Terrorism

Catalog description

This seminar provides a general and cumulative investigation into the phenomenon of terrorism from a Political Science perspective. It is a study of terrorism with an attention to what it is 'theoretically, conceptually, empirically' and how and why it is used by nonstate actors; its political, economic, and social root causes; its consequences to political, economic, and social institutions and outcomes; and the implications of current research on terrorism and counterterrorism. Although the study of terrorism has a long pedigree in the social sciences, research by political scientists became more extensive following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. This course critically evaluates this new literature, noting its contributions, limitations, gaps, and opportunities for future discovery. Much of the contemporary scholarly literature on terrorism makes use of state-of-the-art political science research methods and quantitative analysis.