In his magisterial Politics Among Nations (1948), Morgenthau noted that "it is inevitable that a theory which tries to understand international politics as it actually is and as it ought to be in view of its intrinsic nature, rather than as people would like to see it, must overcome a psychological resistance that most other branches of learning need not face." What the sage of realism held to be true for international politics in general is certainly applicable to its most barbaric modern articulation, the deliberate attacking of innocent civilians by someone who blows himself or herself up in order to kill the chosen target in furtherance of a strategic political objective. Distilled to this definitional level, suicide terrorism is rendered less inscrutable and more subject to dissection by the traditional toolkit of statecraft. With determination, consistency and force, the right instruments can and must be found to lessen the madness of suicide terrorism by pruning the fruits that make it so attractive.

Essay Types: Book Review