The discourses of terrorism

Complex, socio-political constructs such as terrorism can be difficult to define objectively. Gatekeepers of the international community, consistent with their individual agendas, frame what the media and public understand by such terms, using illusive and metaphorical representations of a diverse range of socio-political situations. Based on a critical analysis of a corpus of political and media discourses, the paper proposes to account for such discursive practices and interpretations in public domains, of which the discourses of terrorism are a prime example. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.