Terrorism and the Politics of Fear [Paperback]

David L. Altheide (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0759109192 | ISBN-13: 978-0759109193

In this powerful new book, sociologist David L. Altheide demonstrates how the mass media constructs a politics of fear in America. He argues that politicians and decision-makers bear much of the blame for the promotion of fear among citizens, resulting in the loss of civil liberties in return for greater protection. From a social interactionist perspective, Altheide presents his thesis that fear-as-entertainment informs the production of popular culture and news, generates profits, enables political decision-makers to cynically manipulate citizens, and can lead to major institutional changes, even war. The author dissects in turn: a modern propaganda campaign in the justification of the invasion of Iraq to the American people; the expansion of control and surveillance on the Internet; and the construction of a 'hero fighting terrorism' to promote patriotism, in the story of a promising young Arizona sports hero, Pat Tillman, who joined the Army and was killed by his fellow Rangers in Afghanistan. This thoughtful treatment of a timely subject will be indispensable to teachers and students of sociology, media, politics, and criminology studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Terrorism and the Politics of Fear is a response to the political use of "fear symbols" that has reached unmatched levels in the twenty-first century. In this highly recommended book, David Altheide explores the military-media complex and continues his study of the social construction of 'fear' and its use to steer public and foreign policy. In this exploration, he compellingly argues that crime prevention projects and anti-terrorism efforts pushed through on a wave of manipulated social fear have become broad social control systems that don't necessarily make us safer but invariable make us less free. His detailing of how surveillance systems of varied ilk monitor citizens more but prevent crime less, demonstrates the danger of crime prevention morphing into citizen micro-management and social regulation that is divorced from real security concerns. He deftly tracks how inordinate fear in a society translates into a glib surrendering of civil liberties and privacy. This book should be read by anyone who is concerned for both their security and their liberty. (Professor Raymond Surrette )

Terrorism and the Politics of Fear is the most important study of this issue written so far. David Altheide takes apart the rhetoric to show us how the politics of fear is constructed. If you want to understand the construction of fear- this is the place to start. (Professor Frank Furedi )

Be afraid. Be very afraid...of our own leaders and media. David Altheide presents a chilling account of ways in which fear has been used to change the American political landscape. This book brings new meaning to the idea that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. (Bennett, Lance )

This important book demonstrates how politicians and other decision-makers are using fear of terrorism to extend and intensify social control well beyond the threat of terrorism. It shows brilliantly that mass media formats and logics of fear fundamentally shape how people think about security, and lead them to engage in new forms of self-regulation. We are all now governed through fear. (Richard V. Ericson )

About the Author

David L. Altheide is Regents' Professor in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University, where has taught for 31 years. A sociologist, who uses qualitative methods, his work has focused on the role of mass media and information technology for social control. His theoretical and methodological statements on the relevance of the mass media for sociological analysis include An Ecology of Communication: Cultural Formats of Control (Aldine de Gruyter, 1995) and Qualitative Media Analysis (Sage, 1996). Another recent book, Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis (Aldine de Gruyter, 2002), focuses on the news media's constructions of a discourse of fear and the social consequences of this. This book received the 2004 Cooley Award, as the best book for the year in the tradition of symbolic interaction, from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. Dr. Altheide also won this award in 1986 for his book, Media Power. He has also applied qualitative research designs to investigate the nature and process of educational reform, with particular emphasis on school context and culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: AltaMira Press (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759109192
• ISBN-13: 978-0759109193
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fear Not! A Captivating Read Indeed!, June 4, 2006

By 

CS (Tempe, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terrorism and the Politics of Fear (Paperback)

Terrorism and the Politics of Fear (2006)
David L. Altheide

Altheide's work for the past thirty years has dealt primarily with the proliferation of the mass media and its growing place in our everyday public lives. Terrorism and the Politics of Fear expands on his recent research over the past decade involving fear; tracking its expansion throughout the mid 1990s, ultimately giving rise to what he calls the `discourse of fear,' or `the pervasive communications, symbolic awareness, and expectation that danger and risk are all around us' (page 11). The discourse of fear is fully explicated in his previous book, Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis (2002) and serves as the theoretical catalyst for many of his arguments in Terrorism and the Politics of Fear.

The crux of Terrorism and the Politics of Fear involves social power, or the ability to define a situation and others and the role that the mass media play in this process. The book posits that authorities (e.g. formal agents of social control) promote fear, via the discourse of fear among citizens on the basis, "that even the cynical observer [will] hand over their lives for protection" (page 2). It is important to note that his argument rests on the assumption that fear is not necessarily good nor bad, but rather is maintained through everyday interaction; thus the concern then is understanding how fear is promoted, especially politically (e.g. the `politics of fear') which yields key insights into how fear is employed through such avenues as propaganda.

The `politics of fear' refers to, `decision makers' promotion and use of audience beliefs and assumptions about danger, risk, and fear in order to achieve certain goals' (page 15). Throughout the text Altheide reveals through meticulous detail how the politics of fear is A) informed by the discourse of fear and B) how the two become inextricably linked. This linkage is the basis of contemporary forms of social control facilitated most notably through the mass media. For example, this linkage is bolstered through perpetual images of fear by entertainment media; that rely heavily on a `fear format' which is informed by media logic, or `the process through which media present and transmit information (page 50).

Increased technologies give rise to increased surveillance, however this book highlights that the problem is not necessarily with surveillance, increased presence of formal agents of social control, or the like; rather the concern becomes spotlighting changes of symbolic representations in the social order which help us understand accompanying shifts in television programming, such as war programming (see chapter 8).

Fear (among other things) sparks consumerism and this book effectively demonstrates how people are more likely to be regarded as audiences (rather than individuals), which as Altheide suggests in turn accounts for the disappearance of citizenship in our mass-mediated age.

This book is highly recommended.

Suggestions for Further Reading

Altheide, David L. 2002. Creating Fear: News and the Construction of Crisis. New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

Bennett, W. Lance. 2005. News: The Politics of Illusion. New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

Chomsky, Noam. 1989. Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies. Boston, MA. South End Press.

Chomsky, Noam. 1992. National Film Board of Canada, and Necessary Illusions. DVD. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. Directed by Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick. Montreal: Necessary Illusions.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, July 20, 2011

By 

Evonnia Woods "amped reader" (Murphysboro, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Terrorism and the Politics of Fear (Paperback)

I like authors who make me think past what they have written and this author does just that. After you read this, you will be tying in its concepts into all information you take in!