politalX Politics Store - Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-first Century
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List Price: £25.00
Our Price: £13.07
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Allen Lane
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 327
EAN: 9780713997842
ISBN: 0713997842
Label: Allen Lane
Manufacturer: Allen Lane
Number Of Pages: 688
Publication Date: 2008-05-29
Publisher: Allen Lane
Studio: Allen Lane
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Comment: This book is a really interesting look at 21st-century terrorism, from its evolution in history to its current aims and capabilities and to future predictions as to how society will live with terrorism in the future. Central to the argument of the book is the paradigm shift that a globalised and decentralised terrorist network represents to 20th-century thinking over state provision of security to its citizens. Where terrorist networks adopt the tools of a globalised world. The Internet as a tool for the dissemination of propaganda, the recruitment of supporters, and creation of a virtual "ummah" (Muslim brotherhood). The franchise model of market capitalism for the outsourcing of terrorist attacks, motivated by disparate grievances and perpetrated by disparate individuals but united by the "Al Qaeda" brand. The free-market exchange of commodities to pursue weapons of mass destruction (such as that presided over by AQ Khan in his distribution of nuclear secrets on the black market).
There is discussion on the future vulnerabilities from biological attack as biological capability becomes more widely spread. In particular the recent developments in DNA sequencing viruses from scratch in laboratories poses a real danger in the future of pathogen control. With highly contagious and lethal viruses such as smallpox now having the potential to be manufactured by doctorate level chemists able to bypass the top security government biochemical laboratories with DNA sequences readily published online, the traditional state controls on bio weapons are significantly weakened.
There is also a discussion on the evolution of terrorist ideology to justify the targeting of civilians, the challenges for modern intelligence agencies and the impact on society from a significant biological or nuclear attack.
The book is written in an intelligent but highly readable manner, furnished with literally hundreds of footnotes, citations of reports and analysis from experts in the field. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the effect of terrorism on 21st-century politics. It is a fascinating read.
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