What is the terrorism industry and how has it shaped our view of and response to terrorism?

Order Description

Essay Topic
What is the terrorism industry and how has it shaped our view of and response to terrorism?

Writing Style
Introduction

Background (global perspectives)

History

Body
Structured argument

Research Analysis

Final Part

Conclusion

References

RESEARCHING THE ESSAY
use a range of reliable and respectable sources (any sign of Wikipedia will immediately result in a haemorrhaging of points and possible failure). Include books, book chapters, journal articles, primary sources, official policy documents and news reports. Less than 10 sources is a sign of lack of research. skimping on research will shows throughout knowledge and argument.

STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE, STRUCTURE

You can write a wonderful essay, showing great depth of knowledge and research, but if you structure it badly you will simply a) destroy the flow and logic of the piece and b) greatly annoy the reader (in this case, your convenor, who is marking the essay). A good essay not only understands the question and has an argument (see above) but structures that work in a logical and coherent way. An essay should have three parts: introduction, main body of the essay, and conclusion. Lets befriend these for a moment:

THE INTRODUCTION

This e ssay needs a good introduction. Some students skip straight to the meat and bones of the essay dont do this! If you do, you end up simply clobbering your reader over the head with a bunch of information that has no context. So think of the introduction as the warm-up act. It tells the reader what the essay is about and whats in store. It is a brief roadmap of where you are going and what you will argue.
Your introduction should be no longer than two paragraphs and should set out the context of the question.
Observe the book chapters and journal articles you read. Note how they tell the reader from the start what the argument is, how the case will be built, and what the focus is. Dont write a shopping list of what you will do. Give the introduction a narrative it tells a story.
It is often helpful to write the introduction last, when you know what you have argued and how you have built up your case.

THE MAIN BODY OF THE ESSAY
Here is where you start getting into the detail of what you promise in the introduction. First, you should ensure that you define any key terms. For instance, dont assume the reader knows what you mean when you refer to ontology, epistemology, sovereignty, securitization, state of exception or failed state. Explain these concepts or general ideas.
In order to avoid covering too many points and running out of space to adequately analyse and discuss, you should concentrate on a limited range of points in relation to the question. So you need to decide what the most fundamental issues are for the topic and question. You need to bear in mind you must spend some time explaining an approach or theory so make sure you are comprehensive on this and dont leave out very important and obvious elements.
Remember too that examples you draw upon and case studies you use may illustrate your point and provide evidence for your argument. But case studies in particular can also work the other way because they are open to a range of interpretations. For instance, consider Australias support for the US in its war on terror and engagement in Iraq. From a liberal point of view, Australia is helping spread democracy. From a critical theory point of view, its an entirely different interpretation.
A good way to show depth of research is to recognise the contribution of different schools of thought and writers. Know who the key scholars are in the theory or approach you use. Know where they disagree with each other. Acknowledge the critiques of your approach. And be a savvy researcher dont immediately accept the arguments and positions presented to you.
At the end of each section, make sure you return to the question. This is a good way to ensure you are not going off track and you are building up your argument.
Avoid rants. Rants are fine at the pub, not in an essay.
Can you substantiate your claims and arguments? Is there evidence?
Remember that there is always a counter-argument to contend with and address. So if you are happily cruising along building up your case as to why the war on terror is gendered, you should think about the arguments that would refute that claim. How strong are they? Do they show weaknesses to a gendered perspective on the war on terror? How? Does this weaken your argument? What you need to do here is assess the criticisms, and, based on your research and argumentation, tell the reader how those critiques fit into your argument. It is ok to acknowledge that some criticisms may be valid and spot on an essay should not always be one argument for/against by any means. Just know your pitfalls and have a response ready.
CONCLUSION

You conclusion should sum up what the essay has covered and what you have argued.
It is not the place for any new information or points.
It is ok to pose further questions in your conclusion that are of relevance to the essay topic.

REFERENCING AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Unless you REALLY want to lose marks in your essay, make sure you reference correctly and include a complete bibliography.
By now, as second year students, you should know how to use the Harvard system. This also means including page numbers when you are citing material. Dont leave out page numbers. Did I mention page numbers? No? Well, include them.
Use your quotes carefully. Dont spend time filling up an essay with a load of useless quotes. A common example of this is when students quote really basic things, such as well-known events. If you can paraphrase or put it in your own words (whilst still referencing), do so. Save your quotes for lovely passages of speeches. And dont put in chunks of quotes. If you are unsure about quotes and how you want to use them, let me know.
Any figures or statistics used must be referenced.
Your bibliography should list the sources you have actually used/cited (and not every single source you consulted but then didnt use) for the essay. Dont list sources in your bibliography that I dont see appearing in citations in the essay.
A final note on readings: the reading list is extensive for a reason. It is to give you a wide range of sources on a topic or approach AND it covers the most important works in the field. It is a start and is by no means exhaustive, but it does contain the most relevant and up to date sources in the discipline of international relations and security studies. For that reason, dont use texts from other units unless you discuss them first with your tutor. Often these texts wont be useful or engage with the core questions and academic debates well be covering in this unit.
A QUICK WORD ON PLAGIARISING
Heres the word dont.
All instances of plagiarism and academic bad practice will be investigated and reported. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. Do not waste your time it is not a quick solution and will involve meetings with university committees, delays in results, and you will not have a chance to resubmit work for the unit in question, making it a wasted semester.
Help is available for all students who find any aspect of university study difficult, so please see me, LAS or John Schwartz, if you are struggling. Essay writing is a skill and yes, it is hard at times. But plagiarism is cheating, devalues your degree, and is not worth the hassle. Say it in your own words, using your own research. Youll find that you actually know more than you think and do the assignment quicker.
References

Helen Dexter (2012) \’Terrorism and Violence: another violence is possible?\’, Critical Studies on Terrorism 5(1): 119 135.

Aksan, C, & Bailes, J (2013) Weapon of the Strong: Conversations on US State Terrorism, Pluto Press, London.

B. Hoffman (2006) Inside Terrorism New York: Columbia University Press. Chapters 1 (Defining terrorism) and 2 (The end of empire and the origins of contemporary terrorism)

R. Jackson, M. Breen Smyth, J. Gunning, L. Jarvis (2011)
Terrorism: A Critical Introduction.Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapters 1- 2 (Critical Approaches to Terrorism Studies) and 4 (Bringing Gender into the Study of Terrorism).

M. Ranstorp (2007) Introduction: Mapping terrorism research challenges and priorities, in M. Ranstorp (ed)
Mapping Terrorism Research. State of the art, gaps and future direction. London: Routledge

Mervyn F. Bendle (2008) Hijacking Terrorism Studies,
Quadrant September
https://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2008/9/hijacking-terrorism-studies

N. Chomsky (2002) Who are the global terrorists? in Ken Booth and Tim Dunne (eds) Worlds in Collision. Terror and the Future of Global Order Basingstoke: Palgrave. Also, available at:
https://www.chomsky.info/articles/200205–02.htm

James Lutz and Brenda Lutz (2013) Global Terrorism
3rd Edition London: Routledge. Chapter 3 (Strategy, tactics weapons and targets).

Fred Halliday (2001) Two hours that shook the world: September11, 2011: causes and consequences London: Saqi Books
Lorenzo Vidino, Raffaello Pantuccib & Evan Kohlmannc (2010) Bringing Global Jihad to the Horn of Africa: al Shabaab, Western Fighters, and the Sacralization of the Somali Conflict, African Security 3(4): 216-238.

S.E. Davies (2008) International law and the state of exception, in
A. J. Bellamy, R. Bleiker, S. E. Davies and R. Devetak (eds)
Security and the War on Terror Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 71-92.

George W. Bush (2003) We Will Prevail: President George W. Bush on War, Terrorism and Freedom New York: The Continuum Publishing Group.

Russell Howard and Bruce Hoffman (eds) (2011) Terrorism and
Counterterrorism: Understanding the New Security Environment, Readings and Interpretations 4th edition, London: McGraw Hill Education. Chapter 3.1. Russell D. Howard and Margaret J.Nencheck The New Terrorism; and Chapter 3.2. Martha Crenshaw, The Debate over `New\’ vs. `Old\’ Terrorism

Ronald D. Crelinsten (2007) Counterterrorism as Global Governance: A Research Inventory, in M. Ranstorp (ed)
Mapping Terrorism Research. State of the art, gaps and future direction. London: Routledge.

G. Mythen and S Walklate (2008) Terrorism, risk and international security: The perils of asking\’what if?\’, Security Dialogue
39(2-3): 221-242.

Commonwealth of Australia (2015) Australia\’s
Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Strengthening our resilience.
https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and publications/Publications/Documents/Australias-Counter-Terrorism-Strategy-2015.p

Russell Howard and Bruce Hoffman (eds) (2011) Terrorism and
Counterterrorism: Understanding the New Security Environment, Readings and Interpretations 4thedition, London: McGraw Hill Education. Chapter 6.3. Rob de Wijk, The Limits of Military Power: Why the West Cannot Deal with Insurgencies;Chapter 8.4. R. D. Howard Preemptive military doctrine: no other choice.

Martin Navias (2007) Global Terror and International Finance in the
Aftermath of 9/11, in C. Ankersten (ed)(2007) Understanding Global Terror Cambridge: Polity.

Monika Heupel (2007) Adapting to Transnational Terrorism: The UN Security Council\’s Evolving Approach to Terrorism, Security Dialogue, 38(4): 477-499.

Jude McCulloch (2002) Counter-terrorism and (in)security: fallout from the Bali bombing, Borderlands E-Journal 1(1). Available
online:
https://www.borderlands.net.au/vol1no1_2002/mcculloch_counter.htm

B. Hoffman (2006) Inside Terrorism New York: Columbia University Press. Chapters 6 (The old media, terrorism and public opinion) and 7 (The new media, terrorism, and the shaping of global opinion).

Daniel Bennett (2013) Digital Media and Reporting
Conflict. Blogging and the BBCs Coverage of War and Terrorism. London: Routledge.

G. Martin (2013) Understanding Terrorism 4th Edition London: Sage. Chapter 11 (The Information Battleground).

Fred Halliday (2011) Shocked and awed: how the war on terror and jihad have changed the English language. London: I. B. Tauris
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