Lessons and Legacies of the War On Terror: From moral panic to permanent war(Routledge Critical Terrorism Studies)

This volume examines the lessons and legacies of the U.S.-led "Global War on Terror," utilizing the framework of a political "moral panic." A decade after 9/11, it is increasingly difficult to deny that terror has prevailed – not as a specific enemy, but as a way of life. Transport, trade, and communications are repeatedly threatened and disrupted worldwide. While the pace and intensity of terror attacks have abated, many of the temporary security measures and sacrifices of liberty adopted in their immediate aftermath have become more or less permanent. This book examines the social, cultural, and political drivers of the war on terror through the framework of a "political moral panic": the exploration of threats to particular individuals or institutions that come to be viewed as threats to a way of life, social norms and values, civilization, and even morality itself. Drawing upon a wide range of domestic and international case studies, this volume reinforces the need for reason, empathy, and a dogged defence of principle in the face of terror. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, human rights, U.S. foreign policy, American politics, and Security Studies and I.R. in general.

Table of Contents:
1. Constructing National and Global Insecurity: A Prologue, Alison Brysk, Everard Meade, and Gershon Shafir 2. The War on Terror as Political Moral Panic, Gershon Shafir and Cynthia E. Schairer Part I: Reponses at Ground Zero 3. Constitutional Barriers and the Perils of Impunity, William Aceves 4. The Banality of Deterrence: The Detention and the Denial of Asylum Seekers after 9-11, Everard Meade 5. Religion Out of Place: Islam and Cults as Perceived Threats in the United States, Peter Gottschalk Part II: Globalization of the War on Terror 6. Fighting Phantoms: The United States and Counterterrorism in Eastern Africa, Jeremy Prestholdt 7. Counter-Revolution in U.S. Military Affairs, David Pedersen 8. Conclusion: The Politics of Moral Panics: Norms and National Insecurity, Alison Brysk

About the Author :
Gershon Shafir is Professor of Sociology, Director of the Institute for International, Comparative, and Area Studies, and founding Director of the Human Rights Minor at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of several books, including Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship, co-authored with Yoav Peled, which won the Middle Eastern Studies Association's Albert Hourani Award for best book on the Middle East in 2002. Everard Meade is Assistant Professor of History and founding member of the advisory board of the Human Rights Minor Program at UCSD. He has published recent articles in the Journal of Historical Biography, Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos and InterCulture. William J. Aceves is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at California Western School of Law. He is the author of The Anatomy of Torture and the co-author of The Law of Consular Access and principal author of the influential Amnesty International USA Safe Haven report.

Review :
"The contributors to this conceptually interesting and provocative volume utilize the framework of what they term a political 'moral panic' to examine the lessons and legacies of the United States-led "Global War on Terror.'" - Dr. Joshua Sinai