Barbarians At and Behind the Gates: The Loss of Contingency and the Search for Homeland Security

In: The Forum: a journal of applied research in contemporary politics, Band 1, Heft 2

Abstract

Professor Harknett argues that the Bush administration has incorrectly labeled the security threat facing the nation as terrorism. The threat is actually barbarism, which implies an effort to destroy as an end itself rather than as a means to pursue political objectives. Traditional models of deterrence and defense are insufficient for dealing with barbarism. The new threats suggest the use of tactics that are not purely defensive, but preventive and preemptive. As U.S. policymakers pursue such tactics they should recognize that traditional perspectives that separate domestic and international domains are ill-suited to a threat that undermines a world and regional system to which the United States is central.