Toros, Harmonie (2008) Terrorists, scholars and ordinary people: confronting terrorism studies with field experiences. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 1 (2). pp. 279-292. ISSN 1753-9153. (doi:10.1080/17539150802184652) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:38547)
The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. | |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17539150802184652 |
Abstract
Fieldwork in the study of terrorism remains the exception, allowing for scores of publications to be produced each year with little or no contact with the perpetrators of terrorist violence and scarce direct observation of the social realities in which it occurs. While examining some of the serious drawbacks and pitfalls such research can entail, this article makes a case for more fieldwork in terrorism studies, arguing that it can bring greater depth to our understanding of terrorist violence. The discussion focuses on a common assumption – the existence of the ‘terrorist’ as subject – and a common practice of terrorism studies – the concentration on extraordinary events at the expense of ‘ordinary life’ and ‘ordinary people’ – and how they are called into question by the material gathered during field research conducted in the Southern Philippine region of Mindanao. The article concludes with a reflection on some of the challenges facing researchers in danger zones, from their dependence on local knowledge for security to the need for methodological flexibility when faced with the complexity of research in conflict areas.
Item Type: | Article |
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DOI/Identification number: | 10.1080/17539150802184652 |
Uncontrolled keywords: | terrorism, fieldwork, Mindanao, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Philippines, ethnography of violence, methodology, conflict transformation |
Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations |
Divisions: | Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations |
Depositing User: | Harmonie Toros |
Date Deposited: | 03 Mar 2014 22:56 UTC |
Last Modified: | 05 Nov 2024 10:23 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/38547 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
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