Contemporary Debates on Terrorism

Contemporary Debates on Terrorism is an innovative textbook, addressing a number of key issues in terrorism studies from both traditional and 'critical' perspectives. This second edition has been revised and updated to cover contemporary issues such as the rise of ISIL and cyberterrorism. In recent years, the terrorism studies field has grown in quantity and quality, with a growing number of scholars rooted in various professional disciplines beginning to debate the complex dynamics underlying this category of violence. Within the broader field, there are a number of identifiable controversies and questions which divide scholarly opinion and generate opposing arguments. These relate to theoretical issues, such as the definition of terrorism and state terrorism, substantive issues like the threat posed by al Qaeda/ISIL and the utility of different responses to terrorism, different pathways leading people to engage in terrorist tactics and ethical issues such as the use of drones. This new edition brings together in one place many of the field’s leading scholars to debate the key issues relating toa set of 16 important controversies and questions. The format of the volume involves a leading scholar taking a particular position on the controversy, followed by an opposing or alternative viewpoint written by another scholar. In addition to the pedagogic value of allowing students to read opposing arguments in one place, the volume will also be important for providing an overview of the state of the field and its key lines of debate. This book will be essential reading for students of terrorism studies and political violence, critical terrorism studies, security studies and IR in general.

Introduction: contemporary debates on terrorism, Richard Jackson and Daniela Pisoiu PART I: THE DEFINITION AND STUDY OF TERRORISM 1. Is terrorism still a useful analytical term or should it be abandoned? YES: An agreed concept is possible and useful, Anthony Richards NO: A landscape of meaning: constructing understandings of political violence from the broken paradigm of ‘terrorism’, Dominic Bryan 2. Is Critical Terrorism Studies a useful approach for the study of terrorism? YES: The necessity of a critical approach, Christopher Baker-Beall NO: Don’t give it the oxygen of publicity, Roger Mac Ginty PART II: CATEGORIES OF TERRORISM 3. Is there a ‘new terrorism’ in existence today? YES: The relevance of the ‘new terrorism’ concept, Ersun N. Kurtulus NO: The fallacy of the new terrorism thesis, Isabelle Duyvesteyn and Leena Malkki 4.Can states be terrorists? YES: Terrorism is an equal opportunity tactic, Scott Englund and Michael Stohl NO: State terrorism: who needs it?, Colin Wight PART III: THE TERRORISM THREAT 5. Is terrorism a serious threat to international and national security? YES: The continuing threat to state security, James Lutz and Brenda Lutz NO: The myth of terrorism as an existential threat, Jessica Wolfendale 6. Is WMD terrorism a likely prospect in the future? YES: The impact of CBRN terrorism – a general perspective, Natvidad Carpintero-Santamaria NO: WMD terrorism: the prospects, John Mueller 7. Is cyber-terrorism a real threat? YES: Why we should start from this assumption, Maura Conway NO: A narrated catastrophe, not a real threat, Myriam Dunn Cavelty 8. Does al Qaeda still pose the more significant threat? YES: The enduring al-Qaeda threat: a network perspective, Jeffrey B. Cozzens and Magnus Ranstorp NO: Al-Qaeda: a diminishing threat, Lee Jarvis 9. Are returning foreign fighters future terrorists? YES: Returning foreign fighters are future terrorists, Edwin Bakker and Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn NO: Terrorists returning home were not radicalized abroad, Richard Bach Jensen and Felix Lippe PART IV: THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM 10. Is terrorism the result of root causes such as poverty and exclusion? YES: How structural factors explain terrorism, Dipak Gupta NO: Poverty and exclusion are not the root causes of terrorism, Graham R. Huesmann and L. Rowell Huesmann 11. Is religious extremism a major cause of terrorism? YES: Religious extremism as a major cause of terrorism, Amanda Munroe and Fathali M. Moghaddam NO: ‘Religious terrorism’ as ideology, Jeff Goodwin PART V: DEALING WITH TERRORISM 12. Are counterterrorism frameworks based on suppression and military force effective in responding to terrorism? YES: The use of force to combat terrorism, Boaz Ganor NO: Wars on terror – learning the lessons of failure, Paul Rogers 13. Are drones a useful counterterrorism tool? YES: But the means must justify the ends, Christine Sixta Rinehart NO: Drones create a perpetual war for perpetual peace, Rory Finegan 14. Are counter-radicalisation approaches an effective counterterrorist tool? YES: An effective counterterrorism tool, Daniel Koehler NO: A suspect counterterrorism ‘science’ that ignores economic marginalisation, foreign policy and ethics, Charlotte Heath-Kelly 15. Is mass surveillance a useful tool in the fight against terrorism? YES: Keeping us safe now and helping us improve for the future, Jesse Paul Lehrke NO: A high cost, low reward approach, Ivan Greenberg 16. Have global efforts to reduce terrorism and political violence since 9/11 been effective? YES: ‘Looking for a needle in a stack of needles’, Mark Cochrane and Gabrielle Nugent NO: ‘Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut’, Rachel Monaghan

Richard Jackson is Professor of Peace Studies and Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand. He is the founding editor and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Critical Studies on Terrorism and editor of the Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies book series. His most recent publications include the Routledge Handbook of Critical Terrorism Studies (Routledge, 2016) and Confessions of a Terrorist (2014). Daniela Pisoiu is a Senior Researcher at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP), Vienna, Austria. She is author of Islamist Radicalisation in Europe: An Occupational Change Process (Routledge, 2011), co-author of Theories of Terrorism: An Introduction (Routledge, 2017) and editor of Arguing Counterterrorism: New Perspectives (Routledge, 2014).