Theories Of Terrorism And Their Position In Social Sciences
Theories Of Terrorism And Their Position In Social Sciences

Summary/Abstract: Although the phenomenon of terrorism is not new, serious theoretical investigation of its occurrence, causes, and effects commenced only well into the second half of the twentieth century. When this problem of the lack of theoretical investigation was solved, another one appeared on the horizon – many researchers still had doubts about the scientific value of these theories, and their abilities to meet the demands of positivist science. In this article, three main questions are investigated. First, the position of terrorism studies in the field of social sciences. It is argued that, though terrorism studies can hardly be considered a separate discipline, some of the theories advanced here have a substantial scientific value. Thus, the debates over the political engagement of some of the experts on terrorism, or the question of the exact place of terrorism studies in the field of social science should in no way obscure the achievements of these works.

• Details
• Contents