Securing Africa: Post-9/11 Discourses on Terrorism - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754675459 ISBN 13: 9780754675457

Publisher: Routledge, 2010

Synopsis

This meticulously researched, forcibly argued and accessibly written collection explores the many and complex ways in which Africa has been implicated in the discourses and politics of September 11, 2001. Written by key scholars based in leading institutions in Canada, the United States, the Middle East and Africa, the volume interrogates the impact of post-9/11 politics on Africa from many disciplinary perspectives, including political science, sociology, history, anthropology, religious studies and cultural studies. The essays analyze the impact of 9/11 and the 'war on terror' on political dissent and academic freedom; the contentious vocabulary of crusades, clash of civilizations, barbarism and 'Islamofascism'; alternative genealogies of local and global terrorism; extraordinary renditions to black sites and torture; human rights and insecurities; collapsed states and the development-security merger; and anti-terrorism policies from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. This is a much-needed meditation on historical and contemporary discourses on terrorism.

About this title

About the Author

Malinda S. Smith is Associate Professor, International Relations at the University of Alberta, Canada

Review

'This is a welcome and pioneering attempt to assess some of the consequences and outcomes of the US-led war on terror on the people and states of the African continent. A fine example of the new critical approach to terrorism-related research, Securing Africa is important for its illumination of a neglected and misunderstood corner of the global war on terror, as well as the voice it gives to rarely-heard African perspectives. This book deserves a wide audience.' Richard Jackson, Aberystwyth University, UK 'Securing Africa challenges some of the embedded orthodoxy in global security discourses. With Africa as its centerpiece, this volume offers illuminating and critical perspectives on the emerging and re-emerging linkages between terrorism, democracy, human rights and security in a post 9/11 World Order.' Obijiofor Aginam, United Nations University Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan 'Offers interesting reflections on the shaping planning and practicing of the 'war on terror'... These essays are an excellent starting point on the subject, blazing a trail to encourage more research until Africa is no longer a place where terrorism can have a foothold.' The Round Table '... substantial and provocative... The contributors come from Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Qatar, South Africa, the United States, and Canada, thus bringing to a wide audience voices that are rarely heard... The book is a welcome attempt to assess the effects of the 'war on terror' on a neglected continent and its peoples. It presents important challenges to orthodox representations and approaches to terrorism, notably by destabilizing the Eurocentric assumptions inherent in most terrorism-related research. It must also be commended for bringing together African perspectives that are frequently marginalized, if not silenced... Securing Africa offers refreshing and challenging perspectives on the politics of 'terrorism thinking' in Africa.' African Affairs

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0754675459
• ISBN 13: 9780754675457
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272
• Editor: Smith Malinda S.