Genealogy of Terrorism - Colonial Law and the Origins of an Idea

Using India as a case study, Joseph McQuade traces the genealogy of the political and legal category of terrorism. He demonstrates how the modern concept of terrorism was shaped by colonial emergency laws dating back into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

List of contents

Introduction. The colonial prose of counterterrorism; 1. Ethereal assassins: colonial law and 'hereditary crime' in the nineteenth century; 2. 'The magical lore of Bengal': surveillance, swadeshi, and propaganda by bomb, 1890s to 1913; 3. 'The eye of government is on them': anti-colonialism and emergency during the First World War; 4. Indefinite emergency: revolutionary politics and 'terrorism' in interwar India; 5. Terrorism as a 'world crime': the British Empire, international law, and the invention of global terrorism; Conclusion. Empire, law, and terrorism in the twenty-first century.

About the author

Joseph McQuade is the RCL Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto's Asian Institute.

Summary

Using India as a case study, Joseph McQuade traces the genealogy of the political and legal category of terrorism. He demonstrates how the modern concept of terrorism was shaped by colonial emergency laws dating back into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Product details

• Authors: Joseph McQuade, Joseph (University of Toronto) Mcquade
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2022
• EAN: 9781108816328
• ISBN: 978-1-108-81632-8
• No. of pages: 292
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Comparative and international political science; 20th Century, HISTORY / Asia / General, LAW / Legal History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, International Relations, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Legal History, Asian History