ABSTRACT
This chapter is the foundation for the overall study by first providing a brief overview of the primary narratives in the construction of terrorism as a threat. Second, these narratives are connected with an empirical evaluation of the consequences of the war on terrorism – the number of civilian casualties, drone killings, torture, political instability, mass-surveillance ‒ which all constitute avoidable human suffering. This examination is crucial to later discussions on normativity, and from where the theory obtains the necessary justificatory force to assert its normative claim. Thus, the primary aim of this chapter is to delineate the existence of avoidable human suffering as a consequence of violent counterterrorism, why it is bad, and why it necessitates counter-action.
