False Prophets: The 'Clash of Civilizations' and the Global War on Terror: 9 - Softcover

Bonney, Richard J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906165025 ISBN 13: 9781906165024

Publisher: Peter Lang Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

After 9/11 the US response to Al-Qaeda - the Global War on Terror - was heavily influenced by the 'clash of civilizations' theory. First introduced by Bernard Lewis in 1993 in an article entitled 'The Roots of Muslim Rage', this theory was taken up by Samuel Huntington in his famous book The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order in 1996. After the end of the Cold War global conflict will not be economic or ideological but cultural and religious. 'The clash of civilizations', Huntington wrote, 'will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.'
This theory of global conflict proved enormously influential with neoconservatives in the US and heavily influenced contemporary US and UK policy. Richard Bonney's controversial new book takes as its subject Huntington's 'clash of civilizations' thesis and looks at the history of this so-called struggle of civilizations before it came to prominence in the twenty-first century. It identifies the twenty-first-century proponents of the thesis, such as Bernard Lewis and Daniel Pipes, their links to the Bush government, and their roles in exploiting this tradition of hostility between the West and Islam.

About this title

About the Author

The Author: Richard Bonney was Professor of Modern History at the University of Leicester from 1984 to 2006. He has published, amongst other titles, Jihad: From Qu'ran to Bin Laden.

From the Back Cover

After 9/11 the US response to Al-Qaeda - the Global War on Terror - was heavily influenced by the "clash of civilizations" theory. First introduced by Bernard Lewis i 1990 in an article entitled "The Roots of Muslim Rage", this theory was taken up by Samuel Huntington in his famous book The Clash of Civilizations: Remaking of World Order in 1996. After the end of the Cold War global conflict will not be economic or ideological but cultural and religious. "The clash of civilizations", Huntington wrote, "will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future."
This theory of global conflict proved enormously influential with neoconservatives in the US and heavily influenced contemporary US and UK policy. Richard Bonney's controversial new book takes as its subject Huntington's "clash of civilizations" thesis and looks at the history of this so-called struggle of civilizations before it came to prominence in the twenty-first century. It identifies the twenty-first-century proponents of the thesis, such as Bernard Lewis and Daniel Pipes, their links to the Bush government and their roles in exploiting this tradition of hostility between the West and Islam.

From the Inside Flap

The Past in the Present
The past is always with us. It helped to shape our present; it is helping to mould our future. Now, as never before, it is crucial that historians communicate their knowledge to society at large. It is crucial for them: they need to engage with the needs of society. But it is also crucial for society, since historians form a bulwark against the abuse of the past by the powerful. Historians show what is was to be human in another place at another time; explain the complex and interconnected ways in which societies all over the world have come to share in our global present; and can encourage readers to be sceptical both of all attempts to hijack history for political purposes and of all processes which seek to dehumanise others.
This series embraces the wealth of subjects open to the historian, ranging from people and places to music and science. It does so with the support of the insights of a range of disciplines from anthropology to psychology, and with an emphasis both on good writing and on accessibility to the general reader.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang Ltd
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1906165025
• ISBN 13: 9781906165024
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 362