Postmodernism Theoretical Perspectives Due to

Postmodernism Theoretical Perspectives Due to the highly mutable nature and the myriad of applications that the theoretical perspectives of postmodernism, feminist theories, and critical theory innately possess, they have a degree of validity for a research study on just about any subject. There are certainly parts of these perspectives that can apply to research work on protection, intelligence, and counterterrorism.

In order to demonstrate the varying ways in which these three different research perspectives correlate to the aforementioned subjects of study, however, it is first necessary to provide definitions of each of these particular lenses before then establishing the amount of validity each has to a study on protection, counterterrorism or intelligence.

Essentially, what each of these theories has in common is a propensity for delineating relationships of power and attempting to provide a balance between those that are enfranchised by the source of that power and those that are disenfranchised by it. When attempting to apply this theoretical viewpoint to research into intelligence efforts for counterterrorism measures of protection, this aforementioned attribute of each of these perspectives will aid in such a study -- yet will inevitably require additional perspectives to fully complete a study of this nature.

As denoted in the introductory paragraph, postmodernism, critical theory and feminism each involve researchers determining sources of power and determining who is both gaining from such power and who is suffering from a lack of it. Postmodernism achieves this fact primarily through ensuring that "knowledge claims must be set within the conditions of the world today and in the multiple perspectives of class, race, gender and group affiliation (Author, date, p. 25).

This encompassing of various perspectives allows for the analysis of specific language and universal truths that are responsible for and measures of, respectively, of the marginalization of the aforementioned classes of people (Author, date, p. 25). Therefore, when applying a postmodernism perspective to a study of counterterrorism intelligence and protection of people, one would typically consider the notion of who is actually being protected, and by whom, and for what purpose.

A postmodernism perspective would essentially analyze the role of governments and their relationships with their citizens in this type of study. Many different aspects and measures that the former utilizes in the name of counterterrorism efforts can also be considered invasion of privacy and possible civil liberty infringements upon ordinary citizens. Post modernism would attempt to analyze this perspective, as well as that of the category of terrorists which would present a certain level of validity to such a study.

However, the larger issues of defensive tactics and particulars regarding intelligence would not readily apply to a postmodernist perspective, which would have limited validity in this respect. Out of all three of the theoretical perspectives examined within this paper, feminist theories would have the least amount of validity in terms of its application to research on counterterrorist intelligence efforts. This occurrence is primarily due to the fact that one of the central tenets of feminism involves analyzing the exploitation of power in terms of its effect upon women.

For the most part, a study about terrorism and intelligence relating to this fact has little to do with gender. However, "feminist research also embraces many of the tenets of postmodern critiques as a challenge to current society" (Author, date, p. 25-26). Those critiques, of course, revolve around relationships of power and the marginalization of people due to these relationships. In that respect, feminism possesses a finite amount of validity for its application to intelligence measures for counterterrorism protection efforts, in a similar capacity as postmodernism.

However, the principle circumscription of the feminist perspective pertains to its innate preoccupation with gender. In many ways, the validity of employing critical theory to the study of intelligence, counterterrorism and protection is limited for many of the same reasons that feminism is. Although this particular theoretical perspective seeks to empower people, it does so in an attempt to "transcend the constraints placed on them by race, class, and gender" (Author, date, p. 27). Terrorism, of course, is not overtly concerned with neither of these factors.

The one of these categories that may come closest to the scrutiny of terrorists is class -- but a casual retrospective glance at the events of 9/11 show a rather wanton disregard for what class of passengers were on the airplanes.