Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory and Practice

In this module, you can find all the information you need in order to be able to successfully complete the course. After you have familiarised yourself with the course, we move to the content of week 1. You will learn about the definition of terrorism. What exactly is terrorism? Who and where are its victims? After completing this module, you will understand why it is so difficult to arrive at a generally accepted definition of this term.

In this module, you will learn more about terrorism and counterterrorism studies. It is a relatively new field of study that owes much to research in related disciplines. You will get an overview of where the key centres and scholars are located. Also, you will understand the three main approaches that are used in this academic field and recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

The subject of terrorism often falls prey to unfounded assumptions. Media, politicians, but also scholars frequently make far-reaching claims about this topic, such as the notion that terrorism is caused by poverty. In this module, we will critically investigate some of these assumptions to see if they are indeed true, partly true, false or perhaps even a myth (a widely held belief that is nevertheless still false).

In this module, we will continue the work of module 3 and look into five assumptions on counterterrorism. It is highly relevant to keep investigating assumptions that underlie CT-policy, both from an effectiveness perspective (is it really countering terrorism?) but also because these policies often have a large impact on societies and might also have unintended consequences.