ABSTRACT
The concept of “terrorism” holds within it opposing answers to core features of the phenomenon. These include who can commit terrorism and who is the target of terrorism. Sageman’s quote presupposes that the purpose of research on terrorism is what the peoples might call a forensic one – to be able to capture or eliminate terrorists. This is the sort of knowledge of which intelligence agencies “know everything but understand nothing” and academic researchers the reverse. Some of the most exciting research happening currently examines the emergence, spread, and challenges to, counterterrorism discourse, laws, and policies in particular contexts around the world. Another area that is ripe for further investigation is the connection between both “terrorism” as a form of the violence, and the discourse around it, and broader geopolitical shifts such as the shift to a largely post-colonial world.
