Critical terrorism studies


Critical terrorism studies applies a critical theory approach rooted in counter-hegemonic and politically progressive critical theory to the study of terrorism. With links to the Frankfurt School of critical theory and the Aberystwyth School of critical security studies, CTS seeks to understand terrorism as a social construction, or a label, that is applied to certain violent acts through a range of political, legal and academic processes. It also seeks to understand and critique dominant forms of counter-terrorism.

Description

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; there has been a massive increase in research related to terrorism. Terrorism has become one of the most powerful signifiers in contemporary Western society with the term generating vast amounts of social and political activity. It has also become a cultural taboo which invokes emotions – fear and hatred. CTS takes issue with previous terrorism studies in what it perceives as having methodological and analytical weaknesses, including a reliance on poor research methods and procedures, an overreliance on secondary resources, and a failure to undertake primary research; a failure to come up with an accepted definition of terrorism, and an inability to be cross-disciplinary. According to Jeroen Gunning: "core epistemological, methodological and political-normative problems persist, ranging from lack of conceptual clarity and theoretical sterility to political bias and a continuing dearth of primary research data". CTS is a response to these research problems. With its origins in the Frankfurt School of critical theory, and the Welsh School of critical security studies, CTS is a self-reflective, critical approach to the study of terrorism which challenges the ontological, epistemological and ideological commitments of mainstream terrorism scholars. CTS also looks to attract academics from other disciplines who are uncomfortable with the mainstream discourse around terrorism and looks to engage directly with those who are perceived as 'terrorists' and/or terrorist sympathisers.
CTS aims to approach terrorism studies from a critical angle, that is, to encourage and further the adoption of a more self-consciously critical approach to the study of terrorism. However CTS does not only criticise the state of terrorism studies, it also attempts to "suggest an alternative way of studying terrorism and a concrete research agenda for the future". While critical approaches to the study of terrorism are not new, previous efforts have often occurred outside of the terrorism studies field. Such as the critical approach that some anthropology scholars have taken. These alternative approaches have "had little cross-fertilization with the orthodox field and have largely failed to alter its practices, priorities, approaches, outputs and myths". CTS seeks to engage directly with the orthodox field, and question its normative assumptions. Prompted by the growing unease over the state of current terrorism research, and the relationship between much orthodox terrorism research and the institutions of state power, CTS sets out to "stimulate, encourage, and more clearly articulate the nascent but observable 'critical turn' that was starting to become visible within the broader terrorism studies field".
CTS scholars argue that terrorism should be de-exceptionalised as a form of political violence, not singled out as a unique form of "evil" violence, but should be treated as other forms of political violence are. CTS also encourages researchers to engage with terrorists as humans, and not form explanations of terrorists in an 'Othering' sense. Therefore; "Ultimately, a critical approach to terrorism suggests that more positive and progressive change is always possible and that we can break out of seemingly endless cycles of terrorist/counter-terrorist violence, if only we can begin to think, study, speak and act outside of the dominant terrorism paradigm."

History

CTS's antecedents lie with academics such as Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman, who published critical works relating to the state and terrorism from the late 1970s. One of the first major works that gave impetus to a CTS discourse was Joseba Zulaika and William Douglass's seminal work, Terror and Taboo: The Follies, Fables, and Faces of Terrorism. This book was a critical appraisal of many of the international community's commonly held assumptions about terrorism. A further catalyst for CTS came from Richard Jackson's 2005 book, Writing the War on Terrorism. Jackson called for scholars to resist the current terrorism studies discourse: "I believe we have an ethical duty to resist the discourse, to deconstruct it at every opportunity and continually to interrogate the exercise of power". The setting up of the Critical Studies on Terrorism Working Group within the British International Studies Association occurred in early 2006, while in October 2006, a conference was held entitled; 'Is it time for a critical terrorism studies?' This was followed by two journal articles that called for a critical appraisal of the current state of terrorism studies. Richard Jackson's "Introduction: The Case for Critical Terrorism Studies" and Jeroen Gunning's "A case for Critical Terrorism Studies". In his "A case for Critical Terrorism Studies", Gunning calls for a critical approach that will "encourage researchers to historicize and contextualize the conflict by looking at the evolution of violence, broader processes of radicalization, the relationship between violent organizations and wider social movements, and the relationship between social movements and the state."
The setting up of the journal Critical Studies in Terrorism occurred in early 2007. The idea behind launching the journal was "one small part of a much broader attempt to foster a more self-reflective, critical approach to the study of terrorism, and bring in those who study aspects of 'terrorism', but are uncomfortable with or hostile to the ontological, epistemological, and ideological commitments of existing terrorism studies." CTS has continued to expand as a sub-discipline of terrorism studies and there has been a growth of CTS programs in universities such as Aberystwyth University, the University of Kent and the University of Manchester. Other courses also exist within peace studies and politics programmes in universities such as Otago University, Durham University, Georgetown University, Virginia Tech, University of Florida, and Queen's University Belfast. Routledge Handbooks published Critical Terrorism Studies in 2016.

Ontological and epistemological foundations

Two ontological critical theories

  • Critical realism: Observer and observed, or subject and object, are distinctly separate.
  • Reflectivism: Observer and observed or subject and object are deeply interconnected.
There has been a huge amount of academic discussion about the ontological and epistemological foundations of critical terrorism studies. Within CTS, there is a broad agreement on the need to examine terrorism and terrorists from a historical, contextualized perspective asking 'how' questions of causation and constitution, rather than the more orthodox problem solving questions of a single isolated event. For instance, CTS questions why a terrorist action happens, asking whether the terrorists simply hate western notions of freedom, or whether they have deeper underlying political motivations? CTS adopts the ontological position that "terrorism" is fundamentally a social fact rather than brute fact.

Epistemological perspective

  • Critical realism: best approximation to objective world.
  • Reflexivism: tool for inducing self-reflection of individuals and groups. Not static and monolithic.
CTS adopts the epistemological position that the nature of knowledge in terrorism studies is a social process which relies on contextual factors, including the influence of the researcher. CTS scholars argue that by being continuously aware of context, social processes, and the 'known' and 'unknown' knowledge in circulation, you can gain further insights into the study of terrorism. CTS also acknowledges the link between power and knowledge, and who research is ultimately for.

Overview of research areas

  • With the focus on epistemological understanding, it is now possible to question how we receive knowledge and who it benefits and why.
  • Examining the constructed information flow produced through academic research, basic education, political rhetoric, state and international law, and media. Reframing the discourse through a reflexive epistemology.
  • Human security over state security/national security. Move away from state-centric policies on security, to focusing on people and liberty.
  • Emancipation: whose voice is marginalized or silenced, whose voice is empowered in defining terrorism, and what should the response to it be in particular contexts?
  • Gender: the misconception that typically women are seen as victims of political violence and men as perpetrators.
  • Gendering serves to maintain gender hierarchy and reinforces essentialist stereotypes of women as peaceful and powerless. Reframing women's interaction with terrorism and violence.
  • Study of political terror, state terrorism, structural violence and cultural violence.
  • Exploring the extent to which the status quo contributes to the problem of terrorism. "Whom defines terrorism? Whom defines terrorist? Whom defines the dominant response?".
  • State terrorism and counter-terrorism: creating the conditions of oppositional violence. To analyse the way traditional terrorism discourse is used to discredit oppositional groups and justify state policies. The applying of historical materialist approaches to systematic research of state terrorism has started to be critically assessed by Michael Stohl, Noam Chomsky, Richard Jackson, Ruth Blakeley and others.