Terrorism and Communication: A Critical Introduction

Based on the premise that terrorism is essentially a message, Terrorism and Communication: A Critical Introduction examines terrorism from a communication perspective―making it the first text to offer a complete picture of the role of communication in terrorist activity. Through the extensive examination of state-of-the-art research on terrorism as well as recent case studies and speech excerpts, communication and terrorism scholar Jonathan Matusitz explores the ways that terrorists communicate messages through actions and discourse. Using a multifaceted approach, he draws valuable insights from relevant disciplines, including mass communication, political communication, and visual communication, as he illustrates the key role that media outlets play in communicating terrorists′ objectives and examines the role of global communication channels in both spreading and combating terrorism. This is an essential introduction to understanding what terrorism is, how it functions primarily through communication, how we talk about it, and how we prevent it.

Dr. Jonathan Matusitz (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2006) is currently an Associate Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He studies globalization, culture, and terrorism. One of his particular emphases is the Islamist threat to America and the world. On top of having 85 academic publications and over 100 conference presentations, he taught at a N.A.T.O.-affiliated military base in Belgium in 2010. Originally from Belgium himself, he migrated to the United States in 2000. In 2012, he was honored with a prestigious teaching award by the College of Sciences at UCF.