Mohamedou, M: Understanding Al Qaeda

List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Casus Belli 2 Changed Context 3 Purpose and Pattern 4 Fallacies and Primacies 5 Depth of Engagement Appendices Chronology Notes Bibliography Index

Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou is the Deputy Director and Academic Dean at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Adjunct Professor in the International History Department at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Also Visiting Professor at Sciences Po Paris, he is the author of Understanding Al Qaeda (Pluto, 2011).

Mohamedou is a top-notch academic. In today's world, you can't afford to miss this book. -- Tim Sebastian, award-winning former BBC foreign correspondent and presenter of HARDtalk Mohammad Mohamedou has written a political analysis which provides a much-needed secular understanding of Al Qaeda as one among several organised forces in a rapidly changing international arena. Unlike most writers on the subject who tend to be mesmerised by Al Qaeda's religious discourse, Mohamedou insists on understanding the changing significance of the discourse against a historical backdrop of actions and events. -- Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University and author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim This sober and sobering analysis is essential reading for Americans and Europeans, and opinion leaders everywhere. In times of crisis, listen to those who tell you what you need to know, not those who tell you what you want to hear. -- Abdullahi An-Naim, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University Very thought provoking. -- Richard H. Shultz Jr, Director of the International Security Studies Program at Tufts University's Fletcher School This must stand as one of the most thoughtful analyses to date of the evolution of Al Qaeda, in its drivers and motivation, organisation, and tactics. ... Should be required reading for anyone wanting to come to grips with the Al Qaeda phenomenon. -- Gerd Nonneman, Professor of International Relations & Middle East Politics, University of Exeter