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Sociological and criminological explanations of terrorism
Fisher, D. G., & Dugan, L. (2019). Sociological and criminological explanations of terrorism. In E. Chenoweth, & R. English (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism (pp. 162-176). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198732914.013.10
Theories are essential for scientific advances, allowing researchers to test assumptions and to dispel superstitions and prejudices. Early theories of terrorism however were often the byproduct of thought pieces, and have since been derided by esteemed scholars for dubiously mischaracterizing terrorism. In recent years both sociological and criminologi? cal theories have been advanced to motivate a host of research that has supplanted earli? er intuitive but inaccurate theories of terrorism. Testing these theories with the benefit of analytic advances and more comprehensive datasets has revealed numerous insights that have guided more effective counterterrorism strategies. This work has also provided com? pelling evidence that sociology and criminology have much to offer our understanding of terrorism. This chapter documents some of these major theoretical contributions for un? derstanding terrorists’ motives and for informing efforts to prevent terrorism, while high? lighting the existing strengths and gaps in this burgeoning research.