For a generation; Muslim extremists have targeted Americans in an escalation of terror that culminated in the September 11 attacks. Our shared confusion -- Who are the attackers? Why are we targets? -- is cleared away in a book as dramatic as it is authoritative. Updated with new chapters on Afghanistan and the the broader Islamic movement; Sacred Rage combines Robin Wright's extraordinary reportage on the Islamic world with an historian's grasp of context to explain the roots; the motives; and the goals of the Islamic resurgence. Wright talked to terrorists; militant religious leaders; and fighters from Beirut to Islamabad and Kabul. Their voices of rage reverberate here -- right up to the attacks in New York and Washington. Across continents extends a challenge we fail to understand at our peril. Sacred Rage now casts light on the war being fought in the shadows.
#1990002 in Books Rowman Littlefield Publishers 2009-08-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.00 x 6.29l; 1.10 #File Name: 0742557855330 pages
Review
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful. After Putin's RussiaBy Michael GriswoldThis is a very readable book on the complex decisions and issues that face whomever the leader of Russia is: Putin; Medvedev; or someone else from military reform to the perils of Russia's population decline; to the economic concearns and the recentralization of Kremlin control of the regions. There is also a chapter in the book on Russian policy towards it's Eurasian neighbors. I would've liked to have seen a greater treatment or a chapter covering the Islamic terrorism within Russia because the North Causcus is still a vital region within Russia. For the 39.95 price tag; you can't go wrong for the information this covers.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. After The Gold Rush; On Contemporary RussiaBy Titus LA very interesting compilation of well referenced academic articles explaining and analyzing the evolution of institutions and policies in Russia under Putin and Medvedev. That the focus is 'on the fall of the Soviet Union and Putin's rise to power...the present and the background to that present' - is exactly what I wanted; to understand where Russia is now and how she arrived there politically; socially; and economically.Various terms such as 'managed democracy' and 'liberal autocracy' are used in the studies to explain how following Gorbachev's perestroika or liberalization program; and to resolve the fact that under Yelstsin the Kremlin began to loose its guiding influence over the development of policy to factions and oligarchs; Putin with his background in the organized structure of the KGB set about recovering governance of the country from the center.Putin has been widely credited for overseeing a return of political stability and economic progress to Russia; ending the crisis of the 1990s. During Putin's first premiership and presidency (1999-2008); real incomes increased by a factor of 2.5; real wages more than tripled; unemployment and poverty more than halved and the Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rose significantly. He saw through a number popular reforms; however many of his actions have been characterized by the domestic opposition and Western observers as undemocratic. Here I would remind the reader to consider both; the social reasons for Russia's autocratic tradition and that the term democracy itself can be misleading; as the sort of democracy we have in most of the Western world is a 'representative democracy' based on a 'first past the post' method which in excluding the possibility of proportional representation thus loses a large percentage of views that do not follow the leading political agendas..Examining the political developments and changes to structural policy - ''Putin turned the Russian parliament into a virtual rubber stamp''; the ongoing investment in and uptake by both people and state of the legislature and judiciary; the rule of law and the management of media - its visible 'freedom of expression' whilst uncooperative media magnates are jailed or exiled under a revived guidance by the state; portrays a recentralisation of power under the President and the Kremlin.Continuing with an indepth account of Russia's population decline; the demographics and migrations including the depopulation of Siberia and the rise and fall of the oligarchies.''According to Aristotle; oligarchy which he defined as rule by the wealthy few; was the least stable and hence least desirable form of government...they would soon be displaced by an autocrat; or an aristocracy...Aristotle's warning that oligarchy is inherently unstable seems to have been borne out by the Russian experience since 1991... ''Putin confiscated the Yukos oil company in 2003; Yukos was Russia's largest and most successful private company; but Putin renationalized it to emasculate its main owner; Mikhail Khodorkovsky; the most independent and outspoken of the new big businessmen and continued with a wave of renationalisation.Whilst many in the West have seen these developments to cast doubt over the Russian commitment to capitalism; the net result is a reigning in of unaccountable oligarchic privateers replaced by a possibly more socially oriented management of essential utilities from central government.For the indignant among readers and before they claim the dizzy moral heights; I would remind them of the many recent irregularities in the Western worlds of banking; investment; housing and pensions; to say nothing of the Chicago school Business ethics as revealed in Naomi Klein's remarkable study 'The Shock Doctrine;Rise of Disaster Capitalism'. I would also point towards the rising awareness of and mixed reactions towards the unaccountable transnational businesses and to Iceland's economic reorientation as an example of alternate methods to managing a country and its economy in the face of current global economic policies. My point being the evident impracticability of a one size fits all political and economic grand narrative.Crime is touched on; as the main reason holding back Russia's development of a small and medium business base for the development of democracy.Agriculture is shown to thrive under Putin's 'quiet revolution' and investment in farm loans and machinery; yet still to leave serious shortfalls in self sufficiency of food production based on the need for ongoing modernization of farming techniques and infrastructures - challenges that remain to be resolved.Russia's Foreign Policy is shown to have become much more assertive; as in Putin's speech at The Munich Conference on Security 2007 where he was extremely critical of U.S. ''unilateralism'' and ''accused the United States of ''disdain for the basic principles of international law'' and having''overstepped its national borders in ...the economic; political; cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations''...'' That Putin also militarily defeated Georgia in the Caucasus demonstrates that whilst maintaining an essentially defensive security posture; Russia is ready to use more assertive strategies to defend its national interests. However and contrary to some views that attribute Russia's assertive behavior to its traditionally imperialistic and anti Western political culture; the study here presents the view that the primary drivers in the Kremlin's foreign policy are contemporary and domestic. Further; Russia's intercivilizational alliance efforts to avoid a war of civilizations between the U.S.A. in pursuit of terrorism and their Muslim adversaries; her active involvement in forming potential peaceful resolutions between North and South Korea; and many other examples of foreign policy show that modern Russia is an active participant supporting peace in a multicultural world.Following a brief review of Russia's influence in the former Soviet states and surrounding countries of Central Asia; China and beyond; and of the efforts to resolve corruption in and restructure of the Russian Army; the study closes with predictably doubtful conclusion to be read with caution ''A fear of the West once again pervades the mind-set of Russian leaders..''which despite a number of issues revealed in the essays; I did not find to be the case in the studies presented. However '' Strong-armed tactics reminiscent of the Soviet-era KGB are still practiced...'' are shown to have been used and these might be explained or understood in the context of what has been called Russia's 'liberal autocracy' and the task of reestablishing and consolidating post Soviet governmental control of national and foreign policy.''Russia has evolved into a vibrant; capitalist economy with dozens of independent private owners commanding internationally influential businesses...yet this pluralistic and dynamic economy exists alongside - and within - a political framework that became increasingly closed and authoritarian in the 2000's.''Nevertheless; the picture portrayed in these essays shows a different structure of government; society and business than we are perhaps used to seeing in the West; one in which Russia's 'state capitalism' approaches a democratic system in its own way; in which a 'sovereign democracy' is led from the autocratic center and which despite the many culture specific differences of style and oxymoronic anomalies; Russia's 'sovereign economy' has improved life and the economy in many areas.Just where this will lead in future times does of course depend on how far Medvedev will continue Putin's recentralisation program and share his vision of domestic socio-economic modernization and multivector foreign policy. However as the example of Medvedev amplifying Putin's assertive vision shows - in Berlin 2008 Medvedev blamed the U.S. for generating the global financial crisis ''by trying to substitute for the global commodities and financial markets'' my guess based on the evidence in this study is that their shared vision will continue. In Putin's words and regarding the charge of 'statism'; ''For Russians a strong state is not an anomaly that should be gotten rid of. Quite the contrary; they see it as the source and guarantor of order and the initiator and main driving force of any change.''Having just recently read Orlando Figes' A Peoples Tragedy - about the Russian Revolution; and Natasha's Dance - about Russia's cultural legacy; this book brings my general background in Russia loosely uptodate and is highly recommended for the serious student of both Russia and Contemporary World Affairs.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Perfect; except the titleBy Lars GyllenhaalI found this to be an extremely credible and valuable guide to today's political system in Russia. However; I find the title somewhat misleading as the book mostly deals with the past and present. But of course; by gaining a better understanding of the system behind Batma...Putin and Robi..Medvedev; one gets a glimpse of what may come.A must for the serious student of Russia.
