A Foucaultian Analysis of the Discursive
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ON EVILDOERS: A FOUCAULTIAN ANALYSIS OF THE DISCURSIVE STRUCTURING OF CONTEMPORARY TERRORISM THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, SCHOOL OF LAW AND GOVERNMENT, DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY AZRA NASEEM, B.A, M.A RESEARCH SUPERVISORS, DR JOHN DOYLE AND DR MAURA CONWAY JANUARY 2012 I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work, that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright, and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: ____________ Azra Naseem ID No.: 52148327 27 January 2012 I was saying before that I wanted, in any case, to very vaguely trace possible tracks other than those which seemed to have been up till now most willingly cleared. – Michel Foucault Dedicated to Marty Barr Without you the end would not have come, nor would new beginnings. Acknowledgements A network of mentors and friends created the conditions in which I could say what I said the way I said it in these pages. My supervisors Dr John Doyle and Dr Maura Conway not only provided me with excellent academic guidance, but were also infinitely patient and encouraging. Since we met when I was a fresh graduate student, Dr John Doyle has been an inspiration to me both as an academic and as a person. His support has been unwavering throughout. Dr Maura Conway’s enthusiasm for Foucault, and for my own work, was as infectious as it was informative, and kept me motivated. Funding from the School of Law and Government of Dublin City University kept me afloat and allowed me to focus on the work at hand, for which I am deeply grateful. Diana O’Dwyer was my companion and kindred spirit throughout this project. Without her to share the travails and triumphs with, this would have been a much lonelier enterprise. My friends and family - Marty Barr, Asma Saeed, Maria Ganovska, Orlaith Delaney, Jean Crudden, Mariyam Naadha, Walt Kilory, Aznym Adam, Nihani Riza, Anthony McMahon, Tomàs Mac Ruairí, Doudy Nyeluke, Stephen McCabe, Eleanor Burnhill, Peter Sarsfield, Yaning Liu, Aishath Velezinee, Fathimath Shanyz, Emiy and Gerard Lane, Rosaleen and Colin Barr – all took turns picking me up when I was down, and cheered me on to the finish line even when their voices sometimes grew hoarse. I owe a great debt to my mother, Haseeba Moosa, who impressed upon me the importance of knowledge long before anyone else did; and to the memory of my father, Ali Naseem, for always being there. Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................2 Organisation and structure ...........................................................................................................................6 1. THE DISCOURSE OF TERRORISM............................................................................................ 14 TERRORISM: THE KNOWN KNOWNS ................................................................................................................. 15 The problem of the problem of definition.............................................................................................15 Psychologising Terrorism ............................................................................................................................20 Historicising Terrorism ................................................................................................................................24 On ‘old’ terrorism versus ‘new’ terrorism .............................................................................................26 FOUCAULT, DISCOURSE, AND TERRORISM ....................................................................................................... 32 TERRORISM: UNKNOWING THE KNOWNS ........................................................................................................ 35 TERRORISM: KNOWING THE UNKNOWNS ........................................................................................................ 39 THE CONCEPT OF THE EVILDOER...................................................................................................................... 41 Summary............................................................................................................................................................. 46 2. TERRORISM: THE DETAILS ARE IN THE DEVIL.................................................................. 47 THE DEVIL WE KNOW ......................................................................................................................................... 52 THE DEVIL WE DON’T KNOW............................................................................................................................. 55 BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW?....................................................................................................................... 59 THE POWER OF TERROR ..................................................................................................................................... 63 THE SIN OF REBELLION....................................................................................................................................... 67 THE TERROR OF RELIGION ................................................................................................................................. 70 Summary.............................................................................................................................................................74 3. THE SECOND COMING: TERROR WITHOUT THE DEVIL .................................................. 75 REASON: NO DEVIL’S ADVOCATE ...................................................................................................................... 79 THE SECULAR REBEL: A BIT OF THE DEVIL IN HIM ........................................................................................ 81 The radical proletarian ................................................................................................................................81 The good, the bad, and the rebel...............................................................................................................86 The universal rebel .........................................................................................................................................90 Return of the Arab/Muslim barbarian ..................................................................................................95 THE POWER OF KNOWING ............................................................................................................................... 101 Summary..........................................................................................................................................................105 4. (RE)BORN IN THE USA: GEORGE BUSH & THE EVILDOER............................................107 THE REUNION OF EVIL AND TERROR ............................................................................................................. 113 Cleansing Iraq of evil ..................................................................................................................................116 THE UNION OF MAHOMET AND BIN LADEN ................................................................................................. 117 EVIL, EVIL EVERYWHERE................................................................................................................................. 121 GOODNESS, GRACIOUS...................................................................................................................................... 133 CRUSADING FOR GOOD .................................................................................................................................... 144 Let there be goodness in Afghanistan ................................................................................................. 147 COMMETH THE BARBARIAN............................................................................................................................ 150 Summary..........................................................................................................................................................156 5. WHERE THERE IS A WILL TO KNOWLEDGE......................................................................158 NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH .............................................................................................................................. 161 Judging literature: how serious is serious? .......................................................................................163 ONLY IN AMERICA ............................................................................................................................................ 166 ‘New’ Christian discourses on Islam.....................................................................................................169 Islam is what Islam was.............................................................................................................................173