The Problems with Terrorism Research

Abstract

To understand terrorism in an age of interconnectedness and globalisation we need to engage with the question of the role of communication and the media in the phenomenon of political extremism. Communication and the media cannot, however, be approached in isolation. To comprehend the difference media can possibly make in the exchange of information, its processing, and its effects, they need to be “fitted” into the broader picture of how social interactions occur, identities are constructed, and groups mobilise for political purposes. The aim of this chapter is to show that this framework, within the broadly conceived field of terrorism studies, does not currently exist.