Terrorism as «a political world». Identity, strategy, values: notes for a cultural analysis of terrorism

The aim of the chapter is to outline a framework for a cultural analysis of terrorism. It is based on an analogy between the logic that characterizes terrorism and the logic that characterizes the “worlds” of artistic and cultural production. This chapter critically examines some explanations of the logic of terrorism which respectively assign a central role to individual psychology, the rational choice of the group and values. It is therefore based on secondary sources. The chapter argues that the logic of terrorism can be fully understood only as a result of the “cultural” construction of collective and individual identities. The chapter provides a framework for a cultural analysis of terrorism. The chapter borrows the concept of a “political world” and makes of it a central tool to explain the set of symbolic products that characterizes terrorism.