Chapter 25: Terrorism

Jennifer S. Holmes

Terrorism In the past, the study of terrorism has been divided into two competing paradigms, mirroring general fault lines in comparative politics between the qualitatively and quantitatively inclined scholars. This separation has postponed progress in clarifying continuing disputes in the field. In general, the study of terrorism is fragmented, conceptually muddled, handicapped by a lack of data, and troubled by political connotations. However, the challenge of understanding terrorism is urgent due to both its theoretical and substantive importance. Terrorism touches on many crucial areas of research, from violence and conflict, to issues of political stability and government response. Within the last few years, a plethora of studies have been published dealing with terrorism. According to CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, there were 1853 published works categorized with a variation of terror as a keyword from 1960 to 1989. This number increased to 1949 from 1990 to 2000, and ballooned to ...

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