discussions of miscellaneous); (iv) Constructions of otherness (sub-themes: ‘balance’; general descriptions of terrorism; articulations of the terrorist threat; descriptions of the specific groups under consideration for proscription); (v) Miscellaneous (no sub-themes, but included material on the naming of specific events and discussion of related matters). Although this article draws on each of these, its focus is primarily on material identified in themes (ii) and (iv) as appropriate to our interest here in the (re)construction of self and other. (Re)Producing Self and Other The remainder of this article explores constructions, in turn, of: the terrorist threat; specific organisations being considered for proscription; and, the UK self. We then argue that the repetitive nature of these debates has contributed to the production of a relatively coherent antagonistic relationship between the UK and its terrorist others. The terrorist threat Parliamentary debate around proscription is saturated by references to terrorism in general, and the threat posed thereof. Much discursive work is done by familiar metaphors, including those associated with animalism - one of the spiders ‘Abu Qatada, at the centre of the terrorist web in - awful scourge and threat of Europe’; disease ‘the and, monstrosity - is like battling a Terrorism, terrorism’; ‘[counter-terrorism] hydra’. here, is deceitful and are those, terrorists among them, who crawl opportunistic: ‘there on the back of as earthquakes, and the money directly funds human disasters….such like to target terrorism’; cowardly: ‘cowards civilians’; calculating, ‘[we were] horrified by the death of Drummer Rigby a few weeks ago, in a manner that was not only bestial, but designed to shock and grab national and international and, immoral, headlines’;
discussions of ‘balance’; miscellaneous); (iv) Constructions of otherness (sub-themes: general descriptions of terrorism; articulations of the terrorist threat; descriptions of the specific groups under consideration for proscription); (v) Miscellaneous (no sub-themes, but included material on the naming of specific events and discussion of related matters). Although this article draws on each of these, its focus is primarily on material identified in themes (ii) and (iv) as appropriate to our interest here in the (re)construction of self and other. (Re)Producing Self and Other The remainder of this article explores constructions, in turn, of: the terrorist threat; specific organisations being considered for proscription; and, the UK self. We then argue that the repetitive nature of these debates has contributed to the production of a relatively coherent antagonistic relationship between the UK and its terrorist others. The terrorist threat Parliamentary debate around proscription is saturated by references to terrorism in general, and the threat posed thereof. Much discursive work is done by familiar metaphors, including those associated with animalism - ‘Abu Qatada, one of the spiders at the centre of the terrorist web in Europe’; disease - ‘the awful scourge and threat of terrorism’; and, monstrosity - ‘[counter-terrorism] is like battling a hydra’. Terrorism, here, is deceitful and opportunistic: ‘there are those, terrorists among them, who crawl on the back of human disasters….such as earthquakes, and the money directly funds terrorism’; cowardly: ‘cowards like to target civilians’; calculating, ‘[we were] horrified by the death of Drummer Rigby a few weeks ago, in a manner that was not only bestial, but designed to shock and grab national and international headlines’; and, immoral,