ABSTRACT
The chapter begins by providing a short history of the war on terror, charting key moments in the evolution of a turbulent process that has lasted well over a decade. It also examines a range of objections that have been raised against the war on terror, ranging from the conceptual to the moral; the ethical to the humanitarian. Pursuing and developing these objections, this chapter elucidates the contradictions present in the policies pursued through the war on terror and to problematize both the material and ideational objectives. Having reflected on what the war on terror moment tells us about dominant conceptions of risk and security, the author conclude by asking what criminologists might do to expose the evident contradictions in State counter-terrorism policy. Rather transposing a more traditional understanding of resistance, the new paradigm effectively dispenses with previous forms of regulation and negotiation and instead presents state violence and direct coercion as the only effective means of combating terrorism.
