New Book:
Fighting Back
What Governments Can Do About Terrorism
Edited by Paul Shemella
Since terrorism became a global national security issue in the new millennium,
all governments have wrestled with its effects. Yet strong measures against terrorism have often made the
root causes of the problem worse, while weak responses have invited further attack. In response, this book
explains how governments can construct and execute the most effective strategies to combat terrorism—and
how they can manage the consequences of those acts of terrorism they cannot prevent.
It provides an overview of the complex problem of terrorism and offers a guide to shaping solutions to
fit the unique structures and processes of governments. These issues and their solutions are demonstrated
in six case studies. The book's value lies in its holistic treatment of what governments can do to protect
their societies, with the ultimate goal of reducing terrorism from the global security threat it is today
to a national-level criminal problem.
Written by a team of experts, the book offers a concise but complete course on the most important national
security challenge of our time.
Stanford University Press
"No government effort is more 'interagency' than preventing terrorism or dealing
with it when it cannot be prevented. Fighting Back is a surprisingly readable guide for developing
'whole of government' and multinational strategies against terrorism — for our international
partners as well as our own leaders."
— The Honorable James R Locher III, former Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict
