Secular war : myths of religion, politics and violence / by Stacey Gutkowski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gutkowski, Stacey, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jihad.

Secularism.

War--Causes.

War.

Islamic countries--Relations--Western countries.

Islamic countries.

Middle East--Relations--Western countries.

Middle East.

Western countries--Relations--Islamic countries.

Western countries.

Western countries--Relations--Middle East.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London : I.B. Tauris, 2013.

Summary:

"How have long-standing and unconscious secular assumptions about religion shaped the post-9/11 climate and its wars? Stacey Gutkowski explores this little-examined, yet crucial, element of British perceptions of and policy towards Jihadism over the last decade, to draw critical conclusions about the relationship between war and the secular. She points to a surprisingly coherent body of secular beliefs that have fuelled policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and counter-terrorism, and that have had mixed results - responsible for both positive strategies and tragic errors. The theory Gutkowski develops on the impact of this secular approach to warfare holds a broader global significance, and cannot be viewed as just a British phenomenon. This book addresses ongoing and critical debates, such as the 'overreach' of Western liberal interventionism in the Middle East, and speaks to policy-makers, security analysts and students of IR, Foreign Policy and Security Studies."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1 A Shared Cultural Palette: European Origins of British Secular Ways of War

2 Developing Secular Habits in War: the Northern Irish Troubles

3 The British Secular Habitus up to and including the 9/11 Wars

4 War in Afghanistan: From Secular Hysteresis to a Culturalist Approach, 2001 - 2010

5 War in Iraq: Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Question of Secular Democracy, 2003 - 2004

6 War at Home: Pastoral Power and Secular Regimes of Security in Britain, 2005 - 2010

7 Restructuring the Secular Habitus

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780755619962

075561996X

9780857727497

0857727494

OCLC:

1157211387