Terrorism and Global Disorder - Political Violence in the Contemporary World - Adrian Guelke

Sep 19, 2026

Uploaded by Aria

Terrorism and Global Disorder examines political violence in the contemporary world through an analytical, objective lens. The book addresses how memories of war, terrorism, and other atrocities persist, shaping fear of future victimization. It highlights the limits of reassurance for analysts when intentions and capabilities of small sub-state groups fluctuate unpredictably. Chapters trace escalation dynamics, blowback, counter-terrorism responses, peace processes, and underlying injustice and inequality, concluding with terrorism’s role in global disorder.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages297

Reading Time12 h 28 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Preface

1 Introduction: a day of infamy

2 A clash of civilizations?

3 Blowback

4 Diversion

5 Spoiler violence

6 Breakdown

7 Revenge and spill-over

8 A logic of escalation?

9 Counter-terrorism

10 Peace processes and terrorism

11 Injustice and inequality

12 Conclusion: terrorism and global disorder

Concise bibliography

Index

Terrorism and Global Disorder Terrorism and Global Disorder Political Violence in the Contemporary World Adrian Guelke Published in 2006 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 [www.ibtauris.com](www.ibtauris.com) In the United States of America and Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan a division of St. Martin’s Press 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Adrian Guelke 2006 The right of Adrian Guelke to be identiﬁed as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available ISBN10: 1 85043 803 X (Hb) ISBN13: 978 1 85043 803 8 (Hb) ISBN10: 1 85043 804 8 (Pb) ISBN13: 978 1 85043 804 5 (Pb) International Library of War Studies 8 Typeset in Janson by Keystroke, 28 High Street, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd., India For innocent victims of terrorism and of the war against terrorism Contents Preface ix 1 Introduction: a day of infamy 1 2 A clash of civilizations? 23 3 Blowback 47 4 Diversion 70 5 Spoiler violence 93 6 Breakdown 116 7 Revenge and spill-over 140 8 A logic of escalation? 163 9 Counter-terrorism 187 10 Peace processes and terrorism 211 11 Injustice and inequality 234 12 Conclusion: terrorism and global disorder 257 Concise bibliography 274 Index 277 Preface While human beings tend quickly to forget the ravages caused by epidemics or the death toll from natural disasters, even when they occur on a vast scale, memories of the carnage caused by war, terrorism or other forms of political violence rarely fade. This is in part because the purposeful nature of such violence demonstrates what human beings are capable of doing to eachother. Our knowledge of past atrocities thus stimulates our fear of becoming victims of similar or worse outrages in the future. Such fear is buttressed by the fact that it is quite impossible to predict the future course of human violence, since both intentions and capabilities are constantly in ﬂux. And this is particularly true of the small sub-state groups that engage in terrorism. Consequently, there are limits to the reassurance that any analyst of political violence can offer to the fearful reader. Indeed, to offer any reassurance at all may create a hostage to fortune, since the possibility of another tragedy on the scale of 9/11 can never be ruled out. However, what the reader is entitled to expect is that the analysis of what has already happened should aim to be objective and this is what I have striven to achieve in this book. This is the third book I have written for I.B.Tauris. My ﬁrst was also on the subject of terrorism. It focused on the onset of an age of terrorism that could be dated from the late 1960s. Terrorism then was related to the emerging post-colonial era. This book focuses on the phenomenon as it has developed in the context of

FAQs

What is the main focus of Terrorism and Global Disorder?

The book focuses on political violence in the contemporary world and how terrorism contributes to broader patterns of global disorder.

Why does the book emphasize the difficulty of predicting political violence?

It notes that predicting the future course of human violence is impossible because both intentions and capabilities constantly change, especially among small sub-state groups.

How does the book approach the reader’s need for reassurance?

It argues that reassurance has limits and that offering any reassurance can create a hostage to fortune when tragedies like 9/11 cannot be ruled out. The analysis therefore aims to be objective.

Sep 19, 2026

Uploaded by Aria