CC209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: War On Terror, The Current War, Counter-Terrorism
Document Summary
The current war on terrorism is the most extensive counter-terrorism campaign in history and the most important conflict since the dissolution of the soviet union and the fall of the berlin wall. Construction of a military and political project of this scale (externally extending over the entire globe and internally reaching into almost every aspect of domestic life) could not be initiated or sustained without widespread public consent. War on terrorism is simultaneously a set of actual practices (wars, covert operations, agencies, and institutions) and a concomitant series of assumptions, beliefs, justifications, and narratives. Practice of counter-terrorism is predicted on and determined by the language of counter terrorism. Language of counter-terrorism incorporates a series of assumptions, beliefs, and knowledge about the nature of terrorism and terrorist. Practices of counter-terrorism is the material expression of the language of counter-terrorism. Language and practice are inextricably linked: they mutually reinforce one another and co-constitute social and political reality.