Book Review: John Mueller and Mark G Stewart, Chasing Ghosts: The Policing of Terrorism
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929917716096 |
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsThe Americas |
675
same arguments’, although this makes the epi-
threats. Published in 2016, the book is a recent
logue feel quite rushed.
addition to the vast body of literature on the
A useful resource for reading this book is
topic, and it contributes through compelling
Geary’s annotated version of the original report,
qualitative and quantitative evaluations of
published online in conjunction with The
America’s approach to policing the persistent
Atlantic. This is a truly excellent feature and it
problem. That threat is shown to be relatively
is a shame that this annotated version was not
limited despite the impact of 9/11 and the perva-
included as an appendix. Geary’s Beyond Civil
siveness of the fear of future terrorist attacks.
Rights marks an important contribution to the
The authors therefore evaluate the necessity of
scholarly understanding of the evolution of lib-
counterterrorism spending, measures and efforts
eralism during and after the civil rights era. In
in spite of terrorist capabilities to threaten the US
this concise yet thorough book, which is under-
homeland, and present a portrait of what US
pinned by impressive primary research, Geary
counterterrorism ought to look like today.
stakes a claim for the definitive account of
Provocative and ebulliently written, Chasing
Moynihan’s elusory report.
Ghosts will spur the interest of anyone wanting
a nuanced picture of American counterterror
Mitchell Robertson
efforts at home, how US politicians have per-
(University of Oxford)
ceived the threat since 9/11, and how the percep-
© The Author(s) 2017
tion rather than the practice of terrorism has
Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
influenced policy making for a long time. The
DOI: 10.1177/1478929917717438
presidencies of George W Bush and Barack
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Obama responded by spending massive sums of
money and encroaching on US civil liberties.
Chasing Ghosts: The...
To continue reading
Request your trial