NCJ Number
139271
Date Published
1991
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This essay analyzes the ways in which the discipline of terrorology, the study of terrorism, has shifted the framework of the debate over terrorism in such a way that it becomes inevitable to reach a conclusion that fits with the general public outlook. The author maintains that the terrorism debate has been skewed such that the West is portrayed as the champion of liberal and humane values, threatened by forces seeking to undermine the international order through force.
Abstract
The focus of this article is on the role academics have played in constructing the discipline of terrorology with such an extreme bias concerning the motives and actions of the U.S., its allies, and client States. In particular, the author examines the book Terrorism and the Liberal State, written by British terrorism expert Paul Wilkinson. He disavows the book for its lack of intellectual depth and claims it is based on a construct of terrorism that emerged solely in response to ideological pressures. Terrorology's fundamental tenets are never expressed, but rather are insinuated through many devices including selective focus, omission, and biased descriptions. These assumptions then become part of the framework in which questions are formulated, answers are judged, and policies are developed. 58 notes