Book review: terrorism: a philosophical enquiry

Anne Schwenkenbecher examines the most urgent philosophical questions pertaining to the problem of terrorism: What is terrorism, or, how should it be defined? And could terrorism ever be justified? The book questions well established frameworks and widely held convictions: it denies that terrorism is always wrong and morally worse than war. It invites the reader to approach these matters from a new perspective, according to which terrorism is just one of many forms of political violence. Jacob Phillips finds that the book offers genuinely informative insights into the gulf between a proper philosophical understanding of the word terrorism and its popular usage

Talking terrorism : a discourse analysis of people's talk about terrorism in their world : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study explores the talk of people living in New Zealand Aotearoa as they confront the phenomenon of Terrorism. Ten participants were interviewed about their views on international terrorism and local terrorism, the impacts of terrorism, and the meanings of terrorism. The data was analysed discursively and two key discourses emerged; a sense of Justice discourse and a discourse emphasising the safety of New Zealand Aotearoa. The justice discourse was supported by a raft of anti-repertoires including anti-American/George Bush talk, anti- media resources, and fear and revenge repertoires. The safety discourse saw participants identify resources that keep them safe from international terrorism and reject recent attempts to allow terrorism to wash up on New Zealand shores. These discourses are discussed in the context of recent terrorist events

The internet and terrorism: pathways towards terrorism & counter-terrorism

The internet and terrorism: pathways towards terrorism & counter-terroris

The evolution of the European Union's 'fight against terrorism' discourse: constructing the terrorist 'other'

The purpose of this article is to explore the ways in which the EU’s counter-terrorism discourse, the 'fight against terrorism', is constructed, and the ways in which it functions both rhetorically and in practice. It argues that that 'EU identity' is constituted through and is central to the constitution of EU counter-terrorism policy. The approach taken is constructivist in nature drawing on a discourse analysis of primarily European Council policy documents, as well as the reports and speeches of the EU Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator. In particular, it identifies three strands of the discourse that it is argued play a key role in the construction of a terrorist 'other'. These three strands include: terrorism as crime and as an emotive act of violence; terrorism as an act perpetrated solely by non-state actors; and terrorism as a 'new' and 'evolving' threat. The article proceeds in three steps. First, it outlines the theoretical considerations that underpin this research, including its empirical application. Second, it demonstrates how each strand of the discourse is constructed. Third, it discusses the functioning of the discourse, including the contested nature of the 'terrorism knowledge' that underpins the EU's counter-terrorism approach. The article concludes by reflecting on what this case study contributes to our understanding of EU counter-terrorism policy, as well as explaining how the notion of the terrorist 'other' could provide the basis for a future research agenda that deepens our understanding of how the identity of the EU is constituted

Liberty versus safety: a design review

It is our contention that when designing against terrorism, it is important to fully understand both terrorist perpetrator techniques and terrorism prevention principles and to establish the myths and realities about ‘fear of terrorism’, before catalyzing new design innovations. This paper assesses the requirement for designers to mediate issues of user liberty versus security. We assess the troublesome design tradeoffs between accommodation of users and exclusion of terrorist misuse and abuse linked to bicycle parking, using the Conjunction of Terrorism Opportunity framework. We include the case study of the Biceberg automated bike parking system in relation to the fitness for purpose versus resistance to terrorism debate

Counter-Terrorism in New Europe

In recent years the nature of terrorism has changed dramatically and has taken on a new combination of characteristics. The fight against this terrorism has become a global concern and central issue of international government policies. Counter-terrorism policies have transformed all around the world, and the importance states place on certain aspects of their counter-terrorist measures vary considerably. There is no agreement on how best to fight terrorism. Within the European Union (EU) this disagreement is the most visible, with some countries supporting the United States in their military fight against terrorism, while other strongly oppose it. This paper will focus on five of the ten new EU members that joined in 2004 (Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Malta) and review some of their existing counter-terrorism measures. In doing so the paper will examine the strengths and weaknesses of each individual state’s policy and highlight some of the general trends and patterns among them

Rethinking democracy and terrorism: a quantitative analysis of attitudes to democratic politics and support for terrorism in the UK

© 2016 Society for Terrorism Research. The relationship between democracy and terrorism remains a source of significant debate, with academic evidence suggesting that democracy both inhibits and encourages acts of terrorism and political violence. Accepting this apparent contradiction, this paper argues that a more nuanced approach to understanding political systems, focussing on the subjective perceptions of individual actors, may allow these differences to be reconciled. Using regression analysis undertaken with UK data from the European Values Study, the results shows how attitudes to politics may frame assessments of the intrinsic valence–or attractiveness–of political participation, support for terrorism, and the implications this may have for both counter-terrorism and counter-extremism policy

Foreign direct investment, aid, and terrorism: an analysis of developing countries

Using a dynamic panel data framework, we investigate the relationship between the two major forms of terrorism and foreign direct investment (FDI). We then analyze how these relationships are affected by foreign aid flows. The analysis focuses on 78 developing countries for 1984- 2008. Our findings suggest that all types of terrorism depress FDI. In addition, aid mitigates the negative effects of total and domestic terrorism on FDI; however, this is not the case for transnational terrorism. This finding highlights that different forms of terrorism call for tailoring mitigating strategies. Foreign aid apparently cannot address the causes and supply lines of transnational terrorism. Aid’s ability to curb the risk to FDI for total and domestic terrorism is extremely important because (i) domestic terrorism is an overwhelming fraction of the total terrorism for many developing nations, and (ii) FDI is an important engine of development for these nations.Investments, Foreign ; Terrorism ; Foreign aid program

Jihadi terrorism and the radicalisation challenge: European and American experiences

Osama bin Laden’s demise in May 2011 marked only the symbolic end of an era. By the time of his killing, he no longer represented the Robin Hood icon that once stirred global fascination. Ten years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, jihadi terrorism has largely lost its juggernaut luster. It now mostly resembles a patchwork of self-radicalising local groups with international contacts but without any central organisational design - akin to the radical left terrorism of the 1970s and the anarchist fin-de-siècle terrorism. This volume addresses two issues that remain largely unexplored in contemporary terrorism studies. It rehabilitates the historical and comparative analysis as a way to grasp the essence of terrorism, including its jihadi strand. Crucial similarities with earlier forms of radicalisation and terrorism abound and differences appear generally not fundamental. Likewise, the very concept of radicalisation is seldom questioned anymore. Nevertheless it often lacks conceptual clarity and empirical validation. Once considered a quintessential European phenomenon, the United States too experiences how some of its own citizens radicalise into terrorist violence. This collective work compares radicalisation in both continents and the strategies aimed at de-radicalisation. But it also assesses if the concept merits its reputation as the holy grail of terrorism studies

Discussing Concepts of Terrorist Rationality: Implications for Counter-Terrorism Policy

Scholars of terrorism studies have long struggled to agree on a common understanding of what terrorism is. To date, they have agreed on little more than the fact that terrorism is difficult to define. As a consequence, more than 100, if not more than 200 modern definitions of terrorism have been formulated. Within those definitions, different aspects of terrorism are stressed including the underlying motivations, applied tactics and chosen targets. While no consensus has been found on how to define terrorism or terrorists, a meta-study by Schmid and Jongman (1988) provides fruitful insight into the most relevant aspects of definitions of terrorism which have proven valid to the present day. The two researchers analyzed various academic and official definitions of terrorism and identified three main elements as being vital to define terrorism; (1) the use (or threat) of violence1, (2) political objectives and (3) the intention of sowing fear in a target population as a means of achieving these political objectives.