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Sociological Theories
Austin (Ted) Turk argued that a sociology of terror should seek “to
develop an explanation of its causation, the dynamics of its escalation
and de-escalation in relation to other forms of political violence, and its
impact on the stability and change of social orders” (2004:285).
Some important issues for sociological theories of terror: Organizing terror – effective forms: hierarchy vs. network Socializing terrorists – career development paths Terrorism as communication – mass media impacts covering terror; pro & con censorship arguments Social control of terrorists – law, crime & punishment
We’ll examine networks and other forms of terrorist organization next time.
Theories about the socialization of terrorists usually depict a process of career development: progressive awareness, indoctrination, & training that takes a recruit from conventional SMO activism, to foot soldier in boot camp, to squad-leader, and ultimately to board of directors. Few make it to the top.
Mass Media and Terrorism
Mass media and terrorists have a symbiotic (mutual-benefit) relation. The 24/7 news cycle feeds off visual content. Terrorists need media coverage to frighten their intended audiences & propagandize their causes. Mainstream media concentrate on event facts, but seldom communicate their grievances and demands. Some media (e.g., Fox News, Al Jazeera) offer particularly slanted news reportage and opinions on conflicts involving their homelands.
Does ignoring terror acts only make terrorists much more aggressive?
Can media over-exposure lead to public satiation, requiring yet greater
“spectaculars” to break through an audiences’ short attention-span?
Should the media facilitate or impede alternative viewpoints?
Censor events or offer public platforms to terrorists & their sympathizers?
Theories of mass comm & Internet examine how messages and images affect society. Media policies about coverage and access by terrorists to audiences may affect success or failure of some terrorist campaigns.
Pure Sociology
Donald Black took a sociology of law approach, applying his theory of
“pure sociology” to predict and explain human behavior by its social
geometry – multidimensional location and direction in social space.
It uses neither psychological subjectivity nor actor goals and purposes.
It doesn’t explain human behavior, but “the behavior of social life.”
Pure sociology “reverses the direction of
human action by reconceptualizing the action
of a person or group as the action of a social
entity such as law or science or art. Social
action becomes truly social.” (Black 2000:347)
Black, Donald. 2000. “Dreams of Pure Sociology.” Sociological Theory 18:343-367.
Legal sociology explains the behavior of law itself, not of people in law:
A call to the police is an increase in law, a movement of law into a conflict
Arrests, prosecutions, convictions & punishments are all increases of law
Law behaves with the same principles everywhere throughout history
Where does more law occur: At the top or bottom of societies? In an upward or downward direction? Across close or distant social and cultural spaces?
Social Geometry of Social Distances
Controlling for access, is someone more likely to insult, slap, beat, maim, torture, or murder: A blood-relative? step-child? household member? neighbor? tribal member? countryman? stranger? foreigner? For which close/distant relations will laws and punishments likely be applied more severely?
Social geometry is measured as distances in multi-dimensional social space: Horizontal: Degree of intimacy and integration: kin, friends, strangers Vertical: Socioeconomic & authority inequalities: class, status, power Corporate: Social distances between groups & organizations Cultural: Social distances between languages, religions, “We” vs. “Others” Normative: Social control of crime and punishment
Black’s pure sociology of law applies to violence. Two propositions:
Conflicts with more distant adversaries attract more violence.
Distant conflicts also attract greater law and punishment.
Technology Shrinks Physical Geometry
The right social geometry is insufficient for terrorism. Also necessary
are physical opportunities, which 20th^ century technologies provided.
Terrorism arises only when a grievance has a social geometry distant
enough and a physical geometry close enough for mass violence
against civilians
Technology makes terrorism easier & deadlier in short run, but in the
long term destroys the social geometry on which terrorism depends
“No contact, no terrorism.” 19th^ c. terrorism mainly targeted colonial masters. 20th^ c. transportation & other inventions allow aggrieved groups to shrink geographic distances. Airports, high-rise buildings, sports arenas, and malls aggregate easy targets.
Is Black too optimistic that globalization – by bringing people into greater intimacy – will ultimately destroy the social geometric conditions for terror?
Can social geometry explain why counterterrorism “combines criminal justice with quasi-warfare” in prevention, pre-emption, retaliation against attackers?
