British Academy releases publication 'Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism' by Professor Richard English FBA

The British Academy is pleased to announce the publication of its new book, 'Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism', edited by Professor Richard English FBA, Wardlaw Professor of Politics in the School of International Relations and Director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews. The book features contributions from established and esteemed academics as well as from other British Acaemy fellows such as Professor Conor Gearty FBA, Professor of Human Rights Law at the London School of Economics. 

Terrorism and counter-terrorism represent enduringly and globally important phenomena, and the interlinking relationship between terrorism and counter-terrorism continues to influence world politics. This book brings together leading scholars in these fields to analyse this connection. 

Chapters analyse post-9/11 counter-terrorism, the ongoing evolution of al-Qaida, the imperatives and challenges and global context of western counter-terrorist efforts, and the reasons why terrorist campaigns sometimes endure and sometimes come to an end. Candid and wide-ranging, the book offers rigorous and original argument on a subject of the highest contemporary significance.  

Professor Richard English FBA has published a blog on the book called 'Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Paris'

Professor Conor Gearty FBA, one of the contributors to the book, has also published a blog called 'Terrorism does not destroy, provided we restrain our excusable instinct to dive into the false security of a police state'

About the editor:  

Richard English FBA is Wardlaw Professor of Politics in the School of International Relations and Director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews. His books include the award-winning studies Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (2003) and Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2006). He is a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and an Honorary Fellow of Keble College Oxford.