soc 208: main ideas of terrorism readings

akhalara reading

talked about the fact that social networks playa crucial role in the spread of extremist ideologies and recruitment for terrorist organizations.

becker reading

discussed lone wolf terrorism, discussed the fact that lone wolf terrorists hare limited go after individuals who are accessible. Their targets are chosen on a basis of ideologies, personal grievances, or symbolic value

bonditti

divided terrorism into domestic and international areas

discussed the idea that terrorism was an expressive act to convey a message, and violence shifted to acts of exclusion and security

deflem

this wasn’t a good article to use because its study was flawed, but it questioned if people’s reactions to terrorism were proportional to the actual violations

Hafez

discussed sectarian terrorism in the post 2003 world, claimed it emerged due to a gov’t collapse as well as divisions between the shia and sunni communities

LaFree

discussed the different terrorism databases that were developed to spread information and help individuals understand terrorism. To understand modern history, one must look beyond ideologies

LaFree

discussed the idea that trends in terrorism are changing due to the context/time period of the situation, so to interpret terrorist activities, one should examine the entire context

McDonald

terrorism shifted from an act of violence as resisted to an act of performance as a mean to communicate w/ the rest of the world. The way violence is portrayed in the media impacts how the world views it

discussed the idea that violence takes many forms w/ different actors having different means for violence

McDonald

to understand terrorism and reduce fear in society, we must move beyond the original methods of counterterrorism and recognize the cultural and symbolic meaning behind terrorist actions

Turk

brought up seven themes of terrorism as a way to analyze how different actors construct, label, and respond to violence

Vidino

talked about terrorist threats w/ in the US becoming decentralized post 9/11

brought up stereotypes people use to describe terrorists

Walkate

discussed the idea that since 9/11 terrorism has become more deadly, but it is justified b/c it is framed as a “form of new terrorism”

the way we frame terrorism is what matters