the actors in the Palestinian arena towards non-violence in attempts to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Growing migration of Muslims to European countries is followed by institutionalization of Islam, which brings forth certain political risks. In this context the article discusses such issues as legalization of disruptive Muslim organizations, activities of foreign imams or fundamentalists, the dynamics of gender, freedom of speech, believers’ feelings, the integration of Muslim law into the national law of various countries. It then analyzes the ways hosting countries approach the representation of Muslims in religions associations and searches new managerial methods of organizing the religious life of Muslims.

The article sees the Syrian intrastate crisis as a result of a breakdown in communication between center and periphery. On the assumption that the current crisis reflects the difficulties of territorial and political formation of SAR, the author analyses the strategies of state-building that led to the delegitimization of the center and an outbreak of violence. It is stated that a mechanism of multilayered mediation which replaces the center is an optimal model of reconciliation, which facilitates consolidation of fragmented territory.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the connection between political activity and scientific activity of young political scientists. On the basis of the author's comparative study, within which a questionnaire survey was conducted (N = 1212, of which 107 are political scientists), it was concluded that the political activity of political scientists is higher than among young people having a different profile of education, i.е. political activity acts as a “function” from their interest in the political sphere. It was revealed that among young political scientists there is no gap or contradiction between political and scientific activity, at the same time, as other studies show, among political scientists of the older generation this gap exists. One of the reasons for this is that young political scientists receive more systematic political science education.