Dr Ronald Crelinsten

Dr Ronald Crelinsten is Associate Fellow at the Centre for Global Studies at University of Victoria and Adjunct Professor in the Doctor of Social Sciences Program in the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences at Royal Roads University. His research and publications deal with terrorism and radicalization and how to counter them effectively without endangering democratic principles; global security; gross human rights violations; the role of old and new media in terrorism and political violence; challenges of democratization and global governance. His publications include: Counterterrorism (Polity Press, 2009; Arabic version: UAE, 2011), The Politics of Pain: Torturers and Their Masters (Westview Press, 1995), Western Responses to Terrorism (Frank Cass, 1993), Hostage-Taking (Lexington Books, 1979), and Terrorism and Criminal Justice (Lexington Books, 1978). He was also Visiting Professor at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara,Turkey.

When a terrorist looks like the boy next door

Jul 292013
 
 Media files
Rolling Stone Cover.

Complaints about Rolling Stone's  Tsarnaev profile reveal underlying stereotypes.

by Dr Ronald Crelinsten

The controversy over the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone reveals a lot about how we think about people who commit acts of terrorism and violence.

The lead story is about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two brothers who allegedly placed pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon last April. The thrust of the story is how a “good person” became a monster despite all outward appearances that he was a good kid like everyone else. The cover picture is that now-iconic photo of Tsarnaev as a doe-eyed, tousle-haired youth, looking softly at the camera with a look of gentle innocence.

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