Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 5, 2001

Volume 30, Number 5

New book will explore ways to combat terrorism

Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group, and the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization are joining forces in the intellectual attack on terrorism by co-publishing "The Age of Terror: America and the World After September 11."

In the book, edited by Strobe Talbott and Nayan Chanda, eight scholars will explore ways that terrorism can be contained in the near term and ultimately defeated. "The Age of Terror" will be published simultaneously in the United States and United Kingdom by Basic Books and Perseus Press, respectively, on Jan. 2.

"Working with the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization is a unique opportunity to invite scholars to consider the background to the events on September 11 and the imperative of America's reaction in the suddenly new world order," says John Donatich, publishing director of Basic Books. "Signing this book brought us comfort and excitement in being able to add so significantly to the struggle ahead of us."

September 11 has been described as a defining moment -- one that marked the beginning of a new era, an age of terror, in which counter-terrorism will be one of the highest priorities of national governments and international institutions. "The Age of Terror" will feature a wide range of views and insights about why the terrorist attacks happened and what can be done about them.

"This book is -- in the lucidity, forcefulness and diversity of views it presents -- a major, agenda-setting contribution to a debate of vital importance," says Strobe Talbott, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.

Basic Books executive editor and publishing director of The Perseus Press, Don Fehr, added, "This is the kind of informed, high-voltage publishing we do best. There is tremendous power and authority behind each of these contributors, and the idea is to look at what's happened from 30,000 feet, to bring perspective to a very difficult set of issues and problems."

The book's editors, Talbott and Chanda, have spent their careers grappling with the issues that have suddenly been cast into stark relief. Talbott, a former Time magazine foreign-affairs columnist and deputy secretary of state, is the director of the Yale Center. Chanda, a former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and current director of publications at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, is an acclaimed author and journalist.

The following is a list of the book's contributors and the aspects of terrorism about which they will be writing:

Abbas Amanat, professor of history and chair of the Council on Middle East Studies at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, will cover the Islamic resurgence -- from defiance to violence. Amanat has written several books about the Middle East, and most recently, he edited two volumes of essays: "Imagining the End: Visions of Apocalypse from Ancient Middle East to the Contemporary United States" and "The United States and the Middle East: Political, Diplomatic and Economic Relations from a Historical Perspective."

Paul Bracken, professor in Yale's Department of Political Science and School of Management, will address the need to think anew about what constitutes security and how to ensure it. Bracken specializes in international security and business issues. He has written extensively on international political and military problems, and his most recent book was "Fire in the East: The Rise of Asian Military Power and the Second Nuclear Age."

Niall Ferguson, professor of political and financial history at the University of Oxford and visiting professor of economics at the Stern School of Business, New York University, will explore the economic side of America's resolve to fight terrorism in light of its sole status as a superpower. Ferguson is a prolific commentator on contemporary politics, and the author of several books, including "The Pity of War" and "The Cash Nexus: Money and Power in the Modern World, 1700-2000."

John Lewis Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, will write about the urgent need for a new grand strategy now that the nation has seen what comes after the cold war. An author of many books about the cold war, Gaddis is on the advisory board of the Cold War International History Project and served as a consultant on the CNN television documentary "Cold War."

Charles Hill, distinguished fellow at Yale International Security Studies and a distinguished fellow in diplomacy at Baylor University, will explore the complex political and cultural origins of the conflict in the Middle East and the challenges to any diplomatic resolution. Among his foreign service and state department positions, Hill has served as executive assistant to Secretary of State George Shultz and career minister of the Foreign Service of the United States. At the United Nations he was special consultant to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and assistant secretary-general.

Paul Kennedy, the J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History and director of Yale International Security Studies, will present the historical precedents and the implications for the sole remaining superpower. Kennedy is internationally known for his writings and commentaries on global, political, economic and strategic issues. He is the author of 13 books, including the international bestseller, "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers."

Harold Hongju Koh, the Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, will discuss the danger that democracy, civil society, human rights and the rule of law will fall victim to the campaign against terrorism. Koh served as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and is the author of several books, including "Deliberative Democracy and Human Rights."

Maxine Singer, president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and scientist emeritus at the National Institute of Health, will write about the challenge to science and technology as both sources of the problem and sources for a solution. Singer received both the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, the highest honor given to a civil servant, and the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor bestowed by the President of the United States.

Basic Books is a division of the Perseus Books Group, which was founded in 1997 on the belief that a new business model was necessary to profitably publish quality books in today's market environment.

The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization serves as a catalyst for research, writing and teaching on globalization, utilizing Yale faculty and bringing to campus distinguished scholars and practitioners of international affairs. Initial funding for the center was provided by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and a gift from an individual donor.

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