This edited volume examines threat inflation, and its role in framing US foreign and security policy since 9/11.

This book examines the fascinating story of how the chief architects of realism (Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer) dealt with some of the most pressing political issues of our time through the lenses of fear. Pashakhanlou conducts the most comprehensive evaluation of their works to date, compromising of a meticulous analysis of 400 of their publications. As such, this book is an invaluable resource for practitioners, students and concerned citizens that seek to understand how three of the most influential International Relations scholars thought about the implications of fear at the global level. ‘In this important book, the author gets to the heart of the underlying emotional condition on which so much rational political thought in International Relations is built. By uncovering the role of fear within the modern classics of realism, the book sheds light on the role that fear plays in producing otherwise rational decision-making.’ David Galbreath, Professor of International Security, University of Bath, UK ‘The role played by fear in Realist international theory is under-explored and poorly theorised. This book addresses this lacuna and provides a thorough and systematic analysis of the significance of fear in Realism. In doing so, Arash Heydarian Pashakhanlou makes a major contribution to International Relations theory, and the ‘emotional turn’ in the study of contemporary international politics’. Adrian Hyde-Price, Professor of International Politics, Gothenburg University, Sweden

Discusses how deeply held beliefs guide American foreign policy and identifies the foundations of those beliefs, explaining how they have inspired poor strategic decisions in Washington.

To say that the world changed drastically on 9/11 has become a truism and even a cliché. But the incontestable fact is that a new era for both the world and US foreign policy began on that infamous day and the ramifications for international politics have been monumental. In this book, one of the leading thinkers in international relations, Robert Jervis, provides us with several snapshots of world politics over the past few years. Jervis brings his acute analysis of international politics to bear on several recent developments that have transformed international politics and American foreign policy including the War on Terrorism; the Bush Doctrine and its policies of preventive war and unilateral action; and the promotion of democracy in the Middle East (including the Iraq War) and around the world. Taken together, Jervis argues, these policies constitute a blueprint for American hegemony, if not American empire. All of these events and policies have taken place against a backdrop equally important, but less frequently discussed: the fact that most developed nations, states that have been bitter rivals, now constitute a "security community" within which war is unthinkable. American Foreign Policy in a New Era is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the policies and events that have shaped and are shaping US foreign policy in a rapidly changing and still very dangerous world.

This thoughtful text demonstrates how the mass media constructs a politics of fear in the United States. Using a social interactionist perspective, the chapters examines such issues as the expansion of surveillance on the Internet, the construction of a terrorism-fighting hero to promote patriotism, the use of social media by terror groups, the fear of the other fostered by the refugee crisis and western radicalization, as well as the mass-mediated reaction to recent terrorist attacks. Also covered are the politics of fear involving disease (Ebola, Zika), social control efforts, and harsh attacks on American governmental officials for not keeping people safe from harm. All chapters in this new edition have been updated with descriptions and relevant analysis of significant events, including two Israeli-Hamas wars, terrorism attacks (e.g., Boston Marathon, Charlie Hebdo, San Bernadino, etc.), global reactions—often hostility—to refugees in the United States and especially Europe, the development of ISIS, surveillance (Wiki Leaks, Snowden, NSA), and the growing significance of social media. The text explains how the social construction of fear is used to steer public and foreign policy, arguing that security policies to protect the citizenry from violence have become control systems that most often curtail privacy and civil liberties.

Russia’s intervention in the Ukraine, Donald Trump’s presidency and instability in the Middle East are just a few of the factors that have brought an end to the immediate post-Cold War belief that a new international order was emerging: one where fear and uncertainty gave way to a thick normative and institutional architecture that diminished the importance of material power. This has raised questions about the instruments we use to understand order in Europe and in international relations. The chapters in this book aim to assess whether foreign policy actors in Europe understand the international system and behave as realists. They ask what drives their behaviour, how they construct material capabilities and to what extent they see material power as the means to ensure survival. They contribute to a critical assessment of realism as a way to understand both Europe’s current predicament and the contemporary international system.