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

Patrick Sookhdeo; Stephen Ulph; John H. Moore; John Lenczowski; Robert R. Reilly; Thomas Joscelyn; Sebastian L. Gorka

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0985310901 ISBN 13: 9780985310905

Publisher: Isaac Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

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. Thus it provides invaluable equipment for the war of ideas in which we must now engage.

About this title

Product Description:

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.

Review:

This just released work is an important and timely contribution to current thinking regarding the modern resurgence of Islamism. More precisely, in the relatively short span of 240 pages, the book offers an intriguing perspective on how the Western democracies can develop a comprehensive methodology to combat Islamic expansionism in all of its forms, both violent as well as nominally peaceful [which relies heavily on da'wa, Muslim proselytization]. Demonstrative of the anthology's currency, it is reflective of a post bin-Laden world. While the subject matter will necessarily be of most interest to those already working within the field [or students thereof], it might well have broader appeal to those interested generally in national security matters, comparative political theory, ideological trends and taking the offensive in a multi-front asymmetrical war. Though there is a fairly large preexisting knowledge base in these combined areas of study much of the subject material is by nature, dense and therefore primarily of interest to academicians. Fighting the Ideological War is the type of work that would be appropriate as a basis for further exploration in the field, though it certainly stands as a powerful achievement in its own right. The book is organized around seven essays, grouped under three subheadings, Identifying the Enemy After the Death of Bin-Laden, Learning from the Past and Winning the Ideological War, which logically connect the major points: Defining the enemy's nature. Identifying successful historical examples of dealing with such challenges. Developing an overall enemy threat doctrine and presenting a template for winning the war of ideas. It follows then that in order to triumph within such a paradigm, both aspects of Islamism must be defeated, with Fighting the Ideological War offering a reasonable winning strategic vision based upon historical fact, rather than the current policy which heavily relies upon gestures rooted in appeasement and willful ignorance.

About this edition

• Publisher: Isaac Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0985310901
• ISBN 13: 9780985310905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Katharine C. Gorka, Patrick Sookhdeo