Sociology of Terrorism and Counterterrorism: A Social Science Understanding of Terrorist Threat

The purpose of this article is to outline a social science understanding of terrorist threat, with special reference to political violence of new terrorist groups, fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda. Four main terrorism topics will be examined: (i) Definition of terrorism . We will make explicit the political and moral implications of the word 'terrorism' by tracing a brief history of terrorism; at the same time, a definition of terrorism will be proposed based on an overview of terrorism studies. (ii) Typology of terrorism . The topic to be addressed here concerns the classification of terrorist groups, paying special attention to contemporary fundamentalist movements and extremist organisations (particularly after World War II). (iii) Explanation of terrorism. Criticism will be made of psychological explanations of terrorism that try to trace political violence back to specific personal traits or psychopathological profiles of terrorists. We will offer an alternative explanation, focusing on specific social, cultural and religious factors to be considered the root causes of terrorism. Suicide terrorism will be used as a case study. (iv) C ounterterrorism policy . Here, we will discuss some of the limitations and counterproductive effects of the counterterrorism measures adopted by governments after 9/11, including new antiterrorism legislation, the case of special detention at Guantanamo Bay, and the Iraq invasion. Most of such limitations are due to a misunderstanding of the political culture and ideology of Islamic extremism and fundamentalism (Islamism). Some concluding remarks will summarise the findings of the article and underline the most important suggestions for a future research agenda in the sociology of terrorism and counterterrorism.     

Biopolitics and Gender

No abstract available for this article.     

Terrorism,Organized Crime,and Social Distress

Abstract

It is safer to believe evil ofeveryone until people are found out to be good, but that requires a great deal ofinvestigation nowadays.     

The Contribution of Social Movement Theory to Understanding Terrorism

The study of terrorism and political violence has been characterized by a lack of generalizable theory and methodology. This essay proposes that social movement theory can contribute a necessary conceptual framework for understanding terrorism and thus reviews the relevant literature and discusses possible applications. Terrorism is a form of contentious politics, analyzable with the basic social movement approach of mobilizing resources, political opportunity structure, and framing. Cultural perspectives call attention to issues of collective identity that allow for sustained militancy, and movement research recommends alternative conceptions of terrorist networks. Previous research on movement radicalization, repression, and cycles of contention has direct bearing on militancy. Emerging perspectives on transnational collective action and the diffusion of tactics and issues informs an understanding of contemporary international terrorism. Research on movement outcomes suggests broader ways of considering the efficacy of political violence. Finally, methodological debates within the study of social movements are relevant for research on terrorism. In sum, a social movement approach to terrorism has much to contribute, and research on terrorism could have important extensions and implications for social movement theory.     

The Biopolitics of Sex:

Contrary to the environmental determinism presumed by most social science commentators, and to the genetic determinism propounded by advocates of hardcore "sociobiology," the postion of this paper is the transactional, epigenetic approach commonly accepted in the life sciences. For the study of humans, this last approach requires a focus upon the reciprocal effects between genotype and both physical and sociocultural environments throughout development. Discussed are: the biology of human sexuality, sex roles and political behavior. The conclusion proposes the development of political models and practices that will take better advantage of the characteristic differences between female and male brains in political thinking and behavior and that will require a major reversal of the contemporary ratio in sex representation in political roles.     

Authorizing Family Science: An Analysis of the Objectifying Practices of Family Science Discourse

Contemporary objectifying practices in family science discourse, grounded in an objectivist epistemological framework, often deauthorize the scientific text and fail to frame the constructs in an explicit argumentative and theoretical context. Such practices contribute to the marginalization of theory and the acceptance of insufficiently analyzed empirical claims about families. Adopting an alternative set of objectifying practices, grounded in a constructionist epistemological framework that aims to fully authorize and advance its knowledge claims in an open, self‐reflexive, argumentative process will invigorate the importance of theory in the field and promote the production of more empirically justifiable and scientific knowledge claims about families.     

Social Studies versus Social Science

The authors of this article examine several controversial U.S. monuments and offer teachers a rationale, resources, and suggested activities for incorporating these historical monuments into classroom instruction. The authors discuss why controversial issues should be discussed in the social studies classroom through the critical examination of national monuments. We argue that discussing key social issues through the analysis of contentious monuments will not only provide students with a more complete picture of history but also allow them to develop critical twenty-first-century skills such as visual literacy and understanding multiple perspectives. The focus is to provide secondary social studies teachers with an alternative approach to examining historical monuments and controversial issues through the analysis of contemporary and historical debates regarding the nature of commemoration on the United States’ landscape. A brief rationale for the inclusion of monuments and controversial issues into the social studies curriculum is provided, as well as examples of provocative historic monuments, example activities to teach these monuments, and suggested resources to further examine this topic.     

Policy Science and Social Policy

This paper briefly traces the evolution of the policy sciences. It views policy science as a technical policy development discipline. The impediments to successful integration of policy science content into social policy curriculum are analyzed and suggestions to improve utilization are made. The paper suggests that critical analysis and constructive utilization of the techniques of the policy sciences will evolve once social workers develop technical skills. It also recommends that schools of social work teach policy as a method. It goes on to articulate curriculum recommendations necessary for the effective teaching of social policy as a method.     

Global Public Social Science

Burawoy's classification of the complementary aspects of the discipline of sociology is used to describe an emergent global public social science that will assist transnational social movements in the building of a democratic and collectively rational global commonwealth.     

Screen Images and Concepts of Sexual Agency in Science and Social Science

This article contributes to studies of how inequities of power are naturalized in culture through the idea of “screen images,” a form of shared projective thinking. Screen images develop when socioeconomic reality contradicts shared cultural values and thus produces moral anxiety. The screen images we trace are those of the Lady and the Whore in bourgeois Victorian cultures, which we believe represented compromised versions of female sexual agency. Although these images originated in Victorian models of sexual difference, we show that they continue to shape models in 20th-century medicine, primatology, and evolutionary social science. These screen images reveal a historically persistent denial of agentive sexuality in women and have served as a defense through which people have avoided confronting the socioeconomic bases of gender inequality.     

Standing Up for Science and Social Justice

What does it mean to do social science—perhaps especially for those of us whose research focuses on issues of social justice—during what my students gingerly refer to as “this time we're living in”? Community based participatory research offers one important approach.