Political and International Approaches

Political and International Approaches

Critical analysis of the Trump administration's Action to designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) using critical terrorism studies (CTS) and Immanent Critique methods

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Nima Rezaei 1
Mojtabaa Shariati 2
1 Assistant Professor, International Relations Department, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, Faculty of Humanities, Yasuj University, Yasuj, Iran
10.29252/piaj.2022.226648.1234
Abstract
On April 8, 2019, the Trump administration put the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations(FTO) by publishing a fact sheet. Although this action of the Trump administration can be analyzed with different theoretical frameworks, in this research critical terrorism studies(CTS) has been chosen for the purpose of critical analysis of this action. CTS is a critical orientation or perspective that tries to maintain its ontological, epistemological and methodological distance from the common and prevailing prejudices in the mainstream of terrorism studies(TS). The methodology of this research is based on the method of "Immanent Critique"(as a qualitative method) along with the use of valid statistics(as a quantitative method). Therefore, this study seeks to answer the main question that "Using critical terrorism studies(CTS), how is the action of the Trump administration in placing the name of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the list of foreign terrorist organizations(FTO) evaluated?" , presents the hypothesis that "by using the CTS as a theoretical framework and using the method of "Immanent Critique" along with the reliable statistics of western Think Tanks, will extract shortcomings and contradictions of placing the designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization(FTO) by examining the definition provided by The concept of "terrorism" mentioned in Section 2656f (d) (2) of Title 22 of the United States Code and it has been shown It is given that even according to this definition, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is not a terrorist organization and for four reasons borrowed from critical terrorism studies(CTS), this action is merely a political labeling.
Keywords
Terrorism
Critical Terrorism Studies (CTS)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC)
List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations(FTO)
Trump Administration

  •  

    • Baker-Beall, C. (2012), Is critical terrorism studies a useful approach to the study of terrorism?- YES: the necessity of a critical approach. In Richard Jackson & Daniela Pisoiu. Contemporary Debates on Terrorism. Second Edition. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Bakker, E., & Singleton, M. (2016), Foreign Fighters in the Syria and Iraq Conflict: Statistics and Characteristics of a Rapidly Growing Phenomenon. In Andrea de Guttry, Francesca Capone & Christophe Paulussen. Foreign Fighters under International Law and Beyond. Hague: Springer & Asser Press.
    • Barrett, R. (2014), Foreign Fighters in Syria. Retrieved from The Soufan Group Website: http:// soufangroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/TSG-Foreign-Fighters-in-Syria.pdf
    • Bilgin: (2008), Critical Theory. In Paul D. Williams. Security Studies: An Introduction. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Breen Smyth, M., Gunning, J., Jackson, R., Kassimeris, G., & Robinson: (2008), Critical Terrorism Studies: An Introduction. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 1(1): 1-4.
    • Burke, A. (2008), The End of Terrorism Studies. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 1(1): 37–49.
    • Global Terrorism Database (2022), Advanced Search. Retrieved from The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) Website: https://www.start. umd.edu/gtd/search/
    • Herring, E. (2008), Critical Terrorism Studies: an activist scholar perspective. Critical Studies on Terrorism. 1(2): 197-211.
    • Jackson, R. (2009), Knowledge, Power and Politics in the Study of Political Terrorism. In Richard Jackson, Marie Breen Smyth & Jeroen Gunning. Critical Terrorism Studies: A New Research Agenda. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Jackson, R. (2007), The Core Commitments of Critical Terrorism Studies. European Political Science, 6(3): 244-251.
    • Jackson, R., Breen Smyth, M., & Gunning, J. (2009), Introduction: The Case for Critical Terrorism Studies. In Richard Jackson, Marie Breen Smyth & Jeroen Gunning. Critical Terrorism Studies: A New Research Agenda. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Jackson, R., Jarvis, L., Gunning, J., & Breen Smyth, M. (2011), Terrorism: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Legal Information Institute (2022), 22 U.S. Code § 2656f - Annual country reports on terrorism. Retrieved from The Legal Information Institute (LII) Website: https://www.law.cornell.edu/ uscode/text/22/2656f
    • Mac Ginty, R. (2012), Is Critical Terrorism Studies a useful approach to the study of terrorism?- NO: don’t give it the oxygen of publicity. In Richard Jackson & Daniela Pisoiu. Contemporary Debates on Terrorism. Second Edition. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Muchina: , & Merryman-Lotze, M. (May 16, 2019), The U.S. has killed thousands of people with lethal drones – it’s time to put a stop to it. Retrieved from The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Website: https://www.afsc.org/blogs/news-and-commentary/us-has-killed-thousands-people-lethal-drones
    • Neumann, P. R. (2015), Foreign fighter total in Syria/Iraq now exceeds 20,000: surpasses Afghanistan conflict in the 1980s. Retrieved from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) Website: https://icsr.info/2015/01/26/foreign-fighter-total-syriairaq-now-exceeds-20000-surpasses-afghanistan-conflict-1980s/
    • Pisoiu, D., & Hain, S. (2018), The Making of Terrorism . In Daniela Pisoiu & Sandra Hain. Theories of Terrorism: An Introduction. London & New York: Routledge.
    • Stump, J. L., & Dixit, P. (2016), Studying terrorism and practicing criticism. In Priya Dixit & Jacob L. Stump. Critical Methods in Terrorism Studies. London & New York: Routledge.
    • The Institute for Economics and Peace (2019), Global Terrorism Index 2019: Measuring and Understanding the Impact of Terrorism. Retrieved from The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) Website: https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GTI-2019 pdf
    • The Institute for Economics and Peace (2018), Global Terrorism Index 2018: Measuring and Understanding the Impact of Terrorism. Retrieved from The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) Website: https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Global-Terrorism-Index-2018.pdf
    • The Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism (2022), DSAT Online. Retrieved from The Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism (CPOST) Website: https://cpost.uchicago.edu/ research/suicide_attacks/dsat_online/
    • Trump, D. J. (April 08, 2019), Fact Sheet - President Donald J. Trump Is Holding the Iranian Regime Accountable for Its Global Campaign of Terrorism. Retrieved from The American Presidency Project Website: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-holding-the-iranian-regime-accountable-for-its-global
    • S. Government Publishing Office (March 18, 2021), United States Code, 1994 to Present: About the United States Code. Retrieved from The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Website: https://www.govinfo.gov/help/uscode#
    • Wilkinson: (2006), Terrorism versus Democracy: The Liberal State Response. Second Edition. London & New York: Routledge.