Counterterrorism and Colonialism

Reviews / Votes

"This timely book provides a theoretically rich but accessible analysis of post 9/11 counterterrorism security logics as a key source of colonial 'truthmaking'. Using 'decolonial countermapping' interviews, archival sources, and a feminist lens it traces patterns of hierarchical lawmaking as a key tool for colonisation and oppression. Its incisive analysis provides a critical resource for all those dedicated to resisting, refusing and abolishing the violence of colonialism."

Jude McCulloch, Emeritus Professor, Monash University

"Counterterrorism and Colonialism is a careful, frank, and accomplished text which grapples explicitly with the violent coloniality of counterterrorism efforts often deemed normatively good by definition. Finden makes a compelling case for recognising and reversing the normalised acceptance of state violence under the guise of counterterrorism, and, using a decolonial and feminist approach, looks for paths to resistance, and ultimately hope. This is a must-read, intellectually and politically."

Laura Sjoberg, Global Professor of Politics and International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London

"Finden expertly links colonial and counterterror violence across time and place, while never losing focus of the human impact. She brings together multiple theoretical traditions and methods to craft a powerful and unsettling tale of state abuse of law and authority. A timely and important book."

Dr Jasmine K. Gani, Assistant Professor in International Relations Theory, London School of Economics and Political Science

"In this fascinating study, Alice Finden traces how logics of prevention, civilisation and extremism proliferated across the British imperial project in Egypt. Identifying the parallels between Victorian logics of the British welfare state and projects aimed at 'civilising' the Egyptian population, Finden sheds new light on the prevention of 'extremism' and of civilising the 'vulnerable'. Drawing from this rich archival study of colonial governance, she situates the contemporary regime of pre-emptive policing anew."

Charlotte Heath-Kelly, Professor of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

"The book compellingly examines the production of extremism and security policies during British colonial rule in Egypt. Through various critical and decolonial feminist readings of key historical reference points, including the 1914 Martial Laws and the Dinshaway Tribunal, Finden meticulously unearths colonial anxieties that humanise the colonised subject, while propagating mundane forms of violence in everyday governance practices. The book situates the contemporary effects of such violence in exceptional and excessive patterns of counterterrorism laws, showcasing how the binary extremist/immoral conditions life in Britain and postcolonial Egypt."

Shaimaa Abdelkarim, Assistant Professor in Postcolonial Legal Theory and Critical Race Studies, School of Law, University of Birmingham