TY - JOUR

T1 - Radical distinctions

T2 - a comparative study of two jihadist speeches

AU - Ramsay, Gilbert

AU - Marsden, Sarah

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Work on contemporary instances of “violent extremist” texts tends to see these primarily as more or less instrumental extensions of political (or political-religious) movements. As a result, there are few studies that devote close attention to individual examples of the texts themselves. In this article, we offer a detailed analysis of two jihadist speeches by the prominent ideologues Adam Gadahn and the late Anwar al-Awlaki. We argue that Al-Awlaki’s work ultimately succeeds where Gadahn’s seemingly fails because it is underpinned by a form of fundamentalism which, paradoxically, is inherently premised on the survival of possibilities for dialogue and polyglossia.

AB - Work on contemporary instances of “violent extremist” texts tends to see these primarily as more or less instrumental extensions of political (or political-religious) movements. As a result, there are few studies that devote close attention to individual examples of the texts themselves. In this article, we offer a detailed analysis of two jihadist speeches by the prominent ideologues Adam Gadahn and the late Anwar al-Awlaki. We argue that Al-Awlaki’s work ultimately succeeds where Gadahn’s seemingly fails because it is underpinned by a form of fundamentalism which, paradoxically, is inherently premised on the survival of possibilities for dialogue and polyglossia.

KW - Al-Awlaki,

KW - Gadahn

KW - violent extremism

KW - jihadism

KW - disctinction

KW - heteroglossia

KW - Bakhtin

KW - Bourdieau

KW - Schmitt

U2 - 10.1080/17539153.2013.847263

DO - 10.1080/17539153.2013.847263

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

SP - 392

EP - 409

JO - Critical Studies on Terrorism

JF - Critical Studies on Terrorism

SN - 1753-9153

IS - 3

ER -