Justice Ignited: The Dynamics of Backfire - Softcover

Martin, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742540863 ISBN 13: 9780742540866

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006

Synopsis

Attacks can backfire on attackers_sometimes spectacularly. In March 1991, an observer videotaped several Los Angeles police beating Rodney King with their batons. Shown on television, the beating caused enormous damage to the reputation of the police and led to the chief's resignation. This incident and others, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 1965 surveillance of Ralph Nader, prove that all sorts of attacks can backfire, from torture and massacres to job dismissals and reprisals against whistle-blowers. Through numerous detailed case studies, Justice Ignited presents the first comprehensive treatment of the dynamics of backfire, as it reveals the most promising tactics for causing the backfire of unfair attacks. Understanding backfire_both promoting and inhibiting it_is vitally important for activists and everyone else who wants to be effective in the face of injustice.

About this title

About the Author:

Brian Martin is associate professor in Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He is the author of a dozen books and hundreds of articles on peace and war, whistle-blowing, scientific controversies, democracy, and other topics.

Review:

Brian Martin has produced an interesting, well written, and comprehensive approach to understanding the unintended consequences of state power and crime. The book utilizes well-known historical and contemporary cases in order to demonstrate the process of backfire. Martin's work will appeal to scholars and activists alike. (Jeffrey Ian Ross, University of Baltimore)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0742540863
• ISBN 13: 9780742540866
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244