Age of Fear: Power Versus Principle in the War on Terror

The new ‘post-September 11 era’ is an age of fear: international relations is now not just about power politics but also about fear politics. We live in a world where power is no longer an adequate guarantee against fear. In fact, power begets fear: the more powerful a nation is, the more fearful it becomes. This apparently contradictory combination, awesome power and unprecedented fear, is profoundly reshaping international security order. This book examines how this transformation came about, It looks at three kinds of fear; which define international politics today: fear of ‘postmodern’ terrorism, fear of American unilateralism, and fear of the state apparatus empowered by the war on terror. In so doing, the book offers a critical perspective on the war on terror, and the key issues and questions involved: such as the definition and sources of terrorism, trends in terrorism in South and Southeast Asia, the legitimacy of the war over Iraq and its implications for international security, the Bush doctrine of pre-emption and Asia’s response to its, and the impact of the war on terror on democracy and human rights.