The State of Terror

by Annamarie Oliverio

Overview

A comparative analysis of one of the most devastating social problems of the contemporary world. Focuses not only on acts of terrorism by terrorists, but with their portrayal and manipulation by others, particularly the media, for social and political purposes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791437087
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/13/1998
Series:	SUNY series in Deviance and Social Control
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	189
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Annamarie Oliverio is Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University West.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part I. Introduction

1. Prologue

2. Writing the Script: Language, Hegemony, and Historical Interpretation

3. Setting the Stage: Foundations of Meaning for Terrorism

Part II. The Telling of Stories on Different Stages

4. (Re)Constructing the Event: The Achille Lauro Plot

5. (Re)Constructing the Event: The Hijacking of TWA 847

6. Props, Sets, Stunts: The Global Transmission of Reality

Part III. Conclusion: Themes, Messages, Reflections

7. Terrorism: The Art of Statecraft

8. Epilogue

Afterword
by Pat Lauderdale

Notes

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Annamarie Oliverio asks us to question many of our basic ideas about terrorism, the identity of terrorists, and the ways we have come to recognize terrorist activity. Oliverio offers a richly textured analysis of two events—the commandeering of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 and the taking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro a few months later. The author uses the double vision of one who stands in two cultures to analyze media descriptions of the events and their aftermath. Her analyses force us to rethink our understandings of what is 'known,' accepted, and familiar.

"Oliverio's work asks us to consider much more than the social and cultural contexts within which meanings are constructed. She asks us to consider the relationships among the construction of meaning, modern, i.e., national, legal systems, and state hegemony. This is a finely crafted political analysis of deviance rather than an exercise in textual analysis. Oliverio addresses an important and provocative issue and does so in a literate and highly readable style." — Henry A. Walker, Cornell University

"The most important aspect of this book is the bold and innovative way it examines what has become known to most of us as 'terrorism.' The theatrical metaphor, combined with a very thorough, credible, and persuasive cross-cultural perspective, give this book an unprecedented analytical depth, insight, and power. These are exactly the reasons why this analysis is so refreshingly important." — Nachman Ben-Yehuda, Hebrew University

From the Publisher

Oliverio (social and behavioral sciences, Arizona State U. West) maintains that the US is a site of discursive struggle about terrorism, just as Italy was in the 1970s. She examines the affair and the TWA 847 hijacking, which, she maintains, occurred at the same moment in time, but at different moments of social construction. She concludes that mainstream knowledge about terrorism has become complacent and stagnant, and ignores the fact that political discourse shapes perceptions of reality. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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