While we've long known that the strategies of terrorism rely heavily on media coverage of attacks, "Selling Fear" is the first detailed look at the role played by media in "counter"terrorism--and the ways that, in the wake of 9/11, the Bush administration manipulated coverage to maintain a climate of fear.
Drawing on in-depth analysis of counterterrorism in the years after 9/11--including the issuance of terror alerts and the decision to invade Iraq--the authors present a compelling case that the Bush administration hyped fear, while obscuring civil liberties abuses and concrete issues of preparedness. The media, meanwhile, largely abdicated its watchdog role, choosing to amplify the administration's message while downplaying issues that might have called the administration's statements and strategies into question. The book extends through Hurricane Katrina, and the more skeptical coverage that followed, then the first year of the Obama administration, when an increasingly partisan political environment presented the media, and the public, with new problems of reporting and interpretation.
"Selling Fear "is a hard-hitting analysis of the intertwined failures of government and media--and their costs to our nation.

Focusing on the continued terrorist threat by jihadist groups, such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, and homegrown violent far-right and far-left extremists in the West, Terrorism and Counterterrorism investigates this form of political violence in a historical and contemporary context. In this comprehensive and highly readable text, renowned expert Brigitte Nacos clearly defines terrorism's diverse causes, actors, and strategies; outlines anti- and counterterrorist responses; and highlights terrorism's relationship with the public and media. Terrorism and Counterterrorism introduces students to the field's main debates and helps them critically assess our understanding of, and our strategies for, addressing this complex and enduring issue. New to the Seventh Edition: The new chapter 3 reviews the history of terrorism-both domestic and international, whereas the new chapter 4 analyses the terrorist landscape in the third decade of the 21st century-including the transnational links between violent far-right and far-left violent extremists. The discussion of religious terrorism in chapter 5 ends with an added section about QAnon as religiopolitical cult. An extended section in chapter 7 is devoted to the increasingly militant roles of females in violent far-right extremism. The revised chapter 10 starts with the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan and an account of total costs spent on the post-9/11 war against terrorism before discussing the counterterrorism strategies of presidents G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. The failures and successes of the U.S. intelligence community in efforts to prevent terrorism at home with relevant data and case studies are new features in chapter 12.

Focusing on the continued terrorist threat by jihadist groups, such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, and homegrown violent far-right and far-left extremists in the West, Terrorism and Counterterrorism investigates this form of political violence in a historical and contemporary context. In this comprehensive and highly readable text, renowned expert Brigitte Nacos clearly defines terrorism’s diverse causes, actors, and strategies; outlines anti- and counterterrorist responses; and highlights terrorism’s relationship with the public and media. Terrorism and Counterterrorism introduces students to the field’s main debates and helps them critically assess our understanding of, and our strategies for, addressing this complex and enduring issue. New to the Seventh Edition: The new chapter 3 reviews the history of terrorism—both domestic and international, whereas the new chapter 4 analyses the terrorist landscape in the third decade of the 21st century—including the transnational links between violent far-right and far-left violent extremists. The discussion of religious terrorism in chapter 5 ends with an added section about QAnon as religiopolitical cult. An extended section in chapter 7 is devoted to the increasingly militant roles of females in violent far-right extremism. The revised chapter 10 starts with the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan and an account of total costs spent on the post-9/11 war against terrorism before discussing the counterterrorism strategies of presidents G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden. The failures and successes of the U.S. intelligence community in efforts to prevent terrorism at home with relevant data and case studies are new features in chapter 12.

While we've long known that the strategies of terrorism rely heavily on media coverage of attacks, "Selling Fear" is the first detailed look at the role played by media in "counter"terrorism--and the ways that, in the wake of 9/11, the Bush administration manipulated coverage to maintain a climate of fear.
Drawing on in-depth analysis of counterterrorism in the years after 9/11--including the issuance of terror alerts and the decision to invade Iraq--the authors present a compelling case that the Bush administration hyped fear, while obscuring civil liberties abuses and concrete issues of preparedness. The media, meanwhile, largely abdicated its watchdog role, choosing to amplify the administration's message while downplaying issues that might have called the administration's statements and strategies into question. The book extends through Hurricane Katrina, and the more skeptical coverage that followed, then the first year of the Obama administration, when an increasingly partisan political environment presented the media, and the public, with new problems of reporting and interpretation.
"Selling Fear "is a hard-hitting analysis of the intertwined failures of government and media--and their costs to our nation.