BOOK REVIEW - TERRORISM,INSTABILITY AND DEMOCRACY IN ASIA AND AFRICA

A BOOK REVIEW – TERRORISM, INSTABILITY, AND DEMOCRACY IN ASIA AND AFRICA BY DAN G.COX, JOHN FALCONER AND BRIAN STACKHOUSE

(Amazon.com)

Researchers in the social sciences have recently explored answers to the global challenge of terrorism. Dan G. Cox, an associate professor of Political Science for the US Army Command, and General Staff College's School of Advanced Military Studies in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, John Falconer, a doctoral candidate at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Brian Stackhouse, a major in the U.S. Army, who is also an instructor of military science at Missouri Western State University, have produced both qualitative and quantitative analyses of terrorism in their book Terrorism, Instability and Democracy in Asia and Africa.  

Cox and his colleagues challenged the conventional wisdom that linked domestic terrorism with economic and democratic deprivation. The authors refute basing counter-terrorism foreign policy on democratic peace and argue that “democracies are no more pacific than non-democracies, and no element in democracy has been shown to be the foundational impetus prohibiting democracies from warring with one another” (see pg.3).  Their focus on Asia and Africa contrasted most of the terrorism literature which tends to mainly concentrate on the Middle East region as a base for terror and terrorist activities. The authors examine domestic terrorism, other than international terrorism, in Asia and Africa in order to showcase the greater threats it pose to international stability.

Cox, Falconer, and Stackhouse argue that democracy, civilization differences and poverty, are all tied to regime of instability - which is central to their research.  The researchers believe that anything that produces great instability in a society can provide a strong foundation for a sustained terror movement. These variables are critically examined through statistical inquiry and case studies to determine whether one, more, or all of these variables help us understand why terrorism occurs.

In order to address how and why terrorism occurs, the researchers defined Terrorism as “any premeditated violent act perpetrated against civilian noncombatants by sub-national or international groups, clandestine agents or individuals sympathetic to larger terrorist groups and movements, with the intent to influence a target audience larger than the intended victims toward or against a particular policy action.” They argue that the lack of a concise definition of the subject, however, makes apprehending the concept quite difficult (i.e., insurgency in one country is terrorism; freedom fighters are terrorists in another country) and in establishing international laws to fight it. 

Is terrorism an illegal act? More information would help others understand the current researchers perception of identifying wrong acts or trying to bring down a regime to establish their own. The researchers make reference to military targets, political establishments, and areas where civilians are going about their usual day without thinking they might be killed or injured. Many researchers in this field have the same concerns of the reasons terrorists wish to right a wrong or pressure the government into changing a policy.

The authors emphasized the need for the international community to fully understand terrorism in order to combat it. In addition to examining these factors in detail, Cox, Falconer, and Stackhouse offer a number of case studies to illustrate the influence of such variables on areas like Africa, the Middle East , the Near East, and the Far East. Each of these regions has dealt with terrorism for years, most even decades. The text examines how their governments have chosen to deal with it (by means of violence, a carrot-and-stick approach, compromise, etc.) and explores whether those actions have lessened, neutralized, or possibly increased terrorist activities.

In Conclusion, Terrorism, Instability and Democracy in Asia and Africa provides a strong, timely, and balanced view of terrorism that represents an important advance in understanding this contentious phenomenon in both Asia and Africa. It is recommended that policymakers and students of terrorism read this text in order to appreciate the vivid evidence that challenges both conventional wisdom of democratic peace, and limited awareness of terrorism to the Middle East.

WORKS CITED

Cox, G., Falconer J., and Stackhouse. B. (2009). Terrorism, Instability and Democracy in Asia and Africa. Northeastern University Press.