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Kailemia, MLW (2016) The Spectacle of Terrorism: Exploring the Impact of ‘Blind Acting Out’ and ‘Phatic Communication’. Journal of Terrorism Research, 7 (2). pp. 91-102.

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Abstract

The present paper proposes the parallels between ‘staged’ incidences of terrorism and ‘spectacular public disorder’ as a supplementary reading of terrorism. I claim that, while the spectacular in both is not par se- or even an exhaustive- account of how terrorism functions, there is an aspect of what the French philosopher Alain Badiou) has referred to as Passage a l’acte (‘blind acting out’)- coined apropos of the 2006 Paris riots- which should exercise our attention. The methodology of passage a l’acte is to draw maximum attention to an issue by letting the extended post-attack coverage ‘do the talking’. The article also shows how ‘phatic communication’, a term coined by Malinowski, is an important component of passage a l’acte

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Terrorism, Terror, Terrorist, Jihad, Islamism
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare > HV6431 Terrorism
Divisions: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Science and Public Policy
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 17 Jun 2016 09:55
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2019 13:14
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/1888

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