Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-Conservativism: The Framework of a Liberal Grand Strategy (Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law (Paperback Oxford)) - Softcover

Farer, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019953473X ISBN 13: 9780199534739

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2008

Synopsis

Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-Conservatism brings together and subjects to critical scrutiny the core controversies connected to the so-called "War on Terror" such as: When is it legitimate and prudent to use force? Is torture ever justified? Do we need to suspend human rights in order to fight terrorism? Is multi-culturalism the answer to communal conflict? Are terrorists responding to concrete U.S. policies or do they simply wish to destroy Western societies?

In it, the author argues that liberal intellectuals and political leaders have been slow to articulate a grand strategy informed by liberal values for confronting the issues surrounding global terrorism. The book outlines the framework of a liberal strategy, and exposes the costs of the neo-conservative alternative that has driven US foreign policy since 9/11.

About this title

About the Author

Dean Farer is a leading scholar in the fields of international law, international relations and human rights. He has been an official in the United States Government's Department of State and Defense, the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Vice-President of the International League for Human Rights, a Wall Street Lawyer, and legal advisor to the head of the UN's 1993 mission in Somalia.

Review

"Farer's deep understanding of international law and politics suffuses this important book as does his rich appreciation of the philosophical underpinnings of a liberal international order. He dissects the core assumptions of the neo-conservative agenda and forthrightly identifies the liberal values that have guided American Presidents since FDR as they defined America's global role. The next President has a window of opportunity to restore that unique bipartisan heritage which combines American interest, power, and values and secures American legitimacy. Farer's book is an important contribution if we are to seize the opportunity to revive the moral basis of American power in the emerging multi-polar world." --Harry Kreisler, Executive Director Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley and Host and Executive Producer of Conversations with History

"This is a timely and important book, not only for those interested on policy matters but also for those eager to achieve a more humane world." --Guillermo O'Donnell, Helen Kellogg Professor of Government, University of Notre Dame

"Tom Farer's book is a pleasure to read, both for the specialist and for the lay person. First of all, it is extremely well written, eloquent in a way few texts nowadays are. Farer's language is very rich without being archaic, serious but replete with healthy irony: it inspires envy of everyone who writes on similar topics."
--Vojin Dimitrijevic, Professor of International Law and Member, Permanent Court of International Arbitration

"Tom Farer weaves together into a coherent picture the most urgent issues of early-21st century world affairs. He warns that it is not only the 'War on terrorism' threatening us, but our own foreign policies which have gradually departed from - and have now begun to undermine - the very humanistic liberal ideals that the US and, indeed, the West as a whole have stood for. Since it is written with masterful lucidity, this book will uniquely serve not only the IR specialist, the International Lawyer, and the student, but also the general public as well. It deftly guides the reader through the confusing maze of both the practice of foreign policies as well as theories about them."
--Dr. Vendulka Kubalkova, Professor of International Studies, University of Miami

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 019953473X
• ISBN 13: 9780199534739
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272