The Dictionary of Human Geography

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and the locations of terrorist attacks

(Enders and Sandler, 2006; Simons and

Tucker, 2007; Watts, 2007); reconstruc-

tions of the fluid and fracturednetworks

through which regional and trans-

national terrorist groups are organized

(Ettlinger and Bosco, 2004; Hastings,

2008), including investigations of the re-

mittance networks that have been used

to scapegoat potential sources of terrorist

finance (de Goede, 2003, 2007; Amoore

and de Goede, 2008); and examinations

of the effects of counter-terrorist strat-

egies on the representation, built form

and everyday life of cities (Coaffee,

2004; Graham, 2006; Gray and Wyly,

2007; Katz, 2007). These contributions

are closely connected – material condi-

tions shape but do not determine terror-

ist networks, for example, while

transactions monitoring infiltrates mul-

tiple spheres of everyday life – and inter-

sect with more general critiques of the

‘war on terror’ and its extensions (e.g.

Gregory, 2004b).

The most recentHuman security brief(2007)

argues that the global incidence of terrorism

has dramatically declined since 2003. Other

reports and databases suggest the opposite,

but the authors of theBriefclaim that this is in

large measure a result of their inconsistent def-

inition of ‘terrorism’. While those other surveys

count as victims of terrorism large numbers

of civilians killed by non-state actors in Iraq’s

civil war, they exclude large numbers of civil-

ians killed by non-state actors in sub-Saharan

Africa’s civil wars (so-called ‘newwars’). They

trace this back to the US State Department,

which identifies ‘foreign terrorist organisa-

tions’ as those that threaten the security of US

citizens or the national security of the USA.

This dispute focuses attention on the contro-

versy identified in the first paragraph, and on

the vexed distinctions between (for example)

terrorism and insurgency. These are innately

contested terms precisely because they areper-

formative: naming political violence in these

and other ways has acutely real consequences

for recruitment and support, legitimation and

response. dg

Suggested reading

Coleman (2004); Flint (2003b); Gregory and

Pred (2007).

text The term ‘text’ is used inhuman geog-

raphyin both its literal sense and also in

a metaphorical sense, but the boundaries bet-

ween the two usages are far from clear-cut.

23 Tashkent, Uzbekistan – 30 July 04

24 Jakarta, Indonesia – 9 Sept 04

25 Taba, Egypt – 8 Oct 04

26 London, England – 7 July 05

27 Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt – 23 July 05

28 Kula, Indonesia – Oct 05

29 Amman, Jordan – 9 Nov 05

16 Casablanca, Morocco – 14 May 03

17 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 8 Nov 03

18 Istanbul, Turkey – 15 Nov 03

19 Istanbul, Turkey – 20 Nov 03

20 Madrid, Spain – 11 Mar 04

21 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 21 Apr 04

22 Khobar, Saudi Arabia – 29 May 04

9 Offshore of Aden, Yemen – 6 Oct 02

10 Kuta, Indonesia – 12 Oct 02

11 Zamboanga, Philippines – 17 Oct 02

12 Manila, Philippines – 18 Oct 02

13 Mombasa, Kenya – 28 Nov 02

14 Davao, Philippines – 14 Mar 02

15 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 12 May 02

1 Nairobi, Kenya – 7 Aug 58

2 Dar as Salaam, Tanzania – 7 Aug 58

3 Offshore of Aden, Yemen – 12 Oct 00

4 New York, NY – 11 Sept 01

5 Washington, DC – 11 Sept 01

6 Ciorba Island, Tunisia – 11 Aug 02

7 Karachi, Pakistan – 8 May 02

8 Karachi, Pakistan – 14 June 02

terrorism Major terrorist attacks attributed to al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations, 1998–2005

(after Hobbs and Salter, 2006)

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_T Final Proof page 749 31.3.2009 9:40pm Compositor Name: ARaju

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