Terrorism: Contextual Review Chapter 1 unpublished PhD thesis

Australian Journal of Political Science, 2012

Scholars of terrorism studies have never really played nicely in the school yard of geopolitical and socio-cultural affairs. Many are at least a little defensive in the face of critical and alternative perspectives in a field in which, prior to 9/11, traditionalists-orthodox folk-enjoyed a mostly unchallenged monopoly. All that changed in the aftermath of 11 September 2001 when the imaginations of scholars from diverse academic backgrounds were captured by low-tech terrorists and their brazen attacks on global power. Derogatory criticisms and nasty debates were to follow. After hearing a presentation at a major counterterrorism conference from a terrorism academic with a sociological and cultural studies background, a well-known terrorism expert turned to me and said, 'Has he ever been in the military? What are his credentials? Does he work in intelligence?' The suggestion was that terrorism studies should only be practised by traditional intellectuals-white males, conservative, with in this case military backgrounds or credentials. It would be a little convenient to simply blame the traditionalists; the orthodox practitioners of terrorism studies. Some of the new-school academics have been just as antisocial in the playground. The admirable formative aspirations of critical studies 'on' terror have, unfortunately, spiralled into mostly repetition and problematic 'Eureka!'-type moments. Critical terror studies has become well known for thinking that something that is not all that new is new. Some scholars in this field 'discover' things of which traditionalists were already well aware. Some are effectively neo-Wilkinsonians, yet I am not certain they are all that familiar with his work. Freedman and Thussu's Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives is among the best works that I have encountered for negotiating this terrain. This edited collection is mostly unpretentious, aware and respectful of key moments in an ageing discipline, whilst remaining critically aware of social theory, the world and-importantly-themselves. The book's title is itself informative. Media and Terrorism establishes the order of analysisthis book is first and foremost about the media. The contributors are media studies academics of various persuasions. Despite this, the authors as a collective do an amazing job of accounting for the meanings and consequences of terrorism across social, cultural, geographical and psychological boundaries. Whilst being about 'the media' this book captures the post-9/11 multi-disciplinarity of terrorism studies. The chapters are incredibly diverse and a full account of each is beyond the space available here, but I will highlight a few that seem especially significant. Toby Miller's chapter 'Terrorism and Global Popular Culture' steals the show. I chose to read it alongside Mike Davis' searching account of Californian universities in City of Quartz (2006). Miller's analysis is far reaching and leaves the reader feeling uneasy (which I think he intends). My PlayStation now reminds me of global structures of imperial domination that implicate not only the military-industrial complex but also Hollywood and the computer gaming industry. I'd rather not think about how far this imperialism might stretch into other parts of my life. David Miller and Rizwaan Sabir's chapter, 'Propaganda and Terrorism', is an important contribution to empirical terrorism studies. In the Herman and Chomsky tradition, media discourses about terrorism are also about propaganda. The post-9/11 world has opened up a chasm from which 'propaganda' has effortlessly emerged. I too have long been interested in the types of thinking and writing that terrorism makes possible (and impossible). But propaganda, as the authors point out, is not simply accidental or opportunistic. It requires planning. I have long been a fan of Danny Schechter and his News Dissector blog. I subscribed as a PhD student and spent many hours sifting through the content that Schechter shared with the blogosphere. It was about time that he achieved the status of a terrorism expert (terror academicus). In 'Challenging the Media War' he deploys the skill and creativity of Michael Moore, but with only some of the notoriety. Schechter reminds us of the price of collusion between seats of power in the media and government. Among his targets is apologist-turnedcritic, newsreader Dan Rather. Rather helped highlight the news media's complicity in framing media coverage of post-9/11 wars in the ways that the Bush administration wanted, but it should BOOK REVIEWS 737

2015

This position paper examines the interlnkage between mass media reporting of terrorism in Kenya and growing evidence of radicalisation, recruitment and an increasing number of violent attacks. A number of suggestions for media practice are made.

The present study reviews the definitions and classification of terrorism; with special reference to historical, ideological, sociological and psychological aspects as well as contexts. The meta–analysis and grounded theory are the analytical approaches of descriptive research which have been applied for reviewing and analyzing the variety of definitions and types of terrorism, used by different scholars, politicians, journalists, foreign policy makers, analysts, religious-scholars, historians, sociologists, psychologists. Different definitions and types of terrorism, having different perspectives and ideologies, have been analyzed and summarized in the light of grounded theory to establish a precise and comprehensive definition for the classificatory distribution of various types and perspectives of terrorism.

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." All the developed, developing nations have confronted the horrors of Terrorism. It is one of him devastating threats for the whole world. Due to the advent of Terrorism in humane life, we have been confined to in destruction. To live the life of a common man becomes unendurable. Further the role of media and science is very much evident in Terrorism. "Terror" means disastrous fear. It becomes highly destructive and leading us towards the "Holocaust".

SUMMARY The new paradigm of terrorism is partly a consequence of a sudden development of information technology, which is particularly manifested in the fact that terrorist organisations have recognized the importance mass media has on the accomplishment of their aims. Between media and terrorism there exists a very interactive (symbiotic) relationship, because media industry trends and patterns for media contents production head towards preference of sensation– seeking contents, whereas terrorist organisations can, due to their actions, ensure themselves maximum presence in the media. In so doing, terrorist organizations are constantly trying to manipulate and exploit free media for their own purpose. We might say that it is the mass media itself that provide global reach to terrorism, it influences the way the public perceives terrorism and dangers that arise from it, it influences political decisions used to respond to terrorism, but also the relations formed through national and international politics. However, media does not have to become an instrument of terrorism. Through a thoughtful approach media can, in western liberal countries, turn into a kind of weapon which can then be used as an important device in defeating terrorists , and the positive benefits certainly exceed unfavourable consequences caused by possible irresponsible actions by a part of journalists or media companies.

2016

The relevance of the current topic is stipulated by the fact that terrorism is one of the most difficult and dangerous phenomena nowadays. Today terrorist attacks have become increasingly rampant, and some researchers even claim that the world is entering the era of terrorism. It stands to reason that terrorism is a global challenge of these days. Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

will be discussed and truth of this claim alleged concerning that media embraces terrorism will be researched in this study.

Discourse & Communication, 2007

The new paradigm of terrorism is partly a consequence of a sudden development of information technology, which is particularly manifested in the fact that terrorist organisations have recognized the importance mass media has on the accomplishment of their aims. Between media and terrorism there exists a very interactive (symbiotic) relationship, because media industry trends and patterns for media contents production head towards preference of sensationseeking contents, whereas terrorist organisations can, due to their actions, ensure themselves maximum presence in the media. In so doing, terrorist organizations are constantly trying to manipulate and exploit free media for their own purpose. We might say that it is the mass media itself that provide global reach to terrorism, it influences the way the public perceives terrorism and dangers that arise from it, it influences political decisions used to respond to terrorism, but also the relations formed through national and international politics. However, media does not have to become an instrument of terrorism. Through a thoughtful approach media can, in western liberal countries, turn into a kind of weapon which can then be used as an important device in defeating terrorists, and the positive benefits certainly exceed unfavourable consequences caused by possible irresponsible actions by a part of journalists or media companies.

'war on terror', frame of Islam, media spectacle, media representation, historical and cultural specificity of violent acts, al-Qaeda.