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Rhys Crilley has article published in Critical Studies on Terrorism
PAIS Teaching Fellow Rhys Crilley has had an article published in Critical Studies on Terrorism. The paper is co-authored with Raquel da Silva, a colleague from the University of Birmingham, and it contributes to current debates about everyday narratives of security.
Specifically, the article explores how members of the public answer the question ‘Why do British citizens join the conflict in Syria’ on social media sites and in response to online news articles. The authors argue that online comments are important in producing the discursive environment for making sense of British foreign fighters and what should be done in response to them.
One of the major findings is that there is a tendency to view British foreign fighters as being purely motivated by religion, and there is also a belief that British foreign fighters should be responded to through exceptional measures.
The paper discusses the implications of such perceptions, and the authors highlight how problematic misconceptions about Islam and Muslims are not just disseminated through elite and media discourse, but through everyday narratives published by members of the public online.
The article can be viewed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2016.1237011