Is terrorism best approached through military of policing policies? Alex Cebula - PO-392
Introduction
Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. From the Sicariis of Palestine and the Assassins of Persia, to more contemporary examples of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), terrorism has plagued society in some form for the last two millennia. 53 However, recent events have compelled a revived importance to the study of this phenomenon. Terrorism, as an academic discipline, has received much attention in the wake of September 11, 2001. According to Andrew Silke, a book related to the subject of terrorism was published every six hours in the five years following 9/11. 54 Almost overnight, the subject of terrorism had moved from the fringes of academic literature to becoming a central theme of the foreign and security policies of Western states. The events of 9/11 had such an impact within the field of terrorism studies that it led scholars such as Ronald Crelinsten to describe a fundamental shift in understanding taking place. All terrorist-related discourse prior to 9/11 was labelled 53 Brigitte L. Nacos, Terrorism and Counterterrorism , 5th edn (Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2016), pp. 45–46. 54 Andrew Silke, 'Research on Terrorism: A Review of the Impact of 9/11 and the Global War on Terrorism', in Terrorism Informatics: Knowledge Management and Data Mining for Homeland Security , ed. by Hsinchun Chen and others (New York: Springer Verlag, 2008), pp. 27–50, p. 28.
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