Course description
This elective course for MA and fourth-year BA students at CEU provides an introduction to the academic study of terrorism. The focus is on the political aspects of domestic terrorism. Terrorists and terrorist groups are viewed as actors whose actions can be understood in the context of a country’s political system. A leading question is: Can political institutions tame the threat of terrorism? The course covers a variety of themes, including the causes of terrorism, the development of terrorism over time, regime type, counter-terrorism, and state terrorism. Moreover, the course covers some of the main contemporary debates in the field.
This term, the course will work intensively with Richard Jackson and Samuel Justin Sinclair’s (2018) Contemporary Debates on Terrorism, 2nd edition, London: Routledge. The special feature of this edited volume is that each chapter contains two contributions by different experts: one arguing in favor of a particular argument, the other against it. This is followed by discussion questions and further reading. The book thereby provides a thought-provoking introduction to terrorism studies.
There is the possibility of a final paper. Alternatively, all assignments for this course can be completed during the term.
- Instructor: Matthijs Bogaards