A CTS model of counterterrorism

ABSTRACT

To date, critical terrorism studies (CTS) has been very good at critiquing contemporary counterterrorism, but has not yet offered an alternative model which could be used for research and evaluation, as well as policy advice. This article seeks to address this gap by constructing a CTS model of counterterrorism. The first section of the article explicates the appropriation of “emancipation”, and why it is key for an alternative model of counterterrorism. The article then goes on to outline a CTS model and explain how it addresses all the main weaknesses of contemporary counterterrorism models, because it is based on a more robust ontology and epistemology which addresses terrorism as deep politics, it is normatively based on emancipation, it approaches terrorism and security holistically, and it is rooted in means/ends consistency. The final section of the article argues that the CTS model is not a theoretical utopia. A comparison with Norwegian counterterrorism shows that it can be useful for evaluating and advising real-world counterterrorism.

KEYWORDS:

• CTS
• counterterrorism
• emancipation
• Norway
• non-violence

Acknowledgements

The author is very grateful for the helpful and valuable feedback provided by Richard Jackson. I would also like to thank the anonymous referees for valuable comments that helped improve the quality of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sondre Lindahl

Sondre Lindahl is a PhD candidate at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand. He has published on aspects of critical terrorism studies, and is a regular contributor in the Norwegian media on issues of security and terrorism.