Why Understanding Terrorism as a Process is Indispensable?

Abstract

This contribution explores a less pondered puzzle in the study of political violence, specifically the imperviousness of terrorism to resolution. It particularly asks why terrorism reemerges in contexts where it is considered eradicated, or why armed groups keep fighting against the odds of winning. Or for that matter, why do many terrorist campaigns transform into broader insurgencies rather than non-violent political struggles? Put simply, why does terrorism persist despite sustained efforts against it? Among a range of other important causes, the central thesis of this article is that the flawed anatomy of counterterrorism endeavours saliently accounts for this anomaly. It argues that the countervailing efforts can become substantially more holistic, hence effective if the terroristic phenomenon is understood by the concerned as a historically, spatially, culturally and contextually grounded process rather than an isolated coming-from-nowhere pariah. The article draws on multidisciplinary literature to identify a set of empirical processes, critically explains their dynamics and concludes with reflections on the implications of this research.