Chasing Phantoms
Reality, Imagination, and Homeland Security Since 9/11
By Michael Barkun
208 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, notes, bibl., index
-
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-2226-2
Published: December 2014 -
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8078-7769-2
Published: April 2011
Buy this Book
- Paperback $29.95
- E-Book $19.99
For Professors:
Free E-Exam Copies
Barkun identifies a gap between the realities of terrorism--"violence without a return address"--and the everyday discourse about it among government officials and the general public. Demonstrating that U.S. homeland security policy reflects significant nonrational thinking, Barkun offers new recommendations for effective--and rational--policymaking.
About the Author
Michael Barkun is professor emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and is a former FBI consultant in domestic terrorism cases. He is author of five previous books, including Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement.
For more information about Michael Barkun, visit
the
Author
Page.
Reviews
"Convincingly lays out powerful arguments. . . . Scholars, students, and policy makers will find much to ponder in this rigorous examination of homeland security and its demons."--Publishers Weekly
"A cascade of keen concepts about invisible powers, coercive re-enchantment, apocalyptic sensibility, disaster obsessions, reverse transparency, landscapes of fear, moral panic, security theater, and government restructuring rituals. Sharp points about centralized-control vs. emergent-behavior narratives, and how experts shape them. Plus sage advice for a proportional conception of terrorism and homeland security."--David Ronfeldt, co-author Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy
"Chasing Phantoms is a very impressive, original, and well-written discussion of Americans' ability to understand terrorism after 9/11. Barkun opens our eyes to the reality of terrorism versus the imagined threat of terrorism. This is a must-read."--David Rapoport, editor of Terrorism: Critical Concepts in Political Science
"Michael Barkun displays a powerful understanding of the atmosphere of panic created in the aftermath of 9/11. Taking a new and illuminating approach to that day, he reveals how the 9/11 attacks were interpreted by various observers and what that has meant for the United States, as well as the rest of the world."--Leonard Weinberg, author of Global Terrorism: A Beginner's Guide
"Michael Barkun lays out the historical and social contexts for understanding the post–9/11 climate of fear in the United States, putting controversial issues of contemporary public discussion into a historically rich and theoretically sound framework. His scholarship is impeccable."--Mark Juergensmeyer, author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
Multimedia & Links
Read: Barkun's guest blog posts at uncpressblog.com.