Battle of Ideas: Terrorism with discussant Frank Furedi at the 2007 Battle of Ideas conference hosted by the Institute of Ideas.
Launching his new book Invitation to Terror at the Battle of Ideas, Frank Furedi calls for a fundamental reorientation of the way that terrorism and global threats are conceptualised. He will argue that the impact of terrorism depends entirely on how society responds to it. Terrorism is a problem, but it is a threat whose source lies in the midst of our culture rather than in the hills of Afghanistan or the slums of Baghdad. Furedi's argument is that risk-averse Western attitudes represent an invitation to risk-taking 'fear entrepreneurs', who are able to take advantage of Western fears with minimal effort. Invitation To Terror shows how the events of 9/11 and the subsequent conflict both express and give shape to society's crisis of meaning and lack of purpose- IoI
Bio
Frank Furedi
Frank Furedi is a social theorist and a prolific author whose books have been translated in 12 languages. He is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury.
Furedi’s research is oriented towards the study of the workings of precautionary culture and risk aversion in Western societies. In his books he has explored controversies and panics over issues such as health, children, food, new technology and terrorism. At present he is completing on education and the contestation of authority in contemporary society. Furedi’s books and articles provide an authoritative yet lively account of key developments in contemporary cultural life. Using his insight as a professional sociologist, Furedi has produced a series of agenda-setting books that have been widely discussed in the media. Furedi regularly comments on radio and television. He has appeared on Newsnight, Sky and BBC News, the Today programme, and a variety of other radio and television shows.
Furedi’s articles are published in the New Scientist, Guardian, Independent, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, Independent on Sunday, The Times, Sunday Times, Observer, Sunday Telegraph, Toronto Globe and Mail, Christian Science Monitor, Times Higher Education Supplement, spiked-online, Times Literary Supplement, L’Espresso, Harvard Business Review, Die Welt and Die Zeit amongst others.
Patrick Hayes
Patrick Hayes is the promotions manager for the Battle of Ideas and head of research and development for TSL Education, publishers of Times Educational Supplement and the Times Higher Education Supplement.
Formerly a writer and researcher for the Times Educational Supplement (TES), Hayes has written a chapter on 'What's Motivating Students?' in the newly published A Lecturer's Guide to Further Education: Inside the 'Cinderella Sector' (OUP). Hayes occasionally writes articles for spiked and reviews for Culture Wars.
Systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. It has been used throughout history by political organizations of both the left and the right, by nationalist and ethnic groups, and by revolutionaries. Although usually thought of as a means of destabilizing or overthrowing existing political institutions, terror also has been employed by governments against their own people to suppress dissent; examples include the reigns of certain Roman emperors, the French Revolution (seeReign of Terror), Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union under Stalin, and Argentina during the dirty war of the 1970s. Terrorism's impact has been magnified by the deadliness and technological sophistication of modern-day weapons and the capability of the media to disseminate news of such attacks instantaneously throughout the world. The deadliest terrorist attack ever occurred in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001 (seeSeptember 11 attacks), when members of al-Qaeda terrorist network hijacked four commercial airplanes and crashed two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City and one into the Pentagon building near Washington, D.C.; the fourth plane crashed near Pittsburgh, Pa. The crashes resulted in the collapse of much of the World Trade Center complex, the destruction of part of the southwest side of the Pentagon, and the deaths of some 3,000 people.