Synopses & Reviews
"There can be no more timely topic, nor more fundamental question, than the viability of an open society in the face of terrorism. This volume provides a wide-ranging, critical, and provocative survey of the challenges the US government and society face in the wake of September 11, 2001, and our initial responses. A grasp of the issues raised by these authors is of critical importance for any informed citizen."--Charles E. Walcott, Professor of Political Science, Virginia Tech"As the United States, in the wake of 9-11, struggles to balance civil liberties with the requirements of national security, policy makers and citizens alike would benefit greatly from reading this carefully balanced set of essays. In this impressive collection, scholars put our current dilemmas of law and policy into historical perspective. They thoughtfully raise the alarm about potential threats to our civil liberties without being alarmist. This is an important contribution to our understanding of the balance between the civil liberties crucial to our democracy and the demands of national security in an era of increased terrorist threats."--James P. Pfiffner, University Professor, School of Public Policy at George Mason University
Review
"There can be no more timely topic, nor more fundamental question, than the viability of an open society in the face of terrorism. This volume provides a wide-ranging, critical, and provocative survey of the challenges the US government and society face in the wake of September 11, 2001, and our initial responses. A grasp of the issues raised by these authors is of critical importance for any informed citizen."--Charles E. Walcott, Professor of Political Science, Virginia Tech
"As the United States, in the wake of 9-11, struggles to balance civil liberties with the requirements of national security, policy makers and citizens alike would benefit greatly from reading this carefully balanced set of essays. In this impressive collection, scholars put our current dilemmas of law and policy into historical perspective. They thoughtfully raise the alarm about potential threats to our civil liberties without being alarmist. This is an important contribution to our understanding of the balance between the civil liberties crucial to our democracy and the demands of national security in an era of increased terrorist threats."--James P. Pfiffner, University Professor, School of Public Policy at George Mason University
Synopsis
In light of the ongoing war against terrorism, can the United States maintain its dedication to protecting civil liberties without compromising security? At stake is nothing less than whether the ideas associated with the modern period of political philosophy, the freedom of conscience, the inviolable rights of the individual to privacy, the constitutionally limited state, as well as the more recent refinement of late modern liberalism, multiculturalism, can survive. Contributors evaluate the need to reassess the nation's public policies, institutions, as well as its very identity. The struggle to persist as an open society in the age of terrorism will be the defining test of democracy in the twenty-first century.
About the Author
David B. Cohen is Assistant Professor in the Department if Political Science, University of Akron.
John W. Wells is Associate Professor Political Science, Carson-Newman College.
Table of Contents
Part I: The Historical & Political Context x Testing the Flexibility of American Democracy: National Security and Civil Liberties in the 21st Century--John W. Wells & David B. Cohen x At Odds with One Another: The Historical Tension Between American Civil Liberties and National Security from World War I To The War on Terror--Jerel A. Rosati x Part II: Institutional Responses to the Security Dilemma x 'Putting Terror in Every Heart'? Anti-Terrorism Legislation and the Rehnquist Court in the Wake of Oklahoma City and September 11--Christopher P. Banks x A Limb from the 'Least Dangerous Branch': Foreign Affairs Litigation in the U.S. Courts of Appeals--Kirk A. Randazzo x Air Transportation Policy in the Wake of September 11th: Public Management and Civil Liberties in an Authority Centralization Context--Brian J. Gerber & Chris J. Dolan x Terrorism, Security, and Civil Liberties: The States Respond--Edward R. Sharkey, Jr. & Kendra B. Stewart x The Needs Of The Many: Biological Terrorism, Mitigation, & Issues Of Civil Liberties--David B. Cohen, Alethia H. Cook, & David J. Louscher x Part III: Policy, Citizenship & the Security Dilemma x Activist Judges, Responsive Legislators, Frustrating Presidents: International Human Rights, National Security, and Civil Litigation Against Terrorist States--John C. Blakeman x The Rights of Detainees in an Era of Terrorism--Otis H. Stephens, Jr. x Terrorism, War, and Freedom of the Press: Suppression and Manipulation in Times of Crisis--Kendra B. Stewart & Christian Marlin x At What Price? Security, Civil Liberties, and Public Opinion in the Age of Terrorism--Susan J. Tabrizi x The Possibility of Dissent in the Age of Terrorism: A First Amendment Problem and a Proposal For Reform--Daniel P. Tokaji x Part IV: Conclusion x From Lockean Dreams to Hobbesian Reality: September 11 and the Effect on American Political Culture--John W. Wells