Discourse on modern terrorism

Abstract

In this paper author discusses the characteristics of discourse on modern terrorism. When it comes to the terrorism ordinary people gain knowledge mostly through media. The influence of specific image of terrorism is not limited to citizens who live in countries which faced with a terrorist threat or concrete attack but goes further to the different part of the world, some of them very far from the possibility of terrorist attack. Demystification of discourse on modern terrorism begins with analysis of the phenomenological dimension of modern terrorism, in terms of being defined and assigned. We can talk about two different approaches: older and newer, in understanding the terrorism. The new approach gains momentum with the events of 11 September and took shape after similar events on European continent. At the core of understanding of modern terrorism is the discourse on religious-based Islamic terrorism. Specific discourse on modern terrorism affects how it is understood by the general public, and it influences, in particular, the creation of stereotypes about a modern terrorists and the spread of fear of terrorism. The formation and maintenance of stereotypes about modern terrorism, which emphasizes the role of Islam and members of the Islamic community in planning and carrying out terrorist actions, creates a growing gap among people, especially in countries affected by terrorist attacks. The discourse on modern terrorism also implies an appropriate perception of the risk of terrorism all over the world. From that point of view risk of terrorism is real and constant. Similar situation is in Serbia and in that sense the results of limited research about perception of terrorism in Serbia presented in work show to a certain extant the existence of such global influence.