Abstract
This article examines the ethical and methodological challenges for the critical investigation of ‘terrorism’ and political violence. Who is such research ‘for’? How might critical research avoid replicating hegemonic accounts while still engaging with dominant discourses? The pressure to find answers to the real (and imagined) threats of ‘terrorist’ violence and the challenges of establishing a critical perspective while including an emancipatory dimension are addressed, and a suggested code of practice and research agenda for critical studies on terrorism is provided.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Booth, K. (2004) ‘Beyond Critical Security Studies’, in K. Booth (ed.) Critical Security Studies and World Politics, Boulder: Lynne Rienner, pp. 259–289.
Feldman, A. (1991) Formations of Violence: Narratives of the Body and Political Terror in Northern Ireland, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Guelke, A . (2006) Terrorism and Global Disorder, London: Tauris.
Hillyard, P. (1993) Suspect Community: People's Experience of the Prevention of Terrorism Acts in Britain, London: Pluto.
Hoffman, B. (1999) Inside Terrorism, New York: Columbia University Press.
Hoffman, B. (2004) ‘Foreword’, in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism, London: Frank Cass.
Horgan, J. (2005) The Psychology of Terrorism, London: Frank Cass.
Ilardi, G. (2004) ‘Redefining the Issues: The Future of Terrorism Research and the Search for Empathy’, in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism, London: Frank Cass.
Jackson, R. (2005) Writing the War on Terrorism: Language, Politics and Counterterrorism, Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Laqueur, W. (1999) The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction, New York: Oxford University Press.
Richardson, L. (2006) What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Terrorist Threat, London: John Murray.
Sageman, M. (2004) Understanding Terror Networks, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Silke, A. (2004) ‘The Devil You Know: Continuing Problems with Research on Terrorism’, in A. Silke (ed.) Research on Terrorism, London: Frank Cass.
Smyth, M. (2004) ‘Using participative Action Research with War Affected Populations: Lessons from Research in Northern Ireland and South Africa’, in M. Smyth and E. Williamson, (eds.) Researchers and Their ‘Subjects’: Ethics, Power, Knowledge and Consent, Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 137–156.
Smyth, M. (2005) ‘Insider Outsider Issues in Researching Violence and Divided Societies’, in E. Porter, G. Robinson, M. Smyth, A. Schnabel and E. Osaghae, (eds.) Researching Conflict in Africa: Insights and Experiences, Tokyo: United Nations University Press, pp. 9–23.
The Iraq Study Group. (2006) The Iraq Study Group Report, Washington D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, December, available at: http://www.usip.org/isg/iraq_study_group_report/report/1206/iraq_study_group_report.pdf, accessed 17 January 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smyth, M. a critical research agenda for the study of political terror. Eur Polit Sci 6, 260–267 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210138
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210138