ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the changes which have occurred represent adaptations of the dominant paradigm to the evolving context in which Barack Obama spoke, rather than substantive innovations or a transition to a whole new approach. It also suggests that the necessary structural conditions for significant change in US counterterrorism discourse, lacking in Obama's first term, are still not present in his second term. Instead, Obama remains committed to the broad thrust of the war on terror, and even if he became a change agent, no crisis or rupturing event has occurred which could provide an opening for the articulation of a new approach to counterterrorism. The Obama administration has recently indicated a desire to focus on dealing with the root causes of terrorism, instead of simply reacting to extremist violence with force-based measures. US counterterrorism continues to be embedded and institutionalized as a self-replicating 'industry' with its own material and political interests.
