Using rare field research, this book investigates whether and how talking may transform terrorist violence. Given the failings of today's dominant counterterrorism strategy, is talking a viable policy option to transform conflicts marked by terrorist violence? This book examines the reasons why "negotiating with terrorists" is so often shunned by decision-makers and scholars as a policy response, concluding that such objections are primarily based on a realist and statist understanding of terrorism that has dominated the field so far. Based on interviews with top rebel and military commanders in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao and interviewing key actors in Northern Ireland, Terrorism, Talking and Transformation investigates how talking may contribute to the transformation of conflicts marked by terrorist violence. The result of this analysis is a theoretically grounded, empirically recognizable and emancipation oriented framework that can be used to investigate the potential of talking in transforming not only terrorist (and counterterrorist) violence, but also the underlying structural violence that often surrounds it. This book will be of much interest to students in the fields of terrorism studies, security studies, Southeast Asian studies, conflict resolution/transformation and IR in general, and of use to practitioners in the field.

This book provides the first sustained critical engagement with the legacy of the 9/11 attacks twenty years on. Featuring a wide range of established and emerging voices in critical terrorism studies, the book explores the deeply political character of remembering and forgetting, and the racialised, gendered and other contexts within which this takes place. A lively and provocative conversation between feminist, postcolonial, post-structural, literary and critical perspectives, 9/11 Twenty Years On asks what ‘the day that changed the world’ means for critical terrorism studies today, and how we might choose to mark those events in the future. It will be essential reading for upper-level students, researchers and academics in the fields of International Relations, Security Studies and Political Science in general, as well as anyone interested in critical approaches to terrorism, political violence, and memory. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Critical Studies on Terrorism.

This book examines potential synergies between the fields of Terrorism Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies. The volume presents theoretically- and empirically-informed contributions, which shed light on whether the two fields can inform each other on issues of mutual interest and importance. The book examines key themes including the conceptualisation(s) of peace and violence; the exceptionalisation of terrorist violence; the relationship between scholarship and political power; the dysfunctionality of the liberal peace and the opportunities offered by post-liberal peacebuilding frameworks; and the implications and challenges of cyber-terrorism and cyber-conflict. Furthermore, the book intends to be a launching pad for future debate on whether the recent 'critical' turn in terrorism studies can offer a pathway for peace studies to engage with the so far largely ignored question of power. Consisting of not only key scholars but also practitioners and policy makers, the contributors present a number of case studies, including Colombia, Northern Ireland, the Basque Country, and Iraq, where they explore the relationships between terrorism and peace and conflict approaches. They critically analyse the statist approach inherent in both terrorism approaches and liberal peacebuilding frameworks; the role of the grassroots levels of society; the inefficiency of simplistic frameworks of understanding and implementation; and the chains of governance from international (and transnational) actors to national actors and finally from national to local actors. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, peace and conflict studies, IR and security studies.

Critical Terrorism Studies emerged around 2007, in the context of the rapidly intensifying War on Terror. It was in this era that "terrorism" became a "growth industry" which generated a huge amount of academic research as well as social and political activity. Yet a yawning gap developed between the actual material threat posed by terrorists, and the level of investment and activity devoted to responding to this threat. Similarly, the quality of terrorism research was noticeably weak and lacking in methodological rigour. Critical Terrorism Studies set out to explore the exceptional treatment of political violence, to challenge the political manipulation of terrorism fears and increase in draconian anti-terrorism legislation, and to address some of the conceptual and methodological failings of terrorism research. In the 10 years since the journal Critical Studies on Terrorism was launched, that context and mission remains as important as ever. This volume looks back on the achievements and failures of Critical Terrorism Studies in this period, as well as collecting state of the art research into terrorism discourse, queerness and the War on Terror, the Prevent Strategy, epistemology in terrorism studies, state repression, the ambiguous ends of militant campaigns, the epistemology of preventative counterterrorism, and the question of non-violent responses to terror. The chapters originally published in a special issue in Critical Studies in Terrorism.

This book offers a succinct examination of directions of research in the fields of Terrorism Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies.

With a particular focus on the interactions, differences and potential synergies between the two, it consists of theoretically- and empirically-informed contributions, which will shed light on whether the two fields can inform each other on issues of mutual interest and importance, thus strengthening both research and praxis. As such it does not shy away from the major ontological and epistemological puzzles common between the two fields, and can be used as both a reference work and a stimulus for additional research. The book does not intend to offer a comprehensive review of Terrorism and Peace and Conflict Studies, but instead focuses on what its authors consider as the most pressing areas and issues, thus opening a new debate and mapping a new agenda for synthesised, cross-pollinated research.

Among the key themes this book examines are questions relating to: the conceptualisation(s) of peace and violence; the exceptionalisation of terrorist violence and its effect on the resolution or perpetuation of the conflict; the ontological and epistemological status of security; the understandings of asymmetry; the possibilities, timing and potential of negotiations between asymmetrical actors; the relationship between international, national and local actors in their contextual environments; the relationship between scholarship and political power; the dysfunctionality of the liberal peace and the opportunities offered by post-liberal peacebuilding frameworks; and the implications and challenges of cyber-terrorism and cyber-conflict. The book will also launch the debate on whether the recent critical turn in terrorism studies can offer a pathway for peace studies to engage with the so far largely ignored question of power. The Case Studies section gathers contributions not only from key scholars but also practitioners and policy makers, examining the synergies and contradictions between terrorism and peace and conflict approaches in Colombia, Sri Lanka, the Basque Country, Afghanistan, Somalia and Turkey among others. They critically assess and evaluate: the statist approach inherent in both terrorism approaches and liberal peacebuilding frameworks; their problem-solving tendencies; the role of the grassroots levels of society in the marginalisation of violence; the inefficiency of simplistic frameworks of understanding and implementation when it comes to producing self-sustainable peace(s); and the chains of governance whereby international (and transnational) actors direct national actors who in turn direct local actors.

This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, peace and conflict studies, research methods, security studies and IR.

Using rare field research, this book investigates whether and how talking may transform terrorist violence. Given the failings of today's dominant counterterrorism strategy, is talking a viable policy option to transform conflicts marked by terrorist violence? This book examines the reasons why "negotiating with terrorists" is so often shunned by decision-makers and scholars as a policy response, concluding that such objections are primarily based on a realist and statist understanding of terrorism that has dominated the field so far. Based on interviews with top rebel and military commanders in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao and interviewing key actors in Northern Ireland, Terrorism, Talking and Transformation investigates how talking may contribute to the transformation of conflicts marked by terrorist violence. The result of this analysis is a theoretically grounded, empirically recognizable and emancipation-oriented framework that may be used to investigate the potential of talking in transforming not only terrorist (and counterterrorist) violence, but also the underlying structural violence that often surrounds it. This book will be of much interest to students in the fields of terrorism studies, security studies, Southeast Asian studies, conflict resolution/transformation and international relations in general, and of use to practitioners in the field.

This book opens up the discussion of the interrelation between terrorism studies, and peace and conflict studies. Even though it is often accepted that terrorism is a form of political violence, it is also quite frequent that research on the topic is dismissed when it is approached with conflict analysis frames. More importantly, policy approaches continue to inhibit, obstruct and reject frameworks that are concerned with the transformation and resolution of terrorist conflicts - partly because they see the state as the ultimate referent object to be secured. At the same time, peace and conflict studies seem to be excessively focused on problem-solving approaches, overemphasising the role of parity during negotiations and misdiagnosing the distribution of power both within conflicts as well as within conflict management, resolution and/or transformation approaches. By examining the instances and circumstances in which both these fields can benefit from each other, this book enhances our understanding of this crucial area. This book was published as a special issue of Critical Studies on Terrorism.

Critical Terrorism Studies emerged around 2007, in the context of the rapidly intensifying War on Terror. It was in this era that "terrorism" became a "growth industry" which generated a huge amount of academic research as well as social and political activity. Yet a yawning gap developed between the actual material threat posed by terrorists, and the level of investment and activity devoted to responding to this threat. Similarly, the quality of terrorism research was noticeably weak and lacking in methodological rigour. Critical Terrorism Studies set out to explore the exceptional treatment of political violence, to challenge the political manipulation of terrorism fears and increase in draconian anti-terrorism legislation, and to address some of the conceptual and methodological failings of terrorism research. In the 10 years since the journal Critical Studies on Terrorism was launched, that context and mission remains as important as ever. This volume looks back on the achievements and failures of Critical Terrorism Studies in this period, as well as collecting state of the art research into terrorism discourse, queerness and the War on Terror, the Prevent Strategy, epistemology in terrorism studies, state repression, the ambiguous ends of militant campaigns, the epistemology of preventative counterterrorism, and the question of non-violent responses to terror. The chapters originally published in a special issue in Critical Studies in Terrorism.