Terrorism in Context: Race, Religion, Party and Violent Conflict in Zanzibar

Authors

Barbara G. Brents, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Deo S. Mshigeni, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Title

The American Sociologist

Volume

35

Issue

2

First page number:

60

Last page number:

74

Abstract

Sociology has had plenty to say about terrorism? We do not have a subfield on the sociology of terrorism, nor should we. Terrorism is a political label, and well intentioned scholarly attempts to define the study of "it" may only reify its political uses and cloud our understanding (Tilly, 2004). We certainly need tools to understand the origins, trajectories, and outcomes of political violence and there is plenty of scholarly work on political violence, revolutions, conflict, and social movements that can lead us in that direction. In this paper we will draw on a case study of violent political conflict that has been labeled "terrorist" in Zanzibar, an island in the Indian Ocean currently a part of Tanzania. We will examine the political opportunities and social movement organizations as they have framed and mobilized racial and religious conflicts on the island. We use this case to illustrate three points relevant to the study of terrorism that have been argued in the sociological literature on social movements and violent conflict. First, “terrorists" are rational actors; second, terrorism is one of many tactics potentially used by any social movement to achieve political ends; and third, terrorism is relational, that is, its rise and trajectory must be understood in relation to other groups, and in response to perceptions of threat.

Keywords

Culture conflict; Political violence; Social conflict; Social history; Social movements; Sociology; Tanzania—Zanzibar; Terrorism; Threats of violence

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Politics and Social Change | Sociology

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

Repository Citation

Brents, B. G., Mshigeni, D. S. (2004). Terrorism in Context: Race, Religion, Party and Violent Conflict in Zanzibar. The American Sociologist, 35(2), 60-74.