Author: Albert Breton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521804417
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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Book Description
Political extremism is widely considered to be the product of irrational behavior. The distinguishing feature of this collection by well-known economists and political scientists from North America, Europe and Australia is to propose a variety of explanations which all insist on the rationality of extremism. Contributors use variants of this approach to shed light on subjects such as the conditions under which democratic parties take extremist positions, the relationship between extremism and conformism, the strategies adopted by revolutionary movements, and the reasons why extremism often leads to violence. The authors identify four core issues in the study of the phenomenon: the nature (definition) of extremism and its origins in both democratic and authoritarian settings, the capacity of democratic political systems to accommodate extremist positions, the strategies (civil disobedience, assassination, lynching) chosen by extremist groups, and the circumstances under which extremism becomes a threat to democracy.
Author: Ronald Wintrobe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139460439
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 261
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Book Description
Extremists are people whose ideas or tactics are viewed as outside the mainstream. Looked at this way, extremists are not necessarily twisted or evil. But they can be, especially when they are intolerant and violent. What makes extremists turn violent? This 2006 book assumes that extremists are rational: given their ends, they choose the best means to achieve them. The analysis explains why extremist leaders use the tactics they do, and why they are often insensitive to punishment and to loss of life. It also explains how rational people can be motivated to die for the cause. The book covers different aspects of extremism such as revolution, suicide terrorism, and global jihad. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism, including the French Revolution, the rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia under Milosevic, and the emergence of suicide terror and Al Qaeda today.
Author: Gabriel Weimann
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136827684
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 373
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Book Description
This book examines reason and unreason in the legal and political responses to terrorism. Terrorism is often perceived as sheer madness, unreasonable use of extreme violence and senseless, futile political action. These assertions are challenged by this book. Combining ‘traditional’ thought (by Kaplan) on reason and unreason in terrorism with empirical explorations of post-modern terrorism and its use of communication platforms (by Weimann) the work uses interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary dimensions to provide a multidimensional picture of critical issues in current politics and a deeper examination of their implications than previously available. The book looks at various aspects of modern politics, from terrorism to protest, from decision-making to political discourse, applying the perspective of philosophical thought. To do so, political issues and actions are examined by using concepts such as reason, emotions, madness, magic, morality, absolutism, extremism, psychopathology, rationality and others. The analysis is rooted in theories and concepts derived from history, philosophy, religion, art, sociology, psychology, and political science. This book, which was mostly written by the late Abraham Kaplan, an American philosopher, and edited and updated by Gabriel Weimann, will be of much interest to students of political violence/terrorism, philosophy, war and conflict studies and political science in general.
Author: Justin Tosi
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190900156
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 249
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Book Description
Why does talk about politics and moral issues tend to get so ugly, heated, and personal? So much public discussion goes awry because people are using it for the wrong reasons. Too often, especially online, people engage in moral grandstanding--they use moral talk to impress others by showing them they have the right views. Tosi and Warmke show why people behave this way, why it's wrong, and what we can do about it.
Author: Deborah Cook
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134312520
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
Exploring the premises shared by both critical theorists, along with their profound disagreements about social conditions today, this book defends Adorno against Habermas' influential criticisms of his account of Western society.
Author: Daniel Chirot
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691234329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 192
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Book Description
Why most modern revolutions have ended in bloodshed and failure--and what lessons they hold for today's world of growing extremism. Why have so many of the iconic revolutions of modern times ended in bloody tragedies? And what lessons can be drawn from these failures today, in a world where political extremism is on the rise and rational reform based on moderation and compromise often seems impossible to achieve? In YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION?, Daniel Chirot examines a wide range of right- and left-wing revolutions around the world--from the late eighteenth century to today--to provide important new answers to these critical questions. A powerful account of the unintended consequences of revolutionary change, YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION? is filled with critically important lessons for today's liberal democracies struggling with new forms of extremism."--Back cover
Author: D. J. Mulloy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134358024
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
American Extremism explains how at the heart of the politics practiced by the militia movement is an attempt to define the nature of 'Americanism', and shows how militia members employ the myths, metaphors and perceived historical lessons of the American Revolution, the constitutional settlement and America's frontier experience to do so. Mulloy argues that militia members' search for the 'authority of history' leads them to a position best characterized as 'ahistorical historicism', in which political interests in the present are given greater weight than the demands of a historically accurate reading of the past. With discussion of such recent events as the Oklahoma City bombing, Waco and the September 11th attacks alongside topical issues including militia conspiracy theories and the origins of Americans' right to keep and bear arms, this work provides the deepest understanding to date of the American militia movement.
Author: Scott Atran
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062020749
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 580
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Book Description
“Atran explores the way terrorists think of themselves and teaches us, at last, intelligent ways to think about terrorists.” —Christopher Dickey, Newsweek Middle East Editor and author of Securing the City Talking to the Enemy is an eye-opening and important book that offers a startling look deep inside terror groups. Based on the author’s unprecedented access to and in-depth interviews with terrorists and jihadis—including Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Taliban extremists and members of other radical organizations—Talking to the Enemy provides fresh insight and unexpected answers to why there are people in this world willing to kill and die for a cause. A riveting, compelling work in the tradition of The Looming Tower and Terror in the Name of God, Talking to the Enemy is required reading for anyone interested in making the world a safer, more secure place for everyone. “Scott Atran is one of the very few persons who understand religion and have figured out that religion is not about belief and cannot be naively replaced without severe side effects.” —Nassim Nicholas Taleb, New York Times-bestselling author of The Black Swan “Historically keen and astutely humanistic . . . the author’s deep penetration into anthropological explanations of evolution, teamwork, blood sport and war attempt to define what it means to be human.” —Kirkus Reviews Includes photographs
Author: A.D. Ultman
Publisher: Di Angelo Publications
ISBN: 1942549792
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 105
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Book Description
"Things have never been better in Animal Town. All animals are free, and animal does not kill animal." In an anthropomorphic world reminiscent of George Orwell's Animal Farm, predator and prey species of the American prairie have built a democratic, capitalist society where animals live together in harmony. Then, for the first time in memory, a predator kills a prey. The tragedy triggers a resurgence of species-based politics that threatens the very existence of Animal Town. With direct, accessible prose, dry wit, and penetrating satire, Animal Town is a prescient cautionary tale, exposing the danger of far-right and far-left political tribalism. Its nuanced and sophisticated treatment of contemporary politics, grounded in the words and actions of American political and cultural leaders, is related through the compelling story of a young jackrabbit's struggle to understand the nature of freedom, a weasel's quest for wealth and power, and the conflicting dogmas preached by a zealous fox and a radical gopher. Animal Town is a book made for the political moment but rooted in perennial wisdom.
Author: James R. Lewis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108509436
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279
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Book Description
There is currently much discussion regarding the causes of terrorist acts, as well as the connection between terrorism and religion. Terrorism is attributed either to religious 'fanaticism' or, alternately, to political and economic factors, with religion more or less dismissed as a secondary factor. The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism examines this complex relationship between religion and terrorism phenomenon through a collection of essays freshly written for this volume. Bringing varying approaches to the topic, from the theoretical to the empirical, the Companion includes an array of subjects, such as radicalization, suicide bombing, and rational choice, as well as specific case studies. The result is a richly textured collection that prompts readers to critically consider the cluster of phenomena that we have come to refer to as 'terrorism,' and terrorism's relationship with the similarly problematic set of phenomena that we call 'religion.'
