A Critical prospective on The conventional and Critical approaches to terrorism
TASK: Critically examine and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the conventional and critical approaches to
terrorism.
This essay is intended to demonstrate knowledge of the main schools of thought in terrorism studies covered in this
unit.
• Your essay should clearly articulate the ideologies and key assumptions associated with each approach;
• You should relevant, key sources and scholars related to security studies and terrorism studies;
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of each approach and its implications for understanding terrorism.
• Successfully convey your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. This does not require you to
‘choose’ on approach over another; rather, your ability to critique and compare both approaches is important.
Further instructions
References must include:
Name of author • Date of publication • Title of document • Version number (if applicable) • Description of document
(if applicable) • Name of publisher (sponsor of the site) and place of publication (if known) • Date of viewing •
Precise Electronic address (URL)
NOTE: If you cite an article in a scholarly journal from an electronic database, you should look for the PDF
version, which reproduces the original pagination. Citing this is just like citing a photocopy. In this case, you
don’t have to cite any details of where you found it on the internet. All versions of the article in this form exact
copies of the original, no matter where you found. Such a version is not always available. In that case, you should
also indicate the database in which you found the article.
Critical Perspectives on Terrorism, 2015
Richard Jackson, Marie Breen Smyth, J. Gunning (eds) (2009)
Critical Terrorism Studies: A New Research Agenda . New York: Routledge. R. Jackson, M. Breen Smyth, J. Gunning, L.
Jarvis (2011)
Terrorism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Richard Jackson and Samuel Justin Sinclair
(eds) (2012)
Contemporary Debates on Terrorism London: Routledge. G. Martin (2013) Understanding Terrorism 4th Edition London:
Sage.
Martha Crenshaw (2011) Explaining Terrorism: Causes, Processes and Consequences New York: Routledge. Chapter 1 (‘The
concept of terrorism’).
H. Dexter (2011) ‘Terrorism’, in Karl Erik Haug and Ole Jørgen Maaø (eds) What i s Modern War and How Can it be Won?
A Critical Examination of New Terms and Concepts. London: Hurst.
Helen Dexter (2012) ‘Terrorism and Violence: another violence is possible?’, Critical Studies on Terrorism 5(1):
119-135.
G.P. Fletcher (2006) ‘The Indefinable Concept of Terrorism’, Journal of International Criminal Justice , 4(5): 894–
911.
Alex P. Schmid (2004) ‘Frameworks for Conceptualizing Terrorism’, Terrorism and Political Violence , 16(2): 197–221.
Paul D. Williams (2008) ‘Security studies, 9/11 and the long war’, in A. J. Bellamy, R. Bleiker, S. E. Davies and R.
Devetak (eds) Security and the War on Terror Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 9-24
Conventional Approached
B. Hoffman (2006) Inside Terrorism New York: Columbia University Press. James Lutz and Brenda Lutz (2013) Global
Terrorism 3rd Edition London: Routledge. Chapters 1-2.
A.P. Schmid (2011) ‘Introduction’, and ‘Appendix 1.1. Twelve Rules for Preventing and Combating Terrorism’, in A.P.
Schmid (ed)
The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research London: Routledge. P. Wilkinson (1986) Terrorism and the Liberal State
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
J. Gunning (2007) ‘A Case for Critical Terrorism Studies?’, Government and Opposition 42(3): 363–393.
Critical Approached
R. Jackson, M. Breen Smyth, J. Gunning, L. Jarvis (2011) Terrorism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan. Chapters 2 (‘Critical Approaches to Terrorism Studies’) and 4 (‘Bringing Gender into the Study of
Terrorism’).
R. Jackson, M. Breen Smyth, J. Gunning, L. Jarvis (2011) Terrorism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan. Chapter 1.
J. Zulaika and W. A. Douglass (1996) Terror and Taboo: The Follies, Fables, and Faces of Terrorism London:
Routledge.
J. Zulaika (2009) Terrorism: The self – fulfilling prophecy Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Other readings
R. Blakeley (2007) ‘Bringing the state back into terrorism studies’, European Political Science 6:228-235 N.
Chomsky (2002) ‘Who are the global terrorists?’ in Ken Booth and Tim Dunne (eds) Worlds in Collision. Terror and the
Future of Global Order Basingstoke: Palgrave. Also available at: http://www.chomsky.info/articles/200205–02.htm
M. Crenshaw (1981) ‘The Causes of Terrorism’, Comparative Politics 13(4): 379-399.
Martha Crenshaw (2011) Explaining Terrorism: Causes, Processes and Consequences New York: Routledge. Chapter 2 (‘The
causes of terrorism’.
J. Gunning and R. Jackson (2011) ‘What’s so ‘religious’ about ‘religious terrorism’?’, Critical Studies on Terrorism
4(3): 369-388.
S. P. Huntington (1993) ‘The clash of civilizations?’, Foreign Affairs Summer pp. 22-49
C. Enemark (2007) ‘US bioterrorism policy’, in Alex J. Bellamy, Roland Bleiker, Sara E. Davies and Richard Devetak
(eds.) Security and the War on Terror London and New York: Routledge.
J. Gearson (2002) ‘The Nature of Modern Terrorism’, in L. Freedman (ed) Superterrorism: Policy Responses Wiley-
Blackwell.
C. Gray (2002) ‘Realism Vindicated? World Politics as Usual after September 11’, in Ken Booth and Tim Dunne (eds)
Worlds in Collision. Terror and the Future of Global Order Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Russell Howard and Bruce Hoffman (eds) (2011) Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Understanding the New Security
Environment, Readings and Interpre tations 4th edition, London: McGraw Hill Education. Chapter 3.1.
Russell D. Howard and Margaret J. Nencheck ‘The New Terrorism’; and Chapter 3.2. Martha Crenshaw, ‘The Debate over
`New’ vs. `Old’ Terrorism’.