The Fight for Legitimacy: Democracy vs. Terrorism (Praeger Security International) - Hardcover

Ruth Margolies Beitler; Cindy R. Jebb; P. H. Liotta; Thomas Sherlock

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 027599189X ISBN 13: 9780275991890

Publisher: Praeger (UK), 2006

Synopsis

Terrorism cannot be treated as a monolithic threat. Moreover, as much as we may wish to focus on the terror tactics and terrorist means, we cannot overlook the ends. In fact, good policy can only be crafted with an understanding of the terrorist strategy; that is, how terrorists integrate their means to secure their goals, given their perception of the security environment. The groups covered in this book change and evolve. While their governments must take aggressive actions to secure their populations against attacks, those governments that recognize the real grievances can simultaneously take action that addresses those grievances. This two-pronged approach simultaneously bolsters state legitimacy across the ethnic and majority populations, while demonstrating state effectiveness regarding insecurity. The authors argue that the best way for states to win legitimacy vis-a-vis terrorists is by adhering to liberal democratic values, cooperating with other states, and applying prudent counterterrorist tactics.

Inter-state cooperation, which affects domestic and foreign policies, requires some convergence of political cultures among those cooperating states. This book begins by analyzing five hotspot situations and their regional effects: the Basques in Spain, the ethnic Albanians in Macedonia, the Kurds in Turkey, the Chechens and Russia; and the Palestinians, Israel, and a future Palestinian state. These cases shed some light on how we should understand, characterize, and categorize terrorism, and they provide insights into the concepts of political legitimacy, liberal democracy, political culture, and political community. As the United States assesses its homeland defense posture, it must resist any temptation to weaken its liberal democratic values, and, as a superpower, it must encourage other states to adhere to liberal democratic values as well. Liberal democracy is a security imperative in today's global security environment.

About this title

About the Author

CINDY R. JEBB is a US Army colonel, and Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, West Point. P. H. LIOTTA is the Director of the Pell Center at Salve Regina University. THOMAS SHERLOCK teaches comparative politics and international relations at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he is currently Head of Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences. RUTH MARGOLIES BEITLER is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Edition details

• Publisher: Praeger (UK)
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 027599189X
• ISBN 13: 9780275991890
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200