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Description
Richard English argues here that the post-9/11 War on Terror has spectacularly failed and that we now need a radically new approach to dealing with international terrorism. Recent policies have ignored the lessons of the past, and Terrorism: How to Respond seeks to remedy this lack of vision by looking at the long history of terrorism and assessing why such violence emerges, how it is sustained, and--most crucially of all--how and why it ends.
Written by an historian who has long studied Irish terrorism and politics, this book argues that we cannot adequately respond to the practical challenge of terrorist violence around the world unless we are more honest about the precise nature of the phenomenon, and about explaining its true and complex causes. Drawing on first-hand research into terrorist organizations, Richard English offers an authoritative and accessible analysis of arguably the most urgent political problem of the twenty-first century--and how we can successfully respond to it.
Product Details
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Publish Date | September 15, 2010 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Paperback / softback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780199590032 |
| Dimensions | 7.7 X 5.0 X 0.5 inches | 0.5 pounds |
About the Author
Richard English is Professor of Politics at Queen's University. Educated at the Universities of Oxford and Keele, he is a frequent media commentator on terrorism and Irish politics and history, including work for the BBC, NPR, the Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek, and the Financial Times. He is the author of six books and co-editor of a further five, and is the author of over forty journal articles and book chapters. His books include Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (Winner of the 2003 UK Political Studies Association Politics Book of the Year Award) and Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (Winner of the 2007 Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, and the 2007 Political Studies Association of Ireland Book Prize).
Reviews
"[A] definitive history of the IRA" -- The New York Review of Books"This is a very fine book. It is elegant and persuasively argued from a man who really does know what he is talking about. The long view of Richard English is vital in an age of the knee-jerk."--Fergal Keane, BBC Special Correspondent"Richard English is the author of outstanding histories of the IRA and Irish nationalism. Thoughtful scholarship lies at the heart of his fine analysis of terrorism as both a military and a political problem...In exploring this huge subject, English makes many telling points...while using history to console us with the thought that many terrorist movements eventually atrophy, provided societies have the resilience to see them out"--Literary Review
"Western governments continue to need constant admonitions, such as English provides, to adopt proportionate rather than draconian responses"--Sunday Times
"If you want to read one book which explains the phenomenon of terrorism, gives you a good historical grasp of the subject while also providing a dispassionate roadmap to guide you through the term's complex meanderings and its many intellectual cul-de-sacs, then this is the book for you. It is outstanding: short and beautifully written, it manages also to be thoroughly on top of its subject"--Irish Times
"[a] provocative primer"--Publishers Weekly"a sober corrective to some dangerous recent misconceptions." --Prospect
"'thoughtful, informed meditation on the state of terrorism research."--Foreign Affairs
"English negotiates a sophisticated path through the questions of definition and explanation that have long dominated this field...[The book] retains a credibility and persuasiveness lacked by many of its competitors...[and] advances our understanding of terrorism, its costs and its consequences considerably."--International Affairs
"a thought-provoking primer for politicians seeking something to stimulate them."--The American Conservative
"Recommended."--CHOICE
"Western governments continue to need constant admonitions, such as English provides, to adopt proportionate rather than draconian responses"--Sunday Times
"If you want to read one book which explains the phenomenon of terrorism, gives you a good historical grasp of the subject while also providing a dispassionate roadmap to guide you through the term's complex meanderings and its many intellectual cul-de-sacs, then this is the book for you. It is outstanding: short and beautifully written, it manages also to be thoroughly on top of its subject"--Irish Times
"[a] provocative primer"--Publishers Weekly"a sober corrective to some dangerous recent misconceptions." --Prospect
"'thoughtful, informed meditation on the state of terrorism research."--Foreign Affairs
"English negotiates a sophisticated path through the questions of definition and explanation that have long dominated this field...[The book] retains a credibility and persuasiveness lacked by many of its competitors...[and] advances our understanding of terrorism, its costs and its consequences considerably."--International Affairs
"a thought-provoking primer for politicians seeking something to stimulate them."--The American Conservative
"Recommended."--CHOICE
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