Terrorism scholars: book essay

Martha Crenshaw and her recent co-author Gary LaFree were both involved in the creation of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), and they bring with them different disciplinary perspectives. Crenshaw is a Political Scientist, while LaFree’s background is in Criminology, and their 2017 volume Countering Terrorism benefits from that dual analytical inheritance. Their aim in regard to counter-terrorist responses is to encourage “sensible and moderate policy decisions based on a realistic appraisal of the threat” (viii). In particular, their insightful book aims ‘to explain the characteristics of terrorism that make it inherently difficult for governments, especially the US government, to formulate effective counter-terrorism policies’ (1). They argue – rightly, in my view – that the complexity of analysis regarding terrorist definition, classification, explanation and response makes sound policy more problematic to achieve; and they suggest that terrorist attacks’ atypicality represents one of the main issues to be faced.