A History of Terrorism by Laqueur Walter; Laqueur Walter;

Author:Laqueur, Walter; Laqueur, Walter;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2001-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

II

Fiction holds more promise for the understanding of the terrorist phenomenon than political science, but some words of caution are nevertheless called for. Terrorism has figured prominently in works of modern literature, but the novels, plays, poems and films are of unequal value in providing historical evidence and psychological explanation.*

The main difficulty, however, is that of approach and method. For the student of terrorism, fiction is a quarry in which rich finds can be made; it is no place for leisurely strolls. Above all, it is a most awk ward subject for generalizations. It is easy to point to certain com mon patterns in the study of terrorism as practiced by political scien tists, for there are only a very few basic schools of thought with only minor variations within each trend. The conclusions may not be true but they are certainly stated in an orderly unequivocal fashion as befitting a scientific discipline. With the transition from the sciences to the arts we move from the level of certainties to the realm of impression. To provide a coherent framework of orderly and lucid argument, to single out common patterns becomes well nigh impos sible. It can be done but only by singling out certain themes in certain books (or plays or movies) at the expense of others. Literature as a source for the study of terrorism is still virtually terra incognita; a survey of a hitherto uncharted field may be more profitable at this stage than the attempt to impose a single clear pattern on the stories of individual heroes and villains.

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