Abstract
The phenomenon of global terrorism is still not fully understood by the international
community whether within the contingents of public decision-makers, security agencies and
researchers. Radicalization as explanation and analytical tool for understanding terrorism
has relatively recently gained new prominence. In this project the question of which
discourses can be found in the scientific material within the research field of terrorism and
radicalization is addressed. A sample of scientific texts were chosen from within the
timeframe ranging from 2004 - 2013. The sample was analyzed using an approach
composed of Fairclough’s critical discourse theory concepts of intertextuality and
interdiscursivity, combined with the concepts for identifying discourses found in Laclau and
Mouffe’s discourse theory. Our findings suggest that a more nuanced discourse in relation to
the concept of radicalization developed during the applied timeframe. Furthermore, our
findings suggest that an arguably sensitively laden and ideologically dominated topic which
is likely to be subjectively conceived, can fuel a commonly constructed perception of certain
population groups. The analysis supports to a certain degree the argument that the study of
radicalization needs to be detached from Muslims and Islam and the perception of risk, in
order to break new ground in how we think about challenging/disagreeing on the status quo
within a society.