Countering Terrorism

It has been nearly 15 years since 9-11 and the United States still faces terror threats. After years of war, ever more intensive and pervasive surveillance, enhanced security measures at major transportation centers, and many attempts to explain who we are fighting and why and how to fight them, the threats continue to multiply.

Counterterrorism experts Martha Crenshaw and Gary LaFree provide a comprehensive critical look at how we have dealt with the terror threat over the years. They argue that we still find it difficult to define just who and what it is we are fighting and at the same time we have yet to determine what is the best way to deter or eradicate terror threats. The book is a clear-eyed look at a history of determined efforts, some of which have worked and many of which have failed, and a glance forward at what we can do in the future.

MARTHA CRENSHAW is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, as well as professor of political science by courtesy, at Stanford University. She is also professor of government emerita at Wesleyan University and a lead investigator with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland.


GARY LAFREE is professor of criminology and criminal justice and director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. He has written over 80 articles and book chapters and five books, mostly looking at criminal and political violence.