Moral Panics by Design: The Case of Terrorism

• In Event: Lone Wolf Terrorism and Beyond

Abstract

This article assesses the relationship between terrorism and moral panics to expand understandings of the latter’s eruption and orchestration. Answering calls for deeper considerations of folk devils’ agentic properties, it interrogates how terrorist methods- the deployment of shocking and exceptional violence to incite fear and stimulate political change- challenge extant understandings of the moral panic framework. Specifically, it argues, in the case of terrorism, the exaggerated threats and disproportionate responses that define moral panics are not driven solely by moral entrepreneurs or social control agents, but are informed by the strategic practices and rationalities of folk devils themselves. Through its approach, this research: enhances social-scientific treatments of terrorism; broadens the scope of moral panic analysis; and extends understandings of how fear and anxiety are manipulated for political purposes.

Author

• James Walsh, University of Ontario Institute of Technology