Martens, Bertien
(2021)
Terrorism: A Valuable Description or an Ideological Stamp?
Master thesis, Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation.
Abstract
Since the events of 9 September 2001, terrorism has come to occupy a central place within both the politics and media and academia. Despite the term’s frequent use, however, an overall consensus of what it exactly entails has not been reached, meaning that different things are meant when employing the term. A dominant interpretation of the concept concerns the new terrorism thesis with which come various biases about terrorists’ goals and identity. This has serious consequences for what we know about the phenomenon and how we choose to deal with the challenges that we face through terrorism.
It is the aim of this thesis to take a step back and analyse these epistemological and ontological biases through the theoretical framework of Critical Terrorism Studies. In order to answer some of the major critique on Critical Terrorism Studies, this thesis will make use of a case study, namely that of Boko Haram. This way, it is aimed to provide the academic field with an empirical example and get away from a mere theoretical discussion. Furthermore, it allows for an analysis of the consequences that come with a terrorist designation through a social constructivist approach.
The goal of this thesis is twofold: on the one hand it aims to provide the reader with another picture of Boko Haram, and, on the other hand, it tries to show the consequences that come with the terrorist designation of the group. This way, the thesis provides both a theoretical and empirical discussion of the term terrorism, in the hope that it will pave the way for better reactions to the phenomenon known as terrorism.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Tarusarira, J. | | Faculteit GGW, Vergelijkende Religiewetenschap | J.Tarusarira@rug.nl | | Andrejc, G. | | Faculteit GGW, Christendom en Ideeengeschiedenis | G.Andrejc@rug.nl |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation |
| Academic year: |
2020-2021 |
| Date of delivery: |
17 Sep 2021 09:43 |
| Last modified: |
17 Sep 2021 09:43 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/627 |
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