Module: Contemporary Political Terrorism

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Contemporary Political Terrorism
Module Code	POL1032 (ITS: LG245)
Faculty	Law & Government	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	10

Description

The events of 9/11 spectacularly highlighted the destructive capacity of international terrorism, whilst also demonstrating its profound capacity to affect the international system. Though the phenomenon of ‘Islamist Terrorism’—as it is commonly denoted—subsequently came to dominate modern conceptions of terrorism, it is important to recall the history of terrorism and take note of the changing landscape around contemporary political violence. As such, this course examines some of the key dimensions of international terrorism, both historical and contemporary, and provides students with a broad range of perspectives from which to engage with the subject. The conceptual framework for this course is structured around a central dichotomy between ‘old’ and ‘new’. In this sense, students will be challenged as to whether it is possible to distinguish between socalled ‘old’ and ‘new’ terrorism, and with the advent of more ‘critical’ approaches to the study of terrorism, whether one can discern between ‘old terrorism studies’ and an emergent ‘new terrorism studies’. Accordingly, this course is placed at the cutting-edge of recent developments within the associated literature.

Learning Outcomes

1. Acknowledge the difficulties surrounding the definition of terrorism
2. Comprehend the historical antecedents of, types, and purported causes of modern terrorism
3. Debate current 'hot topics' within the relevant literature, particularly the alleged divisions between old versus new terrorism and 'traditional' versus 'critical' Terrorism Studies
4. Compare and contrast states counterterrorism strategies
5. Analyse the range of academic research that has been conducted in this area and the problems with same
6. Critically engage with descriptions and analyses of terrorism/sub-state political violence appearing in the mass media

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Weekly Lecture
Online activity	38	Weekly Online Forum Posts
Group work	85	Total written work of c.8,000-10,000 words
Group work	20	Group Presentation
Independent Study	83	Revision and Required Readings
Total Workload: 250

Section Breakdown
CRN	20918	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	James Fitzgerald	Module Teacher	Erika Biagini, Vidushi Kaushik

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Group project	Collaborative, Wikipedia-style group project	65%	Sem 2 End
Group presentation	Presentation from each group	10%	n/a
Completion of online activity	Weekly online discussion forums	25%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Hoffman, Bruce: 0, Inside Terrorism, Columbia University Press, New York,
Nacos, Brigette: 2017, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, 6th, Routledge, London,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None