NCJ Number
187647
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2001 Pages: 3-24
Date Published
January 2001
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article proposes a methodology for the study of terrorism.
Abstract
"Terrorism Studies" as a specific discipline is a comparatively recent addition to the social sciences and is still grappling with questions relating to a proper or appropriate methodology. This article argues that research within the field is often neither based on primary sources nor set within an independent analytical framework. Rather, it is characterized by an "aligned" position dependent on a research hermeneutic of crisis management, which perpetuates the "received view." The article proposes talking to terrorists and the use of social identity theory, applied in a context of cultural difference, as a methodology enabling independent analysis. The article contains a review of terrorism studies literature and a critique of the continuing misuse of theoretical models and the shallowness of methodological approaches prevalent in the field. It raises the issue of the hermeneutic of crisis management and two specific concerns emanating from it. It also contains a framework for intergroup communication as developed in other academic fields of study, discusses the significance of culture, groups, and group behavior, and outlines the integrative framework of social identity theory and its utility for terrorism studies. Notes