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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010162371 | HV6431 G83 2006 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
This book offers a valuable study of the nature and development of terrorism in all its forms in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Powerfully argued and thought-provoking, "Terrorism and Global Disorder" examines whether the world changed as a result of the events of 11 September 2001. It argues that the significance of the assault on America has been overstated and that terrorism with a global reach is best seen as a consequence of other, more fundamental changes. The author contends that the development and global outreach of terrorism stem from the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the superpower hegemony, aided by the spread of international technology and communications. He also examines the consequences of the political exploitation of terrorism and underlines the dangers created by the politicization of counter-terrorism for partisan purposes. Above all, this stimulating book attempts to place terrorism - now a word full of nuance and meaning and denoting a phenomenon which occupies so much government time and money - within the context of history and current affairs. It is an important contribution to the ongoing debate about the causes and nature of terrorism.
Author Notes
Adrian Guelke is Professor of Comparative Politics at the Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict, Queen's University, Belfast
Reviews 1
Choice Review
In his latest work, Guelke (Queen's Univ., Belfast), a well-known terrorism expert, offers a post-9/11 analysis of global terrorism that states from the beginning that the attacks on the US did not in fact represent a fundamental change in global politics. Instead, he posits that the rise of al Qaeda can be traced to geopolitical forces that emerged at the end of the Cold War. If the author's goal is to offer a convincing analysis counter to conventional wisdom, the case built here may not be sturdy enough to convince critics. The author offers a series of thematically ordered chapters bolstered by significant historical evidence, but he simply does not deliver in making the macrostructural argument promised at the outset. Having said this, the volume is nonetheless exceptional in what it does offer: a series of excellent theoretical and historical analyses of the complex political phenomenon known as terrorism. Thus, while the book as a whole is a bit nonlinear and at times disjointed, its component parts represent a welcome and recommended addition to the literature for those studying political violence and global terrorism. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through practitioners. M. O'Gara George Washington University
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. ix |
| 1 Introduction: a day of infamy | p. 1 |
| 2 A clash of civilizations? | p. 23 |
| 3 Blowback | p. 47 |
| 4 Diversion | p. 70 |
| 5 Spoiler violence | p. 93 |
| 6 Breakdown | p. 116 |
| 7 Revenge and spill-over | p. 140 |
| 8 A logic of escalation? | p. 163 |
| 9 Counter-terrorism | p. 187 |
| 10 Peace processes and terrorism | p. 211 |
| 11 Injustice and inequality | p. 234 |
| 12 Conclusion: terrorism and global disorder | p. 257 |
| Concise bibliography | p. 274 |
| Index | p. 277 |
