Anthony Richards
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198746966
- eISBN:
- 9780191809255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746966.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This chapter attempts to draw a distinction between ‘terrorism’ and ‘political terror’ (and in particular ‘state terror’), arguing that, while the latter might entail either the physical elimination ...
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This chapter attempts to draw a distinction between ‘terrorism’ and ‘political terror’ (and in particular ‘state terror’), arguing that, while the latter might entail either the physical elimination of opponents or the spreading of terror to ensure compliance, generating a psychological impact beyond the immediate victims is the sine qua non of terrorism. Even where psychological impact is the main object of state terror, however, the author argues that this also differs from terrorism because, by virtue of its ubiquity, the nature of the fear is qualitatively different where even ‘staying indoors’ is no guarantee of safety. External state terror that seeks to exact massive psychological impact, too, is of a much wider scale than terrorism which itself also leads to a qualitative difference in the nature of the fear, exemplified in the concept of ‘strategic bombing’ and the waging of (state) psychological warfare.Less
This chapter attempts to draw a distinction between ‘terrorism’ and ‘political terror’ (and in particular ‘state terror’), arguing that, while the latter might entail either the physical elimination of opponents or the spreading of terror to ensure compliance, generating a psychological impact beyond the immediate victims is the sine qua non of terrorism. Even where psychological impact is the main object of state terror, however, the author argues that this also differs from terrorism because, by virtue of its ubiquity, the nature of the fear is qualitatively different where even ‘staying indoors’ is no guarantee of safety. External state terror that seeks to exact massive psychological impact, too, is of a much wider scale than terrorism which itself also leads to a qualitative difference in the nature of the fear, exemplified in the concept of ‘strategic bombing’ and the waging of (state) psychological warfare.
Frank Lentricchia and Jody McAuliffe
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226472058
- eISBN:
- 9780226472089
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226472089.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
Do killers, artists, and terrorists need one another? This book explores the disturbing adjacency of literary creativity to violence and even political terror. The book begins by anchoring the ...
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Do killers, artists, and terrorists need one another? This book explores the disturbing adjacency of literary creativity to violence and even political terror. The book begins by anchoring the discussions in the events of 9/11 and the scandal provoked by composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's reference to the destruction of the World Trade Center as a great work of art, and they go on to show how political extremism and avant-garde artistic movements have fed upon each other for at least two centuries. The book reveals how the desire beneath many romantic literary visions is that of a terrifying awakening that would undo the West's economic and cultural order. This is also the desire, of course, of what is called terrorism. As the authority of writers and artists recedes, it is criminals and terrorists, the book suggests, who inherit this romantic, destructive tradition. Moving freely between the realms of high and popular culture, and fictional and actual criminals, the book describes a web of impulses that catches an unnerving spirit. This unorthodox approach pairs Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment with Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy, and connects the real-life Unabomber to the surrealist Joseph Cornell and to the hero of Bret Easton Ellis's bestselling novel American Psycho. The book evokes a desperate culture of art through thematic dialogues among authors and filmmakers as varied as Don DeLillo, Joseph Conrad, Francis Ford Coppola, and Jean Genet, among others.Less
Do killers, artists, and terrorists need one another? This book explores the disturbing adjacency of literary creativity to violence and even political terror. The book begins by anchoring the discussions in the events of 9/11 and the scandal provoked by composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's reference to the destruction of the World Trade Center as a great work of art, and they go on to show how political extremism and avant-garde artistic movements have fed upon each other for at least two centuries. The book reveals how the desire beneath many romantic literary visions is that of a terrifying awakening that would undo the West's economic and cultural order. This is also the desire, of course, of what is called terrorism. As the authority of writers and artists recedes, it is criminals and terrorists, the book suggests, who inherit this romantic, destructive tradition. Moving freely between the realms of high and popular culture, and fictional and actual criminals, the book describes a web of impulses that catches an unnerving spirit. This unorthodox approach pairs Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment with Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy, and connects the real-life Unabomber to the surrealist Joseph Cornell and to the hero of Bret Easton Ellis's bestselling novel American Psycho. The book evokes a desperate culture of art through thematic dialogues among authors and filmmakers as varied as Don DeLillo, Joseph Conrad, Francis Ford Coppola, and Jean Genet, among others.
Jiří Přibáň and Wojciech Sadurski
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199296033
- eISBN:
- 9780191700736
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296033.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
Political terror had not vanished from the region of Central and Eastern Europe by the 1970s and 1980s, but was limited and exercised only against a tiny minority of dissident groups and human rights ...
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Political terror had not vanished from the region of Central and Eastern Europe by the 1970s and 1980s, but was limited and exercised only against a tiny minority of dissident groups and human rights activists. This ‘limited use of terror’ — limited in its intensity and social targets — nevertheless had a significant political function because it reminded the population that it had to ritually approve the system as the instruments of political violence and that open repression still existed. They were faced with a political and legal structure giving the state ultimate social control and that treated citizens as powerless and entirely dependent entities. This unbalanced democratization of relationship between the state and the individual citizen needed to be changed by incorporating those political rights necessary for the establishment of democratic elections, decision-making, and control. The creation of such catalogues of political rights in post-communist legal systems was meant to constitute the normative and operative framework for the liberal democratic system.Less
Political terror had not vanished from the region of Central and Eastern Europe by the 1970s and 1980s, but was limited and exercised only against a tiny minority of dissident groups and human rights activists. This ‘limited use of terror’ — limited in its intensity and social targets — nevertheless had a significant political function because it reminded the population that it had to ritually approve the system as the instruments of political violence and that open repression still existed. They were faced with a political and legal structure giving the state ultimate social control and that treated citizens as powerless and entirely dependent entities. This unbalanced democratization of relationship between the state and the individual citizen needed to be changed by incorporating those political rights necessary for the establishment of democratic elections, decision-making, and control. The creation of such catalogues of political rights in post-communist legal systems was meant to constitute the normative and operative framework for the liberal democratic system.
Nancy Scheper-Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520230286
- eISBN:
- 9780520927575
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520230286.003.0014
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter considers several issues on the anthropological insights taken from a study of structural dynamics. It shows that anthropologists have been influenced to overlook the forms of political ...
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This chapter considers several issues on the anthropological insights taken from a study of structural dynamics. It shows that anthropologists have been influenced to overlook the forms of political terror and “everyday violence” that often affects the peoples whom they study. It analyzes the relationship of Alfred Kroeber and Ishi, the “last California aborigine”, in order to show how anthropologists also took an active role in preserving and recording the cultural life of indigenous peoples. This chapter also emphasizes that anthropologists should directly confront the question of what makes genocide possible.Less
This chapter considers several issues on the anthropological insights taken from a study of structural dynamics. It shows that anthropologists have been influenced to overlook the forms of political terror and “everyday violence” that often affects the peoples whom they study. It analyzes the relationship of Alfred Kroeber and Ishi, the “last California aborigine”, in order to show how anthropologists also took an active role in preserving and recording the cultural life of indigenous peoples. This chapter also emphasizes that anthropologists should directly confront the question of what makes genocide possible.
Randall Peerenboom
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199226122
- eISBN:
- 9780191696183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226122.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
This chapter presents a brief overview of the official human rights policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and examines China's record on personal integrity rights and civil and political ...
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This chapter presents a brief overview of the official human rights policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and examines China's record on personal integrity rights and civil and political rights. It puts China under the notorious level-4 ranking on the Political Terror Scale (PTS) based on both Amnesty International and Stated Department reports. It also gives China a low score on civil and political rights. Furthermore, it explains China's stand on freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, pornography, and freedom of assembly. It concludes that China clearly falls far short on civil and political rights when judged against countries in its income class.Less
This chapter presents a brief overview of the official human rights policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and examines China's record on personal integrity rights and civil and political rights. It puts China under the notorious level-4 ranking on the Political Terror Scale (PTS) based on both Amnesty International and Stated Department reports. It also gives China a low score on civil and political rights. Furthermore, it explains China's stand on freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, pornography, and freedom of assembly. It concludes that China clearly falls far short on civil and political rights when judged against countries in its income class.
Nick Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040023
- eISBN:
- 9780252098222
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040023.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines how political terror was used in the interwar period as yet another weapon in the campaign waged by the anticommunist movement. Several incidents of political terror that ...
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This chapter examines how political terror was used in the interwar period as yet another weapon in the campaign waged by the anticommunist movement. Several incidents of political terror that occurred in the United States after the Great War were grounded in attitudes expressed in the prosecution of leaders of revolutionary and nonconformist organizations. These attitudes were also expressed in the incarceration and even execution of symbolic scapegoats, including political prisoners, anarchists such as Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and radicals like the Wobblies, Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the prevalence of racism and nativism, perpetrated by vigilante groups, as part of anticommunism's program of political terror. The movement's objective was clear: to intimidate and prevent people from supporting certain ideas and organizations by destroying the lives of a select few.Less
This chapter examines how political terror was used in the interwar period as yet another weapon in the campaign waged by the anticommunist movement. Several incidents of political terror that occurred in the United States after the Great War were grounded in attitudes expressed in the prosecution of leaders of revolutionary and nonconformist organizations. These attitudes were also expressed in the incarceration and even execution of symbolic scapegoats, including political prisoners, anarchists such as Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, and radicals like the Wobblies, Tom Mooney and Warren Billings. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the prevalence of racism and nativism, perpetrated by vigilante groups, as part of anticommunism's program of political terror. The movement's objective was clear: to intimidate and prevent people from supporting certain ideas and organizations by destroying the lives of a select few.
Anthony Richards
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198746966
- eISBN:
- 9780191809255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746966.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
The chapter begins by drawing a distinction between terrorism and political terror (including state terror). It goes on to argue that, although an agreed definition has remained elusive within ...
More
The chapter begins by drawing a distinction between terrorism and political terror (including state terror). It goes on to argue that, although an agreed definition has remained elusive within academia, a consensus does appear to have developed in the academic literature of the past four decades as to what the core essence of terrorism is—that it entails the intent to generate a wider psychological impact beyond the immediate victims. The chapter outlines understandings of the meaning and purpose of terrorism from an academic perspective. It argues that the phenomenon can be understood as a form of violent communication that may be employed to serve a number of objectives (aside from the broader political goal). The dissemination potential of the ‘terrorist message’ to its intended target audience(s) rests on the essence of the phenomenon—which is to generate a wider psychological impact to ensure that this message is heard.Less
The chapter begins by drawing a distinction between terrorism and political terror (including state terror). It goes on to argue that, although an agreed definition has remained elusive within academia, a consensus does appear to have developed in the academic literature of the past four decades as to what the core essence of terrorism is—that it entails the intent to generate a wider psychological impact beyond the immediate victims. The chapter outlines understandings of the meaning and purpose of terrorism from an academic perspective. It argues that the phenomenon can be understood as a form of violent communication that may be employed to serve a number of objectives (aside from the broader political goal). The dissemination potential of the ‘terrorist message’ to its intended target audience(s) rests on the essence of the phenomenon—which is to generate a wider psychological impact to ensure that this message is heard.
Mushirul Hasan
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195695311
- eISBN:
- 9780199081509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195695311.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter discusses the strains and stresses resulting from the images of Muslim communities, partition, and a series of shattering events such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December ...
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This chapter discusses the strains and stresses resulting from the images of Muslim communities, partition, and a series of shattering events such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 and the Gujarat catastrophe in February-March 2002. In recent years, the media has discovered and interpreted Islam as posing a counter alternative to the West. It is, consequently, obsessed with theories on the clash of civilizations, the imperative of jihad for contemporary Muslims, and the theoretical roots of “Islamist political terror”. This is lamentable enough; but the more worrisome development is that some sober historians are equally influenced by the global image of Islam based on observation rather than systematic empirical evidence.Less
This chapter discusses the strains and stresses resulting from the images of Muslim communities, partition, and a series of shattering events such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992 and the Gujarat catastrophe in February-March 2002. In recent years, the media has discovered and interpreted Islam as posing a counter alternative to the West. It is, consequently, obsessed with theories on the clash of civilizations, the imperative of jihad for contemporary Muslims, and the theoretical roots of “Islamist political terror”. This is lamentable enough; but the more worrisome development is that some sober historians are equally influenced by the global image of Islam based on observation rather than systematic empirical evidence.
