Suchergebnisse

A reformatted version of an article published in Public Choice, 2002, 111, 1-2, Mar, 9-18. 14 References.

Committing acts of violence against others for political purposes can be traced throughout history. With the growth of the mass media in the 20th century, however, the impact of violent terrorist acts can be spread around the globe instantaneously. No longer does a bombing or killing affect a single city or country. Moreover, the devastating terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001, suggest that the West has entered a new stage in history. Terrorism discusses the first violent, political attacks in U.S. history and tracks the evolution of terrorism from the ea

The events of September 11, 2001 drastically altered the political climate in North America. The atmosphere of fear, mainly instilled by the hegemonic influence of American mass media outlets and government, allowed the Canadian government to take advantage of citizen unease and pass controversial legislation, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act (2001) and the Combating Terrorism Act (2013). This critical analysis attempts to divulge into the root meaning of "terror†in order to unpack the motivations of terrorism, and understand how it really operates. Particular attention is placed on the role of the media and the Canadian and American governments in instilling a psychological phenomenon of terror into society. This article seeks to answer whether terrorism poses any real threat to North Americans, and whether the legislation passed by the Canadian government stands up to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and democracy itself.

"This article examines the history and the development of terrorism as a research subject for social sciences. It gives an impression of how the subject's theoretical remit has changed over the last decades-explicitly taking into account the characteristics of a modern and global world and their impact on current understandings of terrorism." (author's abstract)

This article analyzes terrorism & counterterrorism in a framework of communication. This analytic framework views violence as a form of communication that interacts with other forms of social & political communication, whether by nonstate actors or state actors. By looking at how terrorism & counterterrorism fit into the wider context of social & political life, both at the national & the international level, the analyst can better understand how terrorism emerges from other social or political activity, can evolve into legal or nonviolent action, & can be but one tool in a political or social struggle that includes both violent & nonviolent tactics. By including counterterrorism & the array of control institutions used to battle terrorism & related phenomena, the model forces a degree of self-reflectivity & self-awareness on the analyst, who must examine societal, state, & international institutions & forms of social control alongside strategies & tactics of protest & political agitation. In a post-11 September (2001) world, this analytic task is all the more challenging. 7 Figures. Adapted from the source document.