Terrorism and the Politics of Naming

Previously published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly, this volume assesses the nature, power, role and function of names in global politics and the international media. Names are not objective, they accrue subjective associations, for example 'Terrorist' has a very different connotation to 'Freedom-fighter'. The contributors seek the truth beneath the names assigned in an effort to remove the obscurity created by the power of 'the politics of naming' to the reality of the situation, taking examples from Al Qaeda, Russia's demonization of the Chechens and naming in the Israeli-Palestine conflict, among other important contemporary debates. Terrorism and the Politics of Naming makes a substantial contribution towards elucidating the power of naming in the discourse of conflict and will be of great interest to students and scholars of political philosophy, political theory, and politics and the media.

Michael Bhatia is at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford

Notes on Contributors. 1. Fighting Words: Naming Terrorists, Bandits, Rebels and Other Violent Actors 2. Imaging Terror: Logos, Pathos and Ethos 3. Al-Qaeda - Terrorists, Hypocrites, Fundamentalists? The View from Within 4. Savagery in Democracy's Empire 5. Bandits and Blanket Thieves, Communists and Terrorists: The Politics of Naming Sandinistas in Nicaragua, 1927-36 and 1979-90 6. Liberation Struggle or Terrorism? The Politics of Naming the Ltte 7. Terrorists, Bandits, Spooks and Thieves: Russian Demonisation of the Chechens Before and Ssince 9/11 8. Savage Wars? Codes of Violence in Algeria, 1830s-1990s 9. Israeli Snipers in the Al-Aqsa Intifada: Killing, Humanity and Lived Experience 10. Words as Interventions: Naming in the Palestine-Israel Conflict 11. Know thy Enemy: Hizbullah, 'Terrorism' and the Politics of Perception 12. Themes in Official Discourses on Terrorism in Central Asia