Understanding Al Qaeda Changing War and Global Politics, Second Edition

This book controversially argues that Al Qaeda has clear aims, and that the only way to defeat it is to engage with its arguments in a serious way.Since the publication of the first edition in 2006, Mohamedou has brought the text right up-to-date. Starting with Al Qaeda's creation almost twenty years ago, and sketching its global mutation, Mohamedou explains that there is a cogent strategy to Al Qaeda's actions. He shows that the 'war on terror' is failing, only serving to recruit more terrorists to Al Qaeda's cause. He also puts forward a case for how the international community can best respond. Arguing that it is dangerous to dismiss Al Qaeda as illogical and irrational, this incisive and original book is important for policy-makers and ideal for undergraduates in international relations, Middle East studies and peace/conflict studies.

Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou teaches in the International History and Politics and Development departments at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and is Associate Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He was previously the Associate Director of the Programme on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University, where he founded the Transnational and Non-State Armed Groups Project. He is the author of Iraq and the Second Gulf War: State-Building and Regime Security (2001), and Contre-Croisade: Le 11 Septembre et le Retournement du Monde (2011).

"Mohamedou is a top-notch academic. In today's world, you can't afford to miss this book." -Tim Sebastian, award-winning former BBC foreign correspondent and presenter of HARDtalk  "This must stand as one of the most thoughtful analyses to date of the evolution of Al Qaeda, in its drivers and motivation, organisation, and tactics. ... Should be required reading for anyone wanting to come to grips with the Al Qaeda phenomenon." --Gerd Nonneman, Professor of International Relations & Middle East Politics, University of Exeter  "This sober and sobering analysis is essential reading for Americans and Europeans, and opinion leaders everywhere. In times of crisis, listen to those who tell you what you need to know, not those who tell you what you want to hear." --Abdullahi An-Naim, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University  "Very thought provoking." -- Richard H. Shultz Jr, Tufts University "Mohammad Mohamedou has written a political analysis which provides a much-needed secular understanding of Al Qaeda as one among several organised forces in a rapidly changing international arena. Unlike most writers on the subject who tend to be mesmerised by Al Qaeda's religious discourse, Mohamedou insists on understanding the changing significance of the discourse against a historical backdrop of actions and events." -- Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University