Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields
Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the dilemma of terrorism as a political phenomenon that many political scientists care about; however, they find themselves incapable of explaining some of its aspects and they resort to other disciplines. The second part of the dilemma is related to the incapabi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Review of Economics and Political Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REPS-07-2019-0100/full/pdf?title=who-is-a-terrorist-exploring-the-utility-of-interdisciplinary-fields |
| _version_ | 1817985683487195136 |
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| author | Heba Mohamed Zahra |
| author_facet | Heba Mohamed Zahra |
| author_sort | Heba Mohamed Zahra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the dilemma of terrorism as a political phenomenon that many political scientists care about; however, they find themselves incapable of explaining some of its aspects and they resort to other disciplines. The second part of the dilemma is related to the incapability of well-established disciplines to provide political scientists with much help. This raises the following question: Will political scientists be able to enhance their knowledge of terrorism with the help of scholars from consolidated and well-established disciplines or with the help of scholars from interdisciplinary fields? Design/methodology/approach – This research depends on the main theories of psychology and of social psychology and adopts a comparative approach to assess the effectiveness of both disciplines in providing political scientists with the knowledge they lack. Findings – In spite of being a well-established and consolidated discipline, psychology is not the perfect discipline that can help political scientists know who a terrorist is. Social psychological theories of aggression provide political scientists with greater ability to understand what psychological and sociological factors motivate a person to turn to aggression and terrorism. Moreover, social psychology developed the “terror management theory” which clarifies various aspects of the phenomenon. Originality/value – This research paper calls the attention of scholars of terrorism to the importance of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to understand the various aspects of a complex phenomenon such as terrorism. The interdisciplinary field adopted will differ according to the research question that a researcher needs to answer. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:00:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-618d64280ab6486684bccddc0fbceec6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2631-3561 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:00:13Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Review of Economics and Political Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-618d64280ab6486684bccddc0fbceec62022-12-22T02:23:43ZengEmerald PublishingReview of Economics and Political Science2631-35612020-03-015214916110.1108/REPS-07-2019-0100636568Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fieldsHeba Mohamed Zahra0The Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Giza, EgyptPurpose – This paper aims to discuss the dilemma of terrorism as a political phenomenon that many political scientists care about; however, they find themselves incapable of explaining some of its aspects and they resort to other disciplines. The second part of the dilemma is related to the incapability of well-established disciplines to provide political scientists with much help. This raises the following question: Will political scientists be able to enhance their knowledge of terrorism with the help of scholars from consolidated and well-established disciplines or with the help of scholars from interdisciplinary fields? Design/methodology/approach – This research depends on the main theories of psychology and of social psychology and adopts a comparative approach to assess the effectiveness of both disciplines in providing political scientists with the knowledge they lack. Findings – In spite of being a well-established and consolidated discipline, psychology is not the perfect discipline that can help political scientists know who a terrorist is. Social psychological theories of aggression provide political scientists with greater ability to understand what psychological and sociological factors motivate a person to turn to aggression and terrorism. Moreover, social psychology developed the “terror management theory” which clarifies various aspects of the phenomenon. Originality/value – This research paper calls the attention of scholars of terrorism to the importance of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to understand the various aspects of a complex phenomenon such as terrorism. The interdisciplinary field adopted will differ according to the research question that a researcher needs to answer.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REPS-07-2019-0100/full/pdf?title=who-is-a-terrorist-exploring-the-utility-of-interdisciplinary-fieldsterrorismpsychologyaggressioninterdisciplinarysocial psychologysocial identity |
| spellingShingle | Heba Mohamed Zahra Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields Review of Economics and Political Science terrorism psychology aggression interdisciplinary social psychology social identity |
| title | Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| title_full | Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| title_fullStr | Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| title_short | Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| title_sort | who is a terrorist exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields |
| topic | terrorism psychology aggression interdisciplinary social psychology social identity |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REPS-07-2019-0100/full/pdf?title=who-is-a-terrorist-exploring-the-utility-of-interdisciplinary-fields |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hebamohamedzahra whoisaterroristexploringtheutilityofinterdisciplinaryfields |