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Toward a phenomenology of terrorism: implications for research and policy

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Abstract

The central theme of this paper is that the phenomenology of perception can contribute to conceptualizing terrorism, in terms of both a research orientation and policy applications. This means that counter-terrorism needs to be grounded in a holistic perspective that has meaning from the point of view of those engaged in terrorism. A critique of the “war on terror” counter-terrorism practices is followed by a discussion of phenomenology and its implications for a holistic perception of counter-terrorism. Four cases are presented that show how a phenomenological approach can facilitate counter-terrorism study and policy.

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Notes

  1. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2006/82736.htm

  2. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm

  3. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm

  4. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2005/64337.htm

  5. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/c14151.htm

  6. http://www.iiipublishing.com/elf.htm accessed Dec. 24, 2009.

  7. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2003/09/23/Environment-activist-violence-increasing/UPI-33721064366773/ accessed Dec. 24, 2009.

  8. The term ‘crusaders’ is used link a historic military campaign to a modern day enemy. Images of colonial occupation and the killing of Muslims in pre and post colonization from Europe to include the French in Algeria and the British in Egypt and the attempts to intervene with religious, cultural and political dimensions of the areas in which they occupied. It was not by chance that President Bush used the term ‘crusades’ to describe America’s global war on terrorism.

  9. General McChrystal, the former U.S. Forces Commander in Afghanistan, understood the value of accessing the ‘hearts’ of the Afghan population and began his command with a listening tour of the Afghan population in 2009. Special Forces Major Gant’s Strategy of Winning the War One Tribe at a Time (2009), a plan devoted to winning the hearts of tribal leaders, was crafted from his experiences in Afghanistan of what is projected to work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Justice Studies and Sociology, Norwich University, Northfield, 05663, VT, USA

    Travis Morris

  2. School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, 68182, NE, USA

    John P. Crank

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Correspondence to John P. Crank.

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Morris, T., Crank, J.P. Toward a phenomenology of terrorism: implications for research and policy. Crime Law Soc Change 56, 219–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-011-9310-9

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