1st Edition

The State and Terrorism National Security and the Mobilization of Power

By Joseph H. Campos Ii Copyright 2007

    Adopting an innovative approach to the ongoing debate over homeland security and state response to terrorism, Joseph Campos investigates the contextualizing of national security discourse and its management of terrorism. New ideas developed in this book reflect ways in which national security is mobilized through specific discourse to manage threats. In addition, a review of presidential rhetoric over the last 30 years reveals that national security discourse has maintained an ideological hegemony to determine what constitutes violence and appropriate responses. The volume incorporates historical depth and critical theory in a comparative framework to provide an invaluable insight into how national security is developed and how it works with the concept of terrorism to secure the state.

    Acknowledgments; Introduction Terrorism and the State; Chapter 1 The State in a Time of Terror; Chapter 2 National Security Discourse on Terrorism in Cold War Presidential Rhetoric; Chapter 3 National Security Discourse on Terrorism in Post–Cold War Presidential Rhetoric; Chapter 4 Once They Were Human; Chapter 5 State Versus Terror; Chapter 6 Language, Knowledge, and Power in the Name of the State; Conclusion;

    Biography

    Joseph H. Campos II is from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA.

    'Joseph Campos locates his work in the nexus of critical state theory, theories of security, and terrorism, specifically focusing on the appropriations of terrorism and terror events in national security discourse and statecraft. He pushes the limits of security theory in ways attentive to the imperatives of contemporary political times and the shifting conceptualizations and practices of international security and global terrorism.' Nevzat Soguk, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA 'At a time when there is a growth industry of mundane books treating terrorism in a global age, Joseph Campos' book stands out for its intellectual rigor, conceptual power and politicial sophistication.' Michael J. Shapiro, University of Hawaii, USA 'Focusing on how state apparatuses and on how Presidential discourse in particular have fashioned the discourse of terrorism to sustain state authority, this book demonstrates how the Manichean discourse of terror has been constructed. In the welter of new security discourse surrounding "terror" and the growth of new international industries and alliances revolving around a manifold discourse of terror, Campos contributes his own distinctive voice to the critical interrogation of that discourse.' Michael Dillon, Lancaster University, UK 'This book is well thought out...Recommended.' Choice '...Campos achieves an effective and compelling argument for the legitimacy of the state-as-actor, and the manner in which that political unit continues to preserve its unique and historical status in an ever-globalizing and troubled world.' e-Extreme