Fighting the Ideological War: Winning Strategies from Communism to Islamism - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0985310901 ISBN 13: 9780985310905

Publisher: Westminster Institute, 2012

Synopsis

For more than two decades the United States has responded to global terrorism primarily as a physical threat, avoiding direct confrontation with the beliefs and ideas that motivate it. This collection of essays seeks to redress this imbalance. It aims to give decision-makers the tools to craft an effective strategy for countering and defeating the beliefs that motivate Islamist terrorists by examining those beliefs closely and drawing on the lessons to be learned from past ideological conflicts.

About this title

About the Author

Patrick Sookhdeo has a Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University on issues relating to Islam and society. He is the Director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity and also serves as a senior advisor and consultant on security and military issues. He is currently Adjunct Professor at George C. Marshall European Center and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Defence Academy of the UK, as well as lecturing at other institutions. He is author of 30 books. Katharine Cornell Gorka is the Executive Director of The Westminster Institute, a non-governmental think-tank which is based in McLean, Virginia.

From the Back Cover

Islamism is a growing and powerful ideology that tolerates no dissent or rivalry. Yet in recent decades the United States has responded only to the violence that Islamism has generated, not to the beliefs and ideas that drive it. As a result of this failure, Islamist numbers and confidence have grown, and Islamist regimes have taken power in the Middle East and North Africa. So the United States is less safe than it was before 9/11, as is everyone else outside the Islamist fold. Until the United States understands and confronts Islamist ideology, it will not be able to slow the Islamist revolution and its destructive effects. This collection of essays proposes an effective strategy for countering and defeating the beliefs that motivate Islamists. It examines those beliefs in detail, considers their strengths and weaknesses, and draws on the lessons of past ideological conflicts, such as those with communism and fascism. Thus it provides invaluable equipment for the war of ideas in which we must now engage.

Edition details

• Publisher: Westminster Institute
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0985310901
• ISBN 13: 9780985310905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244
• Editor: Sookhdeo Patrick, Gorka Katharine C.