Why do states and international relations organizations participate in the "global war on terrorism"? This book asks this question within a broad framework, exploring the mechanisms and causes for participation in global governance and taking counterterrorism as a pertinent case. Challenging the assumption of egalitarian structures of global governance, the author argues that power relations and the use of power (influence, coercion and force) play a more important role than previously suggested. Providing a critical assessment of the counterterrorism policies of EU, US and ASEAN, the book identifies a number of causes of participation in hegemonic governance, including asymmetric interdependence with the US, open and informal pressure in the case of the EU, and the authority and legitimacy of the leading actors.

This book intends to harvest insights from the discipline of Psychology, in its broad understanding, for application to International Relations. Although Psychology offers an abundance of theories that are useful for this purpose, they have so far remained largely untapped. In chapters on conflict, hegemony, terrorism, mental health, global consciousness, and peace proposals, Byer provides a synthesis of these two complimentary disciplines. This innovative volume presents the first contribution to the new discipline of International Political Psychology.

With Theory of International Politics Kenneth Waltz established Neo-realism as a major school of thought in IR, which still remains a dominant approach within the discipline in the Anglo-American world and beyond. Man, the State and War - his first contribution to the debate in IR and the predecessor to Theory of International Politics - received praise for its presentation of a discussion on the causes of international warfare as well as the possibilities of its prevention on three different levels of analysis: the individual, the state and the international system. This book reflects on the arguments presented in Man, the State and War from a contemporary perspective. Do Waltz's ideas still hold firm ground in the discipline? The book alerts to the perceived necessity of combining conceptions of governance and authority with considerations on the reduction of inequality at the individual, state and international level. Inequality in particular has received increased attention as a cause for violence at all three levels since Waltz published Man, the State and War. The book also addresses Waltz's rejection of supranationalism as the remedy for war - a view that has been challenged since he wrote the book. One theme stands out: from today's perspective, the establishment and maintenance of 'good global governance' can be considered the most important aspect for the prevention of war.

With Theory of International Politics Kenneth Waltz established Neo-realism as a major school of thought in IR, which still remains a dominant approach within the discipline in the Anglo-American world and beyond. Man, the State and War - his first contribution to the debate in IR and the predecessor to Theory of International Politics - received praise for its presentation of a discussion on the causes of international warfare as well as the possibilities of its prevention on three different levels of analysis: the individual, the state and the international system. This book reflects on the arguments presented in Man, the State and War from a contemporary perspective. Do Waltz's ideas still hold firm ground in the discipline? The book alerts to the perceived necessity of combining conceptions of governance and authority with considerations on the reduction of inequality at the individual, state and international level. Inequality in particular has received increased attention as a cause for violence at all three levels since Waltz published Man, the State and War. The book also addresses Waltz's rejection of supranationalism as the remedy for war - a view that has been challenged since he wrote the book. One theme stands out: from today's perspective, the establishment and maintenance of 'good global governance' can be considered the most important aspect for the prevention of war.

Since September 11, 2001, the pressure on Al Qaeda has increased. Training sanctuaries and havens have been eliminated, and numerous fighters of the organization have been killed, captured or are in hiding. Today, Al Qaeda can be understood - according to many analysts - much more as an ideological platform than an operative terror organization: Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri cannot provide tactical leadership. But they pose a new, more virtual threat insofar as recruitment, training and indoctrination, as well as propaganda, have moved to small cell operations in virtually every country, under the Al Qaeda ideological banner. ... The stark fact is that the execution of the global war on terrorism has not decreased international terrorism directed against the West. In view of this apparent failure of present strategies, the editors have sought the opinions of eight distinguished scholars and experts in the field to reflect on the following questions: What additional actions are required in counterterrorism policy to reverse the increase in terror-directed activities? What are the main shortcomings of current policy initiatives? And, what policy recommendations can they make as a result of recent developments in counterterrorism theory and new data on terror perpetrators and incidents? Their answers set out in this volume provide important contributions - academic, scientific, and practical - to the debate on how to effectively counter terrorism, which methods to pursue, and which means to apply. ... The volume is structured in three parts: Possible anticipatory actions in the context of counterterrorism and prevention; the question of reasonable reaction to a perceived or real threat; and discussion on the effects of an attack and how to deal with them.

Beyer provides a structural explanation for the 'Global War on Terror' in terms of its broader context and causes. During the post-cold war unipolar world, the only superpower encounters an unprecedented challenge: a non-state enemy that is challenging its hegemony and uses violence as a strategic means. Given the international nature of this phenomenon, such a structural explanation requires an added necessity and urgency. This structural approach can provide for both a proper understanding of the phenomenon of international terrorism and for formulating effective policies to counter it.Current studies of transnational terrorism and the interrelated role of hegemonic power are undertheorized. This book remedies this theoretical neglect and in doing so opens up new modes of thinking about and struggling against global terrorism.

This book includes an interview with Professor Waltz conducted in August 2007 in his summerhouse in Maine and winter 2007 in New York. We were first talking about his personal history, then tackled his theoretical assumptions and the histories of his seminal books in order to finally discuss current world affairs in general.