The Spectacle of Terrorism: Exploring the Notions of ‘Blind Acting Out’ and ‘Phatic Communication’

Abstract

This article utilises theoretical developments on 'spectacular public disorder' to contribute to understanding of terrorism. Using examples from the 'Arab Spring' (2011), the Paris riots (2005) and London riots (2011) we show how the 'flashpoint' hypothesis- for example the deaths of the central figures (from Bouauzizi in Tunis, to Mark Duggan in London) influenced the scope and duration of the disorder. We show that the trajectory of public disorder, from their initial 'spark' to post-incidence debate, have points of contact with recent episodes of 'spectacular' terrorist attacks, from the 2013 mall siege in Kenya to the 2013 attempted decapitation of the marine Drummer Lee Rigby in London. To draw these parallels we develop and elucidate on the toolkit for staging and extending the spectacle, including passage a l'acte, developed by Badiou (2006) apropos of the Paris riots, 'Phatic communication', developed by Gluckman (1960) and 'Channel Testing' hypothesis developed by Zizek (2011). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]