Can CTS listen? Silences in terrorism and counter-terrorism

Abstract

While silences have been important in CTS research, the analytical focus of most research in the field tends to remain on utterances. Silences often appear as a mere side effect of investigations preoccupied with discursive formations. In this chapter, we argue that CTS has much to gain from a closer engagement with silences. As we show in the chapter, silences can be related both to the exercise of power or its subversion and, because of this, focusing on silences would allow CTS to grasp practises that otherwise go unnoticed. Studying silence also opens up a critical space to reflect on epistemological practices that we often take for granted.