Difference between revisions of "Terrorexpertise:Major World Newspapers - Orientation Analysis"

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Having compiled a [[Terrorexpertise:Major World Newspapers List|list of the top 100 experts appearing in major world print media]], we were interested to analyse to what extent these expert did or did not challenge the dominant state narrative of the ‘war on terror’.
 
Having compiled a [[Terrorexpertise:Major World Newspapers List|list of the top 100 experts appearing in major world print media]], we were interested to analyse to what extent these expert did or did not challenge the dominant state narrative of the ‘war on terror’.
  
We consider the dominant state narrative as the idea that the United States and its allies are at war with a global organisation called ‘Al-Qaeda’, which along with affiliated groups is waging an essentially apolitical war against ‘Western values’ or the Western ‘way of life’.  In this narrative the ‘terrorists’ are irrational – being motivated by hatred and religious dogmatism – implacable and unscrupulous.  Given the nature and scale of the threat, the ‘terrorists’ be met with aggressive military action abroad and repressive policies at home.
+
We consider the dominant state narrative as the idea that the United States and its allies are at war with a global organisation called ‘Al-Qaeda’, which along with affiliated groups is waging an essentially apolitical war against ‘Western values’ or the Western ‘way of life’.  In this narrative the ‘terrorists’ are irrational – being motivated by hatred and religious dogmatism – implacable and unscrupulous.  Given the nature and scale of the threat, the ‘terrorists’ should be met with aggressive military action abroad and repressive policies at home.
  
 
We divided the experts into three broad categories based on the extent to which they challenged this narrative.
 
We divided the experts into three broad categories based on the extent to which they challenged this narrative.
Line 25: Line 25:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>1</td>
 
<td>1</td>
<td>[[Mick Keelty]]</td>
+
<td>[[Rohan Gunaratna]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 33: Line 33:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>2</td>
 
<td>2</td>
<td>[[Richard Clarke]]</td>
+
<td>[[Noam Chomsky]]</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
  
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>3</td>
 
<td>3</td>
<td>[[Benjamin Netanyahu]]</td>
+
<td>[[Sidney Jones]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 49: Line 49:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>4</td>
 
<td>4</td>
<td>[[Peter Clarke]]</td>
+
<td>[[Clive Williams]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 57: Line 57:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>5</td>
 
<td>5</td>
<td>[[Rohan Gunaratna]]</td>
+
<td>[[Francis Fukuyama]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 65: Line 65:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>6</td>
 
<td>6</td>
<td>[[Noam Chomsky]]</td>
+
<td>[[Daniel Pipes]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
  
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>7</td>
 
<td>7</td>
<td>[[Patrick Mercer]]</td>
+
<td>[[Paul Wilkinson]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 81: Line 81:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>8</td>
 
<td>8</td>
<td>[[Sidney Jones]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jason Burke]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 89: Line 89:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>9</td>
 
<td>9</td>
<td>[[Clive Williams]]</td>
+
<td>[[Avi Dichter]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 97: Line 97:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>10</td>
 
<td>10</td>
<td>[[Francis Fukuyama]]</td>
+
<td>[[Anthony Cordesman]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 105: Line 105:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>11</td>
 
<td>11</td>
<td>[[Daniel Pipes]]</td>
+
<td>[[Alan Dershowitz]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 113: Line 113:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>12</td>
 
<td>12</td>
<td>[[Paul Wilkinson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Bruce Hoffman]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 121: Line 121:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>13</td>
 
<td>13</td>
<td>[[Jason Burke]]</td>
+
<td>[[Peter Bergen]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 129: Line 129:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>14</td>
 
<td>14</td>
<td>[[Avi Dichter]]</td>
+
<td>[[Robert Baer]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 137: Line 137:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>15</td>
 
<td>15</td>
<td>[[Anthony Cordesman]]</td>
+
<td>[[Arnaud de Borchgrave]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 145: Line 145:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>16</td>
 
<td>16</td>
<td>[[Alan Dershowitz]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Clarke]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
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<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>17</td>
 
<td>17</td>
<td>[[Bruce Hoffman]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jonathan Evans]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 161: Line 161:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>18</td>
 
<td>18</td>
<td>[[Peter Bergen]]</td>
+
<td>[[Magnus Ranstorp]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 169: Line 169:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>19</td>
 
<td>19</td>
<td>[[David Veness]]</td>
+
<td>[[Irwin Cotler]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
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<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>20</td>
 
<td>20</td>
<td>[[Robert Baer]]</td>
+
<td>[[Daniel Benjamin]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 185: Line 185:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>21</td>
 
<td>21</td>
<td>[[Arnaud de Borchgrave]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Scheuer]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 193: Line 193:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>22</td>
 
<td>22</td>
<td>[[Michael Clarke]]</td>
+
<td>[[Zachary Abuza]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 201: Line 201:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>23</td>
 
<td>23</td>
<td>[[Jonathan Evans]]</td>
+
<td>[[David Capitanchik]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 209: Line 209:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>24</td>
 
<td>24</td>
<td>[[Magnus Ranstorp]]</td>
+
<td>[[John Thompson]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 217: Line 217:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>25</td>
 
<td>25</td>
<td>[[Irwin Cotler]]</td>
+
<td>[[Simon Reeve]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 225: Line 225:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>26</td>
 
<td>26</td>
<td>[[Daniel Benjamin]]</td>
+
<td>[[Wesley Wark]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 233: Line 233:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>27</td>
 
<td>27</td>
<td>[[Michael Scheuer]]</td>
+
<td>[[Frances Townsend]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 241: Line 241:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>28</td>
 
<td>28</td>
<td>[[Zachary Abuza]]</td>
+
<td>[[David Charters]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 249: Line 249:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>29</td>
 
<td>29</td>
<td>[[David Capitanchik]]</td>
+
<td>[[Kevin Toolis]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 257: Line 257:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>30</td>
 
<td>30</td>
<td>[[John Thompson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Tariq Ramadan]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 265: Line 265:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>31</td>
 
<td>31</td>
<td>[[Simon Reeve]]</td>
+
<td>[[Steve Emerson]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 273: Line 273:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>32</td>
 
<td>32</td>
<td>[[Wesley Wark]]</td>
+
<td>[[Steve Simon]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 281: Line 281:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>33</td>
 
<td>33</td>
<td>[[Frances Townsend]]</td>
+
<td>[[Paul Beaver]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 289: Line 289:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>34</td>
 
<td>34</td>
<td>[[David Charters]]</td>
+
<td>[[Larry Johnson]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 297: Line 297:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>35</td>
 
<td>35</td>
<td>[[Kevin Toolis]]</td>
+
<td>[[Brian Jenkins]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 305: Line 305:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>36</td>
 
<td>36</td>
<td>[[Tariq Ramadan]]</td>
+
<td>[[Rita Katz]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 313: Line 313:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>37</td>
 
<td>37</td>
<td>[[Steve Emerson]]</td>
+
<td>[[David Wright-Neville]]</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
+
<td align="center">&times;</td><td align="center">&nbsp;</td></tr>
</tr>
 
  
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>38</td>
 
<td>38</td>
<td>[[Steve Simon]]</td>
+
<td>[[Olivier Roy]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 329: Line 327:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>39</td>
 
<td>39</td>
<td>[[Paul Beaver]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Ledeen]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 337: Line 335:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>40</td>
 
<td>40</td>
<td>[[Larry Johnson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Robert Pape]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 345: Line 343:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>41</td>
 
<td>41</td>
<td>[[Brian Jenkins]]</td>
+
<td>[[Lawrence Eagleburger]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 353: Line 351:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>42</td>
 
<td>42</td>
<td>[[Rita Katz]]</td>
+
<td>[[Boaz Ganor]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 361: Line 359:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>43</td>
 
<td>43</td>
<td>[[David Wright-Neville]]</td>
+
<td>[[Paul Rogers]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td><td align="center">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+
</tr>
  
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>44</td>
 
<td>44</td>
<td>[[Olivier Roy]]</td>
+
<td>[[Mike Yardley]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 375: Line 375:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>45</td>
 
<td>45</td>
<td>[[Michael Ledeen]]</td>
+
<td>[[Fouad Ajami]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 383: Line 383:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>46</td>
 
<td>46</td>
<td>[[Robert Pape]]</td>
+
<td>[[Paul Pillar]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 391: Line 391:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>47</td>
 
<td>47</td>
<td>[[Lawrence Eagleburger]]</td>
+
<td>[[Conor Cruise O'Brien]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 399: Line 399:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>48</td>
 
<td>48</td>
<td>[[Boaz Ganor]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jessica Stern]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 407: Line 407:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>49</td>
 
<td>49</td>
<td>[[Paul Rogers]]</td>
+
<td>[[Patrick Clawson]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 415: Line 415:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>50</td>
 
<td>50</td>
<td>[[Mike Yardley]]</td>
+
<td>[[Graham Allison]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 423: Line 423:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>51</td>
 
<td>51</td>
<td>[[Fouad Ajami]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Osterholm]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 431: Line 431:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>52</td>
 
<td>52</td>
<td>[[Paul Pillar]]</td>
+
<td>[[Peter Power]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 439: Line 439:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>53</td>
 
<td>53</td>
<td>[[Conor Cruise O'Brien]]</td>
+
<td>[[John O'Connor]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 447: Line 447:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>54</td>
 
<td>54</td>
<td>[[Jessica Stern]]</td>
+
<td>[[Matthew Levitt]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 455: Line 455:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>55</td>
 
<td>55</td>
<td>[[Patrick Clawson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael McKinley]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 463: Line 463:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>56</td>
 
<td>56</td>
<td>[[Graham Allison]]</td>
+
<td>[[Mustafa Alani]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 471: Line 471:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>57</td>
 
<td>57</td>
<td>[[Michael Osterholm]]</td>
+
<td>[[Stephen Schwartz]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 479: Line 479:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>58</td>
 
<td>58</td>
<td>[[Peter Power]]</td>
+
<td>[[Louise Richardson]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 487: Line 487:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>59</td>
 
<td>59</td>
<td>[[John O'Connor]]</td>
+
<td>[[Evan Kohlmann]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 495: Line 495:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>60</td>
 
<td>60</td>
<td>[[Matthew Levitt]]</td>
+
<td>[[Anthony Glees]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
 +
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>61</td>
 
<td>61</td>
<td>[[Michael McKinley]]</td>
+
<td>[[Laurie Mylroie]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 510: Line 511:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>62</td>
 
<td>62</td>
<td>[[Mustafa Alani]]</td>
+
<td>[[Bruce Riedel]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 516: Line 517:
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
  
<tr><td>63</td>
+
<tr>
<td>[[Stephen Schwartz]]</td>
+
<td>63</td>
 +
<td>[[Nick Kaldas]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 525: Line 527:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>64</td>
 
<td>64</td>
<td>[[Louise Richardson]]</td>
+
<td>[[John Sifton]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 533: Line 535:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>65</td>
 
<td>65</td>
<td>[[Evan Kohlmann]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jeane Kirkpatrick]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 541: Line 543:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>66</td>
 
<td>66</td>
<td>[[Anthony Glees]]</td>
+
<td>[[Neil Doyle]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 549: Line 551:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>67</td>
 
<td>67</td>
<td>[[Laurie Mylroie]]</td>
+
<td>[[Donald Henderson]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 557: Line 559:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>68</td>
 
<td>68</td>
<td>[[Bruce Riedel]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jonathan Stevenson]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 565: Line 567:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>69</td>
 
<td>69</td>
<td>[[Nick Kaldas]]</td>
+
<td>[[Irwin Redlener]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 573: Line 575:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>70</td>
 
<td>70</td>
<td>[[John Sifton]]</td>
+
<td>[[Charles Pena]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 581: Line 583:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>71</td>
 
<td>71</td>
<td>[[Jeane Kirkpatrick]]</td>
+
<td>[[Dan Plesch]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 589: Line 591:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>72</td>
 
<td>72</td>
<td>[[Neil Doyle]]</td>
+
<td>[[Tara O'Toole]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 597: Line 599:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>73</td>
 
<td>73</td>
<td>[[Donald Henderson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Walzer]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 605: Line 607:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>74</td>
 
<td>74</td>
<td>[[Jonathan Stevenson]]</td>
+
<td>[[Daniel Byman]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 613: Line 615:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>75</td>
 
<td>75</td>
<td>[[Irwin Redlener]]</td>
+
<td>[[Walter Laqueur]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 621: Line 623:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>76</td>
 
<td>76</td>
<td>[[Charles Pena]]</td>
+
<td>[[Adam Roberts]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 629: Line 631:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>77</td>
 
<td>77</td>
<td>[[Dan Plesch]]</td>
+
<td>[[Marc Sageman]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 637: Line 639:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>78</td>
 
<td>78</td>
<td>[[Tara O'Toole]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jusuf Wanandi]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 645: Line 647:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>79</td>
 
<td>79</td>
<td>[[Michael Walzer]]</td>
+
<td>[[Athol Yates]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 653: Line 655:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>80</td>
 
<td>80</td>
<td>[[Daniel Byman]]</td>
+
<td>[[Crispin Black]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 661: Line 663:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>81</td>
 
<td>81</td>
<td>[[Walter Laqueur]]</td>
+
<td>[[Rachel Ehrenfeld]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 669: Line 671:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>82</td>
 
<td>82</td>
<td>[[Adam Roberts]]</td>
+
<td>[[Andrew Lynch]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 677: Line 679:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>83</td>
 
<td>83</td>
<td>[[Marc Sageman]]</td>
+
<td>[[Rolf Tophoven]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 685: Line 687:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>84</td>
 
<td>84</td>
<td>[[Jusuf Wanandi]]</td>
+
<td>[[Alan Krueger]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 693: Line 695:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>85</td>
 
<td>85</td>
<td>[[Athol Yates]]</td>
+
<td>[[Roger Cressey]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 701: Line 703:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>86</td>
 
<td>86</td>
<td>[[Crispin Black]]</td>
+
<td>[[Jack Goldsmith]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 709: Line 711:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>87</td>
 
<td>87</td>
<td>[[Rachel Ehrenfeld]]</td>
+
<td>[[Alex Standish]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 717: Line 719:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>88</td>
 
<td>88</td>
<td>[[Andrew Lynch]]</td>
+
<td>[[Cass Sunstein]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 725: Line 727:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>89</td>
 
<td>89</td>
<td>[[Rolf Tophoven]]</td>
+
<td>[[Charles Shoebridge]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 733: Line 735:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>90</td>
 
<td>90</td>
<td>[[Alan Krueger]]</td>
+
<td>[[Scott Atran]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 741: Line 743:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>91</td>
 
<td>91</td>
<td>[[Roger Cressey]]</td>
+
<td>[[Seth Jones]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 749: Line 751:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>92</td>
 
<td>92</td>
<td>[[Jack Goldsmith]]</td>
+
<td>[[Yonah Alexander]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 757: Line 759:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>93</td>
 
<td>93</td>
<td>[[Alex Standish]]</td>
+
<td>[[David Claridge]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 765: Line 767:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>94</td>
 
<td>94</td>
<td>[[Cass Sunstein]]</td>
+
<td>[[Fred Halliday]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
Line 773: Line 775:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>95</td>
 
<td>95</td>
<td>[[Charles Shoebridge]]</td>
+
<td>[[David Kilcullen]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 781: Line 783:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>96</td>
 
<td>96</td>
<td>[[Scott Atran]]</td>
+
<td>[[Kevin Rosser]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 789: Line 791:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>97</td>
 
<td>97</td>
<td>[[Seth Jones]]</td>
+
<td>[[Ariel Merari]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 797: Line 799:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>98</td>
 
<td>98</td>
<td>[[Yonah Alexander]]</td>
+
<td>[[Carl Ungerer]]</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
Line 805: Line 807:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>99</td>
 
<td>99</td>
<td>[[David Claridge]]</td>
+
<td>[[Bruce Ackerman]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&times;</td>
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 813: Line 815:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td>100</td>
 
<td>100</td>
<td>[[Fred Halliday]]</td>
+
<td>[[Michael Chandler]]</td>
 +
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center">&times;</td>
 
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
<td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 824: Line 826:
  
 
==Analysis==
 
==Analysis==
[[Image:Pie Chart.JPG|right|thumb||300px|Pie chart showing the relative prominence of our three categories of experts. Non-critical experts are shown to dominate the major world print media]]We considered 75 of the top 100 experts to be in ‘Category A’, 24 in ‘Category B’, and only one in ‘Category C’.  The dominance of ‘Category A’ is even more pronounced than these figures would suggest.  None of the ‘Category B’ experts appeared in the top ten, and only two appear in the top 20 (although Noam Chomsky the one ‘Category C’ expert does appear in the top 10).  The dominance of non-critical experts over partially critical experts is all the more pronounced if you consider how dramatic the differences in appearances are between the experts at the top and bottom of our top 100 list. A way of representing this by comparing the total number of appearances by ‘Category A’, and ‘Category B’ experts in the study.  In total ‘Category A’ experts appeared in 22,285 articles, whilst ‘Category B’ experts appeared in a total of 3,321.  Noam Chomsky, the only ‘Category C’ expert, featured in 788 articles.  In percentage terms, appearances by ‘Category A’ experts made up 84 per cent of the total, with ‘Category B’ and ‘Category C’ making up 13 and three per cent respectively. These results are represented in the graph on the right.
+
[[Image:New Pie Chart.JPG|right|thumb||300px|Pie chart showing the relative prominence of our three categories of experts. Non-critical experts are shown to dominate the major world print media]]We considered 73 of the top 100 experts to be in ‘Category A’, 26 in ‘Category B’, and only one in ‘Category C’.  The dominance of ‘Category A’ is even more pronounced than these figures would suggest.  Only three of the ‘Category B’ experts appeared in the top twenty (although [[Noam Chomsky]] the one ‘Category C’ expert does appear in the top 10).  The dominance of non-critical experts over partially critical experts is more pronounced if you consider how dramatic the differences in appearances are between the experts at the top and bottom of our top 100 list.
 +
 
 +
A way of representing this by comparing the total number of appearances by ‘Category A’, and ‘Category B’ experts in the study.  In total ‘Category A’ experts appeared in 13,668 articles, whilst ‘Category B’ experts appeared in a total of 3,411.  Noam Chomsky, the only ‘Category C’ expert, featured in 788 articles.  In percentage terms, appearances by ‘Category A’ experts made up approximately 77 per cent of the total, with ‘Category B’ and ‘Category C’ making up approximately 19 and four per cent respectively. <ref>Though the ‘Category A’ has been rounded up to 77 per cent to make up the percentage figures, it should be noted that in fact the calculation fell below the decimal point at 76.4</ref> These results are represented in the graph on the right.
  
Because Noam Chomsky appeared to be somewhat of an anomaly (being a ‘Category C’ expert and appearing in the top ten) we examined his appearances more closely, focusing on the articles returned in the last year of our seven year time period.
+
Because [[Noam Chomsky]] appeared to be somewhat of an anomaly (being a ‘Category C’ expert and appearing at number two in the list) we examined his appearances more closely, focusing on the articles returned in the last year of our seven year time period.
  
 
A search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Noam Chomsky during 2007 returned 78 articles. <ref>Search conducted on 5 December 2008 with the following search terms: Noam Chomsky AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)</ref> None of those articles included any consideration of Chomsky’s views on terrorism or political violence, and the great majority of them mentioned him only in passing.  54 articles mentioned Chomsky in only one sentence, and 30 of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or other individuals.  He was directly quoted in only six articles. <ref>We included quotations from texts as well as published op-eds or letters.</ref>
 
A search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Noam Chomsky during 2007 returned 78 articles. <ref>Search conducted on 5 December 2008 with the following search terms: Noam Chomsky AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)</ref> None of those articles included any consideration of Chomsky’s views on terrorism or political violence, and the great majority of them mentioned him only in passing.  54 articles mentioned Chomsky in only one sentence, and 30 of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or other individuals.  He was directly quoted in only six articles. <ref>We included quotations from texts as well as published op-eds or letters.</ref>
  
Of course it is to be expected that Chomsky is less widely quoted than other individuals in the study since his work is not limited to terrorism but covers broader issues.  A useful point of comparison therefore is Alan Dershowitz. Like Chomsky, Dershowitz is a US academic who comments widely on foreign policy issues including terrorism and counterterrorism.  Though in other ways comparable, we consider Dershowitz to be in our ‘Category A’.
+
Of course it is to be expected that Chomsky is less widely quoted than other individuals in the study since his work is not limited to terrorism but covers broader issues.  A useful point of comparison therefore is [[Alan Dershowitz]]. Like Chomsky, Dershowitz is a US academic who comments widely on foreign policy issues including terrorism and counterterrorism.  Though in other ways comparable, we consider Dershowitz to be in our ‘Category A’.
  
 
A similar search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Alan Dershowitz during 2007 returned 41 articles. <ref>Search conducted on 8 December 2008 with the following search terms: Alan Dershowtiz AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)</ref>  21 articles mentioned Dershowitz in only one sentence, and six of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or individuals.  He was directly quoted in 14 articles.
 
A similar search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Alan Dershowitz during 2007 returned 41 articles. <ref>Search conducted on 8 December 2008 with the following search terms: Alan Dershowtiz AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)</ref>  21 articles mentioned Dershowitz in only one sentence, and six of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or individuals.  He was directly quoted in 14 articles.
Line 838: Line 842:
 
Chomsky was directly quoted in 8 percent of articles, whilst Dershowitz was directly quoted in 34 per cent of articles.  Of those articles where Chomsky was quoted, the average total word count of quotations was 24 words, whilst the average total quotations from Dershowitz was 72 words – exactly three times greater.
 
Chomsky was directly quoted in 8 percent of articles, whilst Dershowitz was directly quoted in 34 per cent of articles.  Of those articles where Chomsky was quoted, the average total word count of quotations was 24 words, whilst the average total quotations from Dershowitz was 72 words – exactly three times greater.
  
Another aspect worth noting is that many of the articles mentioning Chomsky also included extremely critical comments.  Articles accused him for example of “infantile solipsism and self-hating nihilism”, of “feed[ing] into the rising tide of worldwide anti-Semitism”, <ref>Jerusalem Report, 19 March 2007</ref> of “convoluted yammering about foreign policy” <ref>''Toronto Sun'', 5 February 2007</ref> and “flights to a separate reality”. <ref>''Washington Post'', 2 September 2007</ref>  Dershowitz despite having controversially advocated the use of torture barely received any criticism.  The most critical comment from the sample appeared in the Washington Times where he was accused of failing to acknowledge the complexity of the debate over the Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. <ref>''Washington Times'', 11 September 2007</ref>  Finally it is worth noting that Google searches suggest that Chomsky is by far the most influential figure in our analysis of experts on the internet. <ref>see [[Terrorexpertise:Internet List]]</ref>
+
Another aspect worth noting is that many of the articles mentioning Chomsky also included extremely critical comments.  Articles accused him for example of “infantile solipsism and self-hating nihilism”, of “feed[ing] into the rising tide of worldwide anti-Semitism”, <ref>Jerusalem Report, 19 March 2007</ref> of “convoluted yammering about foreign policy” <ref>''Toronto Sun'', 5 February 2007</ref> and “flights to a separate reality”. <ref>''Washington Post'', 2 September 2007</ref>  Dershowitz despite having controversially advocated the use of torture barely received any criticism.  The most critical comment from the sample appeared in the ''Washington Times'' where he was accused of failing to acknowledge the complexity of the debate over the Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. <ref>''Washington Times'', 11 September 2007</ref>  Finally it is worth noting that Google searches suggest that Chomsky is by far the most influential figure in our analysis of experts on the internet. <ref>see [[Terrorexpertise:Internet List]]</ref>
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
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Latest revision as of 16:33, 3 June 2009

Methodology

Having compiled a list of the top 100 experts appearing in major world print media, we were interested to analyse to what extent these expert did or did not challenge the dominant state narrative of the ‘war on terror’.

We consider the dominant state narrative as the idea that the United States and its allies are at war with a global organisation called ‘Al-Qaeda’, which along with affiliated groups is waging an essentially apolitical war against ‘Western values’ or the Western ‘way of life’. In this narrative the ‘terrorists’ are irrational – being motivated by hatred and religious dogmatism – implacable and unscrupulous. Given the nature and scale of the threat, the ‘terrorists’ should be met with aggressive military action abroad and repressive policies at home.

We divided the experts into three broad categories based on the extent to which they challenged this narrative.

Category A: These experts tend not to challenge any aspect of the above narrative. We included in this category experts who might criticise specific decisions in the ‘war on terror’ but nevertheless do not challenge any aspect of the narrative. For example, we consider some individuals who have criticised the Iraq War as a distraction or as counterproductive, as fitting into this category (e.g. Benjamin, Simon).

Category B: These experts tend to challenge at least part of the above narrative. They might question the existence of a coherent organisation called ‘Al-Qaeda’ (e.g. Burke), or suggest an alternative understanding of the causes of ‘terrorism’ such as injustice or poverty (e.g. Krueger, McKinley). They might seek to portray ‘terrorists’ as rational actors motivated by political grievances (e.g. Pape), or warn against aggressive military action (e.g. Peña, Reeve) or the curtailment of civil liberties (e.g. Wright-Neville, Lynch).

Category C: These experts tend to reject the above narrative altogether, instead presenting a critical analysis of Western state policy. They might suggest alternative motives of Western states based on economic and geopolitical ambitions rather than safety and security, or focus on acts of ‘terrorism’ committed by Western states.

Critical Orientation of Experts from the Major World Newspapers List

No. Name of Expert Category A Category B Category C
1 Rohan Gunaratna ×    
2 Noam Chomsky     ×
3 Sidney Jones ×    
4 Clive Williams ×    
5 Francis Fukuyama ×    
6 Daniel Pipes ×    
7 Paul Wilkinson ×    
8 Jason Burke   ×  
9 Avi Dichter ×    
10 Anthony Cordesman ×    
11 Alan Dershowitz ×    
12 Bruce Hoffman ×    
13 Peter Bergen ×    
14 Robert Baer   ×  
15 Arnaud de Borchgrave ×    
16 Michael Clarke ×    
17 Jonathan Evans ×    
18 Magnus Ranstorp ×    
19 Irwin Cotler ×    
20 Daniel Benjamin ×    
21 Michael Scheuer   ×  
22 Zachary Abuza ×    
23 David Capitanchik ×    
24 John Thompson ×    
25 Simon Reeve   ×  
26 Wesley Wark ×    
27 Frances Townsend ×    
28 David Charters ×    
29 Kevin Toolis   ×  
30 Tariq Ramadan   ×  
31 Steve Emerson ×    
32 Steve Simon ×    
33 Paul Beaver ×    
34 Larry Johnson   ×  
35 Brian Jenkins ×    
36 Rita Katz ×    
37 David Wright-Neville   × 
38 Olivier Roy ×    
39 Michael Ledeen ×    
40 Robert Pape   ×  
41 Lawrence Eagleburger ×    
42 Boaz Ganor ×    
43 Paul Rogers   ×  
44 Mike Yardley ×    
45 Fouad Ajami ×    
46 Paul Pillar ×    
47 Conor Cruise O'Brien ×    
48 Jessica Stern   ×  
49 Patrick Clawson ×    
50 Graham Allison ×    
51 Michael Osterholm ×    
52 Peter Power ×    
53 John O'Connor ×    
54 Matthew Levitt ×    
55 Michael McKinley   ×  
56 Mustafa Alani ×    
57 Stephen Schwartz ×    
58 Louise Richardson   ×  
59 Evan Kohlmann ×    
60 Anthony Glees ×    
61 Laurie Mylroie ×    
62 Bruce Riedel ×    
63 Nick Kaldas ×    
64 John Sifton   ×  
65 Jeane Kirkpatrick ×    
66 Neil Doyle ×    
67 Donald Henderson ×    
68 Jonathan Stevenson ×    
69 Irwin Redlener ×    
70 Charles Pena   ×  
71 Dan Plesch   ×  
72 Tara O'Toole ×    
73 Michael Walzer   ×  
74 Daniel Byman ×    
75 Walter Laqueur ×    
76 Adam Roberts   ×  
77 Marc Sageman   ×  
78 Jusuf Wanandi ×    
79 Athol Yates ×    
80 Crispin Black ×    
81 Rachel Ehrenfeld ×    
82 Andrew Lynch   ×  
83 Rolf Tophoven ×    
84 Alan Krueger   ×  
85 Roger Cressey ×    
86 Jack Goldsmith ×    
87 Alex Standish ×    
88 Cass Sunstein   ×  
89 Charles Shoebridge ×    
90 Scott Atran   ×  
91 Seth Jones ×    
92 Yonah Alexander ×    
93 David Claridge ×    
94 Fred Halliday   ×  
95 David Kilcullen   ×  
96 Kevin Rosser ×    
97 Ariel Merari ×    
98 Carl Ungerer ×    
99 Bruce Ackerman   ×  
100 Michael Chandler ×    


Analysis

Pie chart showing the relative prominence of our three categories of experts. Non-critical experts are shown to dominate the major world print media

We considered 73 of the top 100 experts to be in ‘Category A’, 26 in ‘Category B’, and only one in ‘Category C’. The dominance of ‘Category A’ is even more pronounced than these figures would suggest. Only three of the ‘Category B’ experts appeared in the top twenty (although Noam Chomsky the one ‘Category C’ expert does appear in the top 10). The dominance of non-critical experts over partially critical experts is more pronounced if you consider how dramatic the differences in appearances are between the experts at the top and bottom of our top 100 list.

A way of representing this by comparing the total number of appearances by ‘Category A’, and ‘Category B’ experts in the study. In total ‘Category A’ experts appeared in 13,668 articles, whilst ‘Category B’ experts appeared in a total of 3,411. Noam Chomsky, the only ‘Category C’ expert, featured in 788 articles. In percentage terms, appearances by ‘Category A’ experts made up approximately 77 per cent of the total, with ‘Category B’ and ‘Category C’ making up approximately 19 and four per cent respectively. [1] These results are represented in the graph on the right.

Because Noam Chomsky appeared to be somewhat of an anomaly (being a ‘Category C’ expert and appearing at number two in the list) we examined his appearances more closely, focusing on the articles returned in the last year of our seven year time period.

A search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Noam Chomsky during 2007 returned 78 articles. [2] None of those articles included any consideration of Chomsky’s views on terrorism or political violence, and the great majority of them mentioned him only in passing. 54 articles mentioned Chomsky in only one sentence, and 30 of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or other individuals. He was directly quoted in only six articles. [3]

Of course it is to be expected that Chomsky is less widely quoted than other individuals in the study since his work is not limited to terrorism but covers broader issues. A useful point of comparison therefore is Alan Dershowitz. Like Chomsky, Dershowitz is a US academic who comments widely on foreign policy issues including terrorism and counterterrorism. Though in other ways comparable, we consider Dershowitz to be in our ‘Category A’.

A similar search of the Lexis Nexis Major World Newspaper group for articles mentioning terrorism and Alan Dershowitz during 2007 returned 41 articles. [4] 21 articles mentioned Dershowitz in only one sentence, and six of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or individuals. He was directly quoted in 14 articles.

A comparison of these two sets of results would seem to suggest that Dershowitz is given more favourable coverage than Chomsky. 69 per cent of the articles mentioning Chomsky did so only in one sentence, and 56 per cent of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or other individuals. 51 per cent of the articles mentioning Alan Dershowitz mentioned him in one sentence and only 29 per cent of those mentioned his name alongside another individual or individuals.

Chomsky was directly quoted in 8 percent of articles, whilst Dershowitz was directly quoted in 34 per cent of articles. Of those articles where Chomsky was quoted, the average total word count of quotations was 24 words, whilst the average total quotations from Dershowitz was 72 words – exactly three times greater.

Another aspect worth noting is that many of the articles mentioning Chomsky also included extremely critical comments. Articles accused him for example of “infantile solipsism and self-hating nihilism”, of “feed[ing] into the rising tide of worldwide anti-Semitism”, [5] of “convoluted yammering about foreign policy” [6] and “flights to a separate reality”. [7] Dershowitz despite having controversially advocated the use of torture barely received any criticism. The most critical comment from the sample appeared in the Washington Times where he was accused of failing to acknowledge the complexity of the debate over the Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. [8] Finally it is worth noting that Google searches suggest that Chomsky is by far the most influential figure in our analysis of experts on the internet. [9]

Notes

  1. Though the ‘Category A’ has been rounded up to 77 per cent to make up the percentage figures, it should be noted that in fact the calculation fell below the decimal point at 76.4
  2. Search conducted on 5 December 2008 with the following search terms: Noam Chomsky AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)
  3. We included quotations from texts as well as published op-eds or letters.
  4. Search conducted on 8 December 2008 with the following search terms: Alan Dershowtiz AND terrorism OR terrorist OR suicide bomb* (>=2007-01-01 and <=2007-12-01)
  5. Jerusalem Report, 19 March 2007
  6. Toronto Sun, 5 February 2007
  7. Washington Post, 2 September 2007
  8. Washington Times, 11 September 2007
  9. see Terrorexpertise:Internet List