The Essentialist Terrorist

Ali Khan, Washburn University

Abstract

The essentialist terrorist is a violent monster that the Highly influential Terrorist Literature (HITLit) has successfully invented and made real and believable. Most HITLit authors, known as terrorism experts, are research associates with influential think tanks such as RAND and the American Enterprise Institute, and some teach at Harvard University. Some have worked for the National Security Council and the U.S. Defense Department. These authors include Bernard Lewis, Bruce Hoffman, Steven Simon, Jessica Stern, Daniel Benjamin, and Richard Perle. They appear on National Public Radio and major radio and television networks to comment on terrorist events and disseminate their views to the general public. The HITLit themes of the essentialist terrorist are further disseminated through the views of collaborating journalists such as Thomas Friedman, Charles Krauthammer, David Brooks, and William Kristol. This Article argues that the HITLit theories splash distortions that lead to lawlessness.