Why Do We Know So Little About Terrorism?

Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca

International Interactions, 2014, vol. 40, issue 4, 590-601

Abstract: We have less substantive knowledge about terrorism than about civil war, interstate war, genocide, or ethnic violence. I argue that this is due to the ambiguity of the concept of “terrorism.” This ambiguity hinders empirical research, making the selection of cases for empirical research a contentious issue. Today, most scholars avoid the issue by relying on the existing datasets, without questioning the coding rules. But a close look at these rules reveals that they do not escape from the intrinsic ambiguity of the concept. I argue for a better integration between thick description and statistical analysis of terrorism as a way of overcoming the disagreements on the nature of terrorist violence.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1080/03050629.2014.899224

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