Review: Contemporary Security and Strategy
| Author | Benjamin Zyla |
| Published date | 01 September 2008 |
| Date | 01 September 2008 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200806300330 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
| Reviews |
| 794 | International Journal | Summer 2008 |
and cultural organizations such as the Rashtriya Sevak Sangh (RSS), the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the Bhartiya Janata party (BJP). These
groups successfully mobilized a substantial part of the Indian Hindu popu-
lation during the 1990s to support the cause of one India, one Hindu nation.
This monolithic concept of India, denying pluralism and the differences of
various traditions, resulted in, among other things, the demolition of the
Babri mosque (reputedly the birth place of the Hindu god Rama) in Ayodhya
in 1992 and the genocide in Gujarat in 2002.
What lessons can be learned by western societies from the Indian ex-
ample? In the final chapter of this very fine book, Nussbaum suggests that
the clash of civilization within each of us, mentioned above, is found in every
modern democracy, as individuals and groups often blame their problems on
outsiders and on people who appear different. Indeed, one need not look too
far: the recent reasonable accommodation debate in Québec under the aegis
of the Taylor-Bouchard public commission has provided some clear illustra-
tions of just such a xenophobic desire to construct a homogeneous nation. It
is Nussbaum’s eloquent and compelling conclusion that to move beyond this
clash within each society,the individuals within it need deliberately to cultivate
a moral imagination that allows us to accept and celebrate differences.
Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay/Memorial University
CONTEMPORARY SECURITY AND STRATEGY
Craig A. Snyder
2nd edition
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 285pp, US $37.95 paper (ISBN 978-0-
230-52096-7)
International security studies has experienced a surge in the last few years.
Numerous volumes have been published that attempt to explain and under-
stand the most recent trends. No doubt, the terrorist attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York have given international security studies new
breath. The field is now preoccupied with international terrorism and Amer-
ican reactions to it, weapons of mass destruction, international interventions,
and human rights. The Bush doctrine, which disregards international law
and justifies American unilateralism, preemptive military action, and regime
To continue reading
Request your trial