The Case for a Critical Terrorism Studies.

Since 9/11, terrorism studies has undergone a rapid transformation from minor sub-field of security studies to a significant stand-alone field of teaching and research, with terrorism studies degree programmes, an ever-increasing cohort of dedicated PhD students, major research projects, the establishment of academic posts and specialised research institutions, and new scholarly journals. However, past and recent review exercises have generated a number of serious epistemological, methodological, and political-normative criticisms of the field as it currently stands. At this time of tremendous growth and expansion, this paper makes the argument that it is time for an explicitly 'critical' terrorism studies to overcome many of the identified weaknesses of orthodox terrorism studies. To this end, the paper explores some of the central weaknesses of contemporary terrorism studies, examines what a critical turn would involve, and reflects on the potential pitfalls of a critical terrorism studies, including how to manage the critical turn without discarding the best of orthodox terrorism studies. The paper concludes by outlining a research agenda which would interrogate more effectively some of the key assumptions in both mainstream and critical fields about the political use of terror. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]