Contemporary Reflections on Critical Terrorism Studies

Alice Martini is Lecturer in International Relations at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. She has been a board member of the EISA Early Career Development Group and the BISA Critical Studies on Terrorism Working Group. She is the author of various publications including The UN and Counter-terrorism: Global Hegemonies, Power, and Identities (2021). Raquel da Silva is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the School of Economics, University of Coimbra and Integrated Researcher at CEI-Iscte. She is the author of Narratives of Political Violence: Life Stories of Former Militants (2019). Her research has been funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, the British Academy and the European Union, among others.

'One of the central questions that emerges for a "critical" field is whether it can survive its initial phase of critique. In this case, can CTS remain relevant more than twenty years after 9/11? This brilliant edited volume shows us that CTS continues to offer salient and necessary critique but crucially also original conceptualisations and methodologies that can help us read the terrorism and broader security frameworks governing us today and in the future. It gathers a broad range of scholars to address key questions such as: Can revolutionary non-violence be the basis for future responses to terrorism? How can we indigenise CTS for it to push past its current Eurocentric dispositions in research and teaching? What has CTS been silent about? Crucially, how can knowledge be explored and transmitted differently? This volume offers essential reading for all those students and scholars - those self-identifying as critical and their skeptics - researching how terrorism and security continue to mark our political landscapes.'Harmonie Toros, University of Kent, UK'This is a significant and pertinent edited collection that is at the cutting edge of critical analysis in relation to concerns about terrorism, radicalisation, and counter-extremism in the contemporary era, making it a refreshing and comprehensive contribution to local and global perspectives on critical terrorism studies. This is a welcome addition to the current body of knowledge in this field.'Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands;Bringing together established and emerging voices in Critical Terrorism Studies, this book shines a much-needed light on new pathways to understanding the field itself and the possibilities of analysis that it offers. Impressive in both breadth and depth, each chapter encourages us to continue to push theoretical and methodological boundaries, addressing under-explored topics and imagining new ways to revitalise research programmes. As both a serious reflection on the field’s gaps and a call to action to realise its potential, Contemporary Reflections on Critical Terrorism Studies is a remarkable achievement.'Leonie B Jackson, Northumbria University, UK

• Introduction: CTS 20 Years After 9/11. Where We Have Been, Where Are We Going SECTION 1: Pathbreaking Dialogues in CTS 1. Violence, Power and the Revolutionary Potential of Nonviolent Counterterrorism 2. European Urban (Counter-)Terrorism’s Spacetimematterings: More-Than-Human Materialisations in Situationscaping Times 3. CTS and Indigeneity: Can CTS Approaches be Indigenous? 4. Terrorism and the Middle East? A Decolonial Teaching Project to Soften a Stubborn Association 5. Reengaging Critical Terrorism Studies with the Production of Terrorism Expertise: Exploring the role of Twitter SECTION 2: CTS at Emerging Crossroads and Intersections 6. Counting the Dead: CTS and The Politics of Dead Bodies 7. Reflections on Anarchist Futures of/for CTS 8. Can CTS listen? Silences in Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism 9. Critical Terrorism Studies and Temporality: It’s About Time! SECTION 3: Performing CTS 10. The Stupidity of Racism in Legislation and in Objects is the Material to Create Art 11. Understanding Violence Through Story and Stitch: Narrative and Creative Methods for CTS 12. CTS and Postcolonial Hauntings: Performing Violent Pasts in São Tomé and Príncipe 13. CTS and Popular Culture: New Avenues to Understand Terrorism