Table Of Content‘An invaluable addition to the literature on terrorism that examines
the profound impact of 9/11 on the discipline of criminology and
elaborates the theoretical and empirical contributions that criminology
can make to our understanding of the “new” terrorism. Its provocative
and engaging approach challenges the reader to question common
assumptions about what terrorism is, who its perpetrators are and what
combatting it requires. Wide-ranging substantive analysis and insightful
exploration of key concepts like risk, pre-emption, preparedness and
resilience render this a must-read book for all students and scholars of
terrorism and security.’
Lucia Zedner, Professor of Criminal Justice, Faculty of
Law, University of Oxford, UK
‘This critical, multilayered and multifaceted discussion of the concepts
of risk, security, resilience and vulnerability is theoretically sophisticated
and empirically rich. The book’s insightful analysis of the way the
discourse of “new terrorism” has constructed vulnerable individuals
and communities as risky, cast them as targets of pre-emptive interven -
tions, and the consequences this has for targeted groups, delivers fully
on its promise to uncover the many contradictions of contemporary
terrorism and counter-terrorism. A must-read for anybody working in
the field of risk analysis and security management.’
Lasse Lindekilde, Associate Professor, Department of
Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark
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CONTRADICTIONS OF
TERRORISM
Over the last 15 years there has been a significant growth in literature
dealing with terrorism. Nevertheless, scholars within main stream
criminology have only recently begun to grapple with the problem of
terrorism in a sustained fashion. In this provocative book the authors
provide both an exposition of the contradictions that have emerged
around the regulation of terrorism and an incisive analysis of the
questions that the management of terrorism poses for the discipline.
Focusing primarily on the processes and practices that have emerged
in the United States and the United Kingdom, the book provides a
critical account of the political construction, mediation and regulation
of the terrorist threat since the events of 9/11. The authors explore
the ways in which new institutional modes of risk assessment based on
the principle of pre-emption have impacted on individuals targeted
by them. Noting the dilemmas produced by the pre-emptive turn,
the authors also elucidate more recent moves to develop the idea of
resilience in counter-terrorism and security policy.
This book will be suitable for academics and students interested
in political violence, terrorism, geopolitics and risk, as well as for
practitioners and experts working in the security industries.
Sandra Walklateis Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology and Gabe
Mythenis a Reader in Sociology. Both are based in the Department
of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of
Liverpool. The authors have established an international reputation for
their joint work on risk, security and victimization, which appears in
a range of esteemed journals.
NEW DIRECTIONS IN CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGY
Edited by Walter S. DeKeseredy, West Virginia University, USA
This series presents new cutting-edge critical criminological empirical,
theoretical and policy work on a broad range of social problems, including
drug policy, rural crime and social control, policing and the media, ecocide,
intersectionality and the gendered nature of crime. It aims to highlight the
most up-to-date authoritative essays written by new and established scholars
in the field. Rather than offering a survey of the literature, each book takes a
strong position on topics of major concern to those interested in seeking new
ways of thinking critically about crime.
1 Contemporary Drug Policy
Henry Brownstein
2 The Treadmill of Crime
Political economy and green criminology
Paul B. Stretesky, Michael A. Long and Michael J. Lynch
3 Rural Criminology
Walter S. DeKeseredy and Joseph F. Donnermeyer
4 Policing and Media
Public relations, simulations and communications
Murray Lee and Alyce McGovern
5 Green Cultural Criminology
Constructions of environmental harm, consumerism and resistance
to ecocide
Avi Brisman and Nigel South
6 Crimes of Globalization
Dawn L. Rothe and David O. Friedrichs
7 Contradictions of Terrorism
Security, risk and resilience
Sandra Walklate and Gabe Mythen
CONTRADICTIONS
OF TERRORISM
Security, risk and resilience
Sandra Walklate and
Gabe Mythen
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Sandra Walklate and Gabe Mythen
The right of Sandra Walklate and Gabe Mythen to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walklate, Sandra.
Contradictions of terrorism: security, risk and resilience/Sandra Walklate
and Gabe Mythen.
pages cm. – (New directions in critical criminology ; 7)
1. Terrorism – Prevention. 2. Internal security. 3. National security.
4. War on Terrorism, 2001–2009. I. Mythen, Gabe. II. Title.
HV6431.W347 2014
363.325—dc23
2014005492
ISBN: 978-0-415-62652-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-62653-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-10261-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo and Stone Sans
by Florence Production Limited, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
List of abbreviations x
Introduction 1
1 9/11: ‘risk creep’, fear and securitization 15
2 Constructing new terrorism: discourse,
representation and ideology 43
3 The war on terror: power, violence and hegemony 64
4 Countering terrorism? Risk, pre-emption and
partial securities 93
5 Terrorism and exclusion: risky subjects, suspect
populations 119
6 Managing terrorism: from risk to resilience? 144
Conclusion: (re)orienting criminology 175
Index 189
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the innumerable
colleagues who have shaped our thinking on risk, victimization and
security over recent years. You know who you are. We would also
like to say a big thank you to Heidi Lee at Routledge for her flawless
advice and boundless patience and to Tom Sutton for cajoling us into
writing a book we probably ought to have written much sooner.
