Publisher's Weekly Review
Barkun (Religion and the Racist Right), professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University, explores "the gap between the reality of terrorism and the imagined threat of terrorism" in this timely if academic study. Linking this gap between reality and paranoia to the Bush administration's "overreaction" to terrorist threats-especially the unprecedented expansion of government power and the development of a "cumbersome homeland security bureaucracy"-the author focuses on "the issue of unseen dangers." Jargon-modalities of invisibility, "differential focusing," "convergent disinterest"-and analytical overindulgence will likely put off general readers, but Barkun convincingly lays out powerful arguments-including that "destruction fantasies" pervasive in popular culture contribute to creating an inner "landscape of fear." Without being too specific in his prescriptions, Barkun suggests that understanding the gulf between reality and imagination will restore a "proportional conception of terrorism and homeland security." Scholars, students, and policy makers will find much to ponder in this rigorous examination of homeland security and its demons. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
In this slim but stimulating volume, Barkun (emer., Maxwell School of Syracuse Univ.) offers a unique look at the first decade after the September 11 attacks. The author's focus is on the way that terrorist threats and natural disasters have been conceptualized in the minds of Americans since then. Barkun classifies the new concerns as invisible or unseen dangers that may not be predictable. These threats stalk the nation quietly, threatening to bring destruction at any moment, with the swiftness of the al Qaeda attacks or the relatively slow but unstoppable pace of Hurricane Katrina. The dangers require massive preparation efforts if they are to be prevented. Barkun juxtaposes actual terrorist strikes, such as the conventional Mumbai attacks of 2008, with the constant media and governmental portrayal of the oncoming dangers, such as the terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction. Detailing the overreaction at the policy and public level, Barkun highlights mistakes that the US has made in designing and prioritizing its homeland security policy. These overreactions have their roots in competing narratives that paint horrific images of these unseen dangers, based on worst-case scenarios, even as the public becomes anesthetized to the warnings of ever-escalating dangers. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. W. W. Newmann Virginia Commonwealth University
