Topics in terrorism research: reviewing trends and gaps, 2007-2016

Abstract

The topical focus of research on terrorism has frequently been critiqued for being too narrow, too event-driven and too strongly tied to governments' counterterrorism policies. This article uses keyword analysis to assess the degree to which these issues remain present in the literature on terrorism as represented by the 3.442 articles published between 2007 and 2016 in nine of the field's leading academic journals. Several fluctuations notwithstanding, research on terrorism has retained a strong focus on al-Qaeda, jihadist terrorism more generally, and the geographic areas most strongly associated with this type of terrorist violence.Results also indicate that the field remains event-driven and consistently underemphasizes state terrorism as well as non-jihadist terrorism, such as that perpetrated by right-wing extremists. ARTICLE HISTORY

The Digitalised Terrorism Ecology: A Systems Perspective

“…In the case under examination here, the order parameter (digital terrorism enactment) determines the behaviour, via digital enslavement, of the numerous individual elements. For instance, at the macroscopic level of the order parameter, various scholars have claimed that religion, particularly Islamist ideology, is used to foment global terrorism, with the counter-terrorism response undergirded by the belief that Islamist ideology is a root cause of terrorism (Bartolucci, 2019;Schuurman, 2019).…”

“…While the nature of the terrorism ecosystem has been changing, research and counter-terrorism responses have retained a strong focus on Al-Qaeda and jihadist terrorism generally; have remained event-driven; and have under-emphasised the roles of digital technologies, state-sponsored terrorism, and right-wing extremists (Asongu, Nnanna, Biekpe, & Acha-Anyi, 2019;Schuurman, 2019). This underemphasis on the actual current dynamics of terrorism provided the justification for this study, which sought to develop a nuanced understanding of the contemporary terrorism ecology, with particular attention to the ecology's digital dimensions.…”

La evolución de los estudios estratégicos en la comunidad académica española: análisis de su agenda de investigación (1978-2018)

“…Así, el examen del contenido de revistas científicas se ha mostrado como una estrategia fructífera para diferentes propósitos; entre otros, para realizar estudios sobre: flagship journals (Sookermany et al, 2017;Angelini, 2016;Ender, 2001), comunidades científicas particulares (García Díez et al, 2018;Cancela et al, 2014;Boncourt, 2007), disciplinas (Coman y Morin, 2016;Waever, 1998), fronteras de un campo científico (Geva-May et. al., 2018), configuración de áreas de estudio (Schuurman, 2019;Schuurman, 2018) o debates acerca de la evolución de paradigmas teóricos y conceptos (Whyte, 2019;Kristensen, 2018).…”

“…Esta perspectiva explica por qué los asuntos de terrorismo e inteligencia están focalizados hacia las actividades y operaciones contraterroristas desplegadas por las Fuerzas Armadas de los Estados. Este argumento se suma así a una crítica evidenciada en los estudios de terrorismo acerca del enfoque de «seguridad del Estado» que adoptan dichos trabajos (Schuurman, 2019). En cualquier caso, recalca la asunción por parte de la comunidad española de ese elemento comprendido en la perspectiva tradicional de los estudios estratégicos.…”

How can the literature inform counter-terrorism practice? Recent advances and remaining challenges

“…Researchers therefore need to provide detailed descriptions of their inclusion/ criteria and any other relevant information regarding how their cases were selected and categorised. Whilst this will help, it has been recently noted that the literature remains (over) narrowly focused on Islamic-inspired terrorism, despite right-wing inspired attacks outnumbering jihadism in the US as well as increasing across Europe (Schuurman, 2019). Practitioners are in urgent need of empirical research that provides an understanding of right-wing terrorism to enable evidence-based CT interventions for this fast growing threat.…”