Key Concepts

Axis of evil – phrase deliberately used by George W. Bush in January 2001 to characterize Iran, North Korea, and Iraq.

Clash of Civilizations – controversial idea first used by Samuel Huntington in 1993 to describe the main cultural fault-line of international conflict in a world without communism; the notion has become more popular still since 9/11.

Empire – a disputed concept that some have tried to apply to the United States to describe its international reach, huge capabilities, and vital global role of underwriting world order.

War on Terror – announced after 9/11 to suggest an extensive and global struggle to combat and finally defeat international terrorism.

11 September – referred to as “9/11”, the day when four aircraft were hijacked by Islamic terrorists in the United States – two of which destroyed the World Trade Center in New York, one which partially destroyed the Pentagon, and a fourth which crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Source: The globalization of world politics.

John Baylis and Steve Smith

Terrorism (lat. fear) – the use or threat of violence that may be limited in its physical destructiveness but is high in psychological impact because it creates fear and shock. Terrorism’s effectiveness is political rather than military. The terrorist act is meant to communicate a message to a watching audience. Assassinations of prominent figures in society or attacks on civilians chosen at random from a targeted group are typical of terrorism. Bombings are its most common form. Conventionally the term applies to the acts of revolutionaries or nationalists who challenge governments, while terror refers to government actions to crush resistance. In practice the distinction between terrorism and terror is not always clear.

The term originated as a description of the Reign of Terror (1793 – 1794) during the French Revolution. In the late 19th century, terrorism was turned against the state, for example, in the actions of Russian revolutionaries, European anarchists, and Irish nationalists. After World War I, terrorism in Europe merited discussion in the League of Nations. In the 1990s there emerged a pattern of terrorist attacks designed to kill large numbers of people. Numerous attacks were linked to exiled Saudi multimillionaire Osama bin Laden, including, in 2001, suicide attacks using four hijacked U.S. airliners as missiles, destroying the World Trade Center. Source: Encyclopedia Americana

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2.2. Read the extract from “Hegemony or survival. America’s quest for Global Dominance” by Noam Chomsky, the author of numerous bestselling works, from American Power in 1960s to 9/11 in 2001, a professor of linguistics and philosophy.

Lucid, rigorous, and thoroughly documented, Hegemony or Survival is Chomsky’s most urgent and sweeping work in years. Certain to spark widespread debate, it is a definitive statement from one of the world’s most influential political thinkers.