Abstract :
The events of 9/11 spurred an intense interest in terrorism, which became immediately a core subject of political dialogue and academic debate. The then-coined term new ter-rorism came to dominate the security agenda on both sides of the Atlantic stimulating, at the same time, a tremendous amount of scholarly effort and policy initiatives so as to respond to the challenges posed by 21st century terrorism. Yet, as Richard English lucidly points out: We face two kinds of terrorist problem. One is practical, the other analytical, and our difficulties in responding to the former have been significantly exacerbated by our failings in regard to the latter