The Counterfactual Imagination (original) (raw)
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Building Social Scenarios. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies In The Terrorist Attacks In France
In nowadays Europe, a wind of terror, of an intensity comparable to that of the belligerent periods, walks freely and occasionally strikes the apparent tranquility of our lives. Islamic fundamentalist attacks, seemingly coming from nowhere, without prior psychological preparation manage to create hardly measurable effects. Media and, consequently, public opinion resonate dramatically to a reality that is destabilizing the social, political, economic, cultural, individual or group balance in many parts of this bewildered and concerned Europe. It is a tense context, in which fear and terror annihilate rationality and freedom of expression being able to maintain a toxic atmosphere of information, and independent media can serve conjecturally, unintentionally even to the harmful interests of those terrorist groups.
The Cultural Imaginary of Terrorism in Public Discourse, Literature, and Film: Narrating Terror, 2017
This study investigates the overlaps between political discourse and literary and cinematic fiction, arguing that both are informed by, and contribute to, the cultural imaginary of terrorism. Whenever mass-mediated acts of terrorism occur, they tend to trigger a proliferation of threat scenarios not only in the realm of literature and film but also in the statements of policymakers, security experts, and journalists. In the process, the discursive boundary between the factual and the speculative can become difficult to discern. To elucidate this phenomenon, this book proposes that terror is a halfway house between the real and the imaginary. For what characterizes terrorism is less the single act of violence than it is the fact that this act is perceived to be the beginning, or part, of a potential series, and that further acts are expected to occur. As turn-of-the-century writers such as Stevenson and Conrad were the first to point out, this gives terror a fantastical dimension, a fact reinforced by the clandestine nature of both terrorist and counter-terrorist operations. Supported by contextual readings of selected texts and films from The Dynamiter and The Secret Agent through late-Victorian science fiction to post-9/11 novels and cinema, this study explores the complex interplay between actual incidents of political violence, the surrounding discourse, and fictional engagement with the issue to show how terrorism becomes an object of fantasy. Drawing on research from a variety of disciplines, The Cultural Imaginary of Terrorism will be a valuable resource for those with interests in the areas of Literature and Film, Terrorism Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Trauma Studies, and Cultural Studies.
THE TROUBLE WITH COUNTER-NARRATIVES
Counter-narratives are routinely suggested as responses to the vast amounts of propaganda available online, from groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda; and the idea of using them to prevent terrorism is gaining momentum. International organisations such as the EU and UN are including them in their CVE strategies, leading to a push for member states to do the same, in spite of a great deal of criticism and lack of any actual evidence that counter-narratives are an effective method. Taking its point of departure in three counter-narrative initiatives introduced in the third Danish national action plan on countering and preventing extremism and radicalisation, this report explores the challenges related to using counter-narratives within the Danish preventive framework in particular and in CVE strategies in general. The report finds that broad counter-narrative campaigns are neither necessary nor appropriate, and that the potential negative side-effects are not acceptable when measured against the expected benefits. The report ends by suggesting alternative approaches.
Images of Terror: What We Can and Can't Know About Terrorism
Contemporary Sociology
Aldine de Gruyter, 2003, 227 pp. $US 24.95 paper (0-202-30679-8), Since 9/11, many publishers have released new books on terrorism. Most of the efforts seem to repeat the obvious. Research is culled from newspaper stories or from the most recent books available in the bricks and mortar bookstores. Indeed, few treatments are unique or scholarly. Jenkins, well known for his previous work utilizing social constructionist and historical approaches, looks at the issue of terrorism -particularly the problem of affixing blame for particular incidents. Basically, he says that it is difficult to understand terrorism unless you know the perpetrators' true motivations, which are rarely accessible or accurate. Jenkins is also dubious about pronouncements by the government and media about who is to blame for terrorist incidents and why.
European Journal of Sociology, 2007
An adequate theory of terrorism need not explain political violence in general, but it must account for violence directed against random civilians. Richardson’s ‘‘triple-cocktail’’ formula does not provide such a theory.
THE IMPACT OF COUNTER-NARRATIVES
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a London-based 'think and do tank' that has pioneered policy and operational responses to the rising challenges of violent extremism and inter-communal conflict.