Contradictions of Terrorism : Security, Risk and Resilience

Over the last fifteen years there has been a significant growth in literature dealing with terrorism. Nevertheless, scholars within mainstream criminology have only recently begun to grapple with the problem of terrorism in a sustained fashion. In this provocative book the authors provide both an exposition of the contradictions that have emerged around the regulation of terrorism and an incisive analysis of the questions that the management of terrorism poses for the discipline.

Focusing primarily on the processes and practices that have emerged in the United States and the United Kingdom, the book provides a critical account of the political construction, mediation and regulation of terrorist threat since the events of 9/11. The authors explore the ways in which new institutional modes of risk assessment based on the principle of pre-emption have impacted on individuals targeted by them. Noting the dilemmas produced by the pre-emptive turn, the authors also elucidate more recent moves to develop the idea of resilience in counter-terrorism and security policy.

This book will be suitable for academics and students interested in political violence, terrorism, geopolitics and risk, as well as for practitioners and experts working in the security industries.

Sandra Walklate is Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology and Gabe Mythen is a Reader in Sociology. Both are based in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. The authors have established an international reputation for their joint work on risk, security and victimisation, which appears in a range of esteemed journals.