The evolution of threat narratives in the age of terror: understanding terrorist threats in Britain |
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| Authors: | STUART CROFT CERWYN MOORE |
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| Institution: | 1. Professor of International Security at Warwick University, Director of the New Security Challenges programme (funded by the ESRC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), and Chair of the British International Studies Association.;2. Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham.;3. The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Economic and Social Research Council (RES–052–27–0001), the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council award (EP/F008635/2) in the preparation of this article. We would also like to thank the participants in the study group meeting held at Chatham House, the two anonymous reviewers for their comments, and the editorial team at International Affairs for their support. |
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| Abstract: | This article examines the evolution of threat narratives in the age of terror, focusing on the United Kingdom. The analysis is broken down into two sections. The first part of the article presents four distinct and yet overlapping notions of the threats which have influenced both the West, and more specifically the UK, in debates about counterterrorism since 9/11. The four threat narratives—Al‐Qaeda as a central organization; decentralized terror networks; home grown; and finally apocalyptic threats—have all been used to inform counter terror measures in the West. The second section of the article argues that terrorism has evolved strategically, and is hybridized owing to the security environment—interpenetrated by globalization, digital media and information communication technologies—in which it occurs. The article concludes with a preliminary discussion of some strategic and operational themes which have influenced the form and character of terrorism and insurgency, exploring how they impact on the ways in which threats are constituted and countered, illustrating that what is new maybe the nature of our own fears. |
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