Bluster: Donald Trump's War on Terror

by Peter R. Neumann

Overview

Defeating terrorism was one of Donald Trump's key campaign promises. But there is no easy way to make sense of Donald Trump's war on terror. Is it all bluster, aimed at mobilising his base, or does it represent a genuine shift from previous administrations?

Since Trump took office, American counterterrorism has become more militaristic and less interested in causes and consequences. Relationships with foreign partners have deteriorated and right-wing extremists feel powerful and emboldened. The most significant change of paradigm-the conflation of terrorism, immigration, and Islam-has not just resulted in costly failures, such as the "Muslim ban," but also undermined the trust of immigrant communities and multiculturalism in the US.

In Bluster, Peter Neumann assesses Trump's approach to countering terrorism, and argues that his war on terror looks strong and powerful in the short term, but will cause damage over time. The president has not just failed to provide a strategic framework for defeating terrorism; his entire approach has made the world less safe and undermined America's greatest 'soft power' asset-the very idea of America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190099947
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2020
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Peter R. Neumann is Professor of Security Studies at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, and was director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, 2008-18. He was previously adjunct professor at Georgetown University. His most recent book is Radicalized: New Jihadists and the Threat to the West.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction

1 The Trump Doctrine
2 The Campaign
3 Policy and People
4 Banning Muslims
5 Rules of Engagement
6 Defeating ISIS
7 Friends and Foes
8 Homeland

Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"Lots of angry instincts, no coherent strategy - that is Peter Neumann's damning verdict on a Trump administration that has shamed America while making us all less safe against the very real threat of terrorism." - David Frum, columnist for Atlantic, former White House speechwriter, and author of Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic

"Neumann is one of the world's top terrorism experts. Bluster is an excellent assessment of how American counterterrorism has changed under Trump, and perhaps more importantly, how it has not." - Daniel Byman, Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and author of A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism

"In this important book, Neumann argues that Donald Trump has undermined counterterrorism efforts by conflating terrorism with immigration and emboldening the far right at home while torching the United States' soft power around the world. A timely, persuasive, and utterly devastating critique of Trump's role in America's longest war." - Erica Chenoweth, Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard University

"An impressively well-reasoned and well-documented critique of the rhetoric and reality of the Trump Administration's approach to counterterrorism at home and abroad. Trump vociferously rejected his predecessors, but much has remained the same - and what has changed has made Americans less safe." - Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Emerita, Stanford University, and Professor of Government, Emerita, at Wesleyan University

"In this cool and careful analysis, Neumann explores the tangible difference that Trump's inflammatory and blustering rhetoric has made to American efforts to counter-terrorism." - Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London and author of The Future of War: A History

"This calm and accessible book from a noted academic gives a well-organised account of Trump's damaging approach. I warmly commend it for its structured and well-argued analysis."—Methodist Recorder

"Bluster is meticulously researched, concisely organised and easy to read—an admirable review of the Trump administration's counterterrorism strategy."—LSE Review of Books

From the Publisher