Confounding powers : anarchy and international society from the assassins to Al Qaeda

290 Pages·2016·2.51 MB·English

by  Brenner

Confounding Powers
Nearlyadecadeandahalfafter9/11,thestudyofinternationalpolitics
hasyettoaddresssomeofthemostpressingissuesraisedbytheattacks,
most notably the relationships between Al Qaeda’s international sys-
temic origins and its international societal effects. This theoretically
broad-rangingand empiricallyfar-reachingstudyaddressesthatques-
tionandothers,advancingthestudyofinternationalpoliticsintonew
historical settings while providing insights into pressing policy chal-
lenges. Looking at actors that depart from established structural and
behavioralpatternsprovidesopportunitiestoexaminehowthosedevia-
tionshelpgeneratethenormsandidentitiesthatconstituteinternational
society.SystematicexaminationoftheAssassins,Mongols,andBarbary
powersprovideshistoricalcomparisonandcontexttoourcontemporary
struggle,whileenrichinganddeepeningourunderstandingofthesys-
temicforcesbehind,andsocietaleffectsof,theseconfoundingpowers.
WilliamJ.BrennerisanationalsecurityanalystbasedinWashington,
D.C.HisworkhasbeenpublishedinthejournalSecurityStudiesandthe
EuropeanJournalofInternationalRelations(EJIR),wherehisco-authored
article received the award for best article published in EJIR between
2007and2009fromtheEuropeanConsortiumforPoliticalResearch.
HereceivedhisPhDfromtheDepartmentofPoliticalScienceatJohns
HopkinsUniversityin2008,andhisworkthereontheeffectsof9/11on
internationalrelationstheorywasrecognizedin2005withtheinaugural
Graduate Student Paper Award given by the International Security
StudiesSectionoftheInternationalStudiesAssociation.

Confounding Powers
Anarchy and International Society from
the Assassins to Al Qaeda
William J. Brenner
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107109452
©WilliamJ.Brenner2016
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Brenner,WilliamJ.,author.
Confoundingpowers:anarchyandinternationalsocietyfromtheAssassins
toAlQaeda/WilliamJ.Brenner.
Cambridge,UnitedKingdom:CambridgeUniversityPress,[2016]|Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindex.
LCCN2015031741|ISBN9781107109452(alk.paper)
LCSH:Internationalrelations|Non-stateactors(Internationalrelations)|
Non-stateactors(Internationalrelations)–Casestudies.|Assassins
(Ismailites)–History.|Mongols–History.|Pirates–Africa,
North–History.|Qaida(Organization)–History.
LCCJZ4059.B742016|DDC327.1–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttp://lccn.loc.gov/2015031741
ISBN978-1-107-10945-2Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Contents
Listoffigures vi
Listofmaps vii
Listoftables viii
Prefaceandacknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Internationalsocietyandthelogicsofanarchy 23
2 Confusionintheheartsofmen:theNizariIsmailis
andtheAssassinlegends 70
3 “AfuroreTartarorumliberanos”:theMongoleruption
andaftermath 107
4 OutoftheshadowofGod:powerandpiracyalong
theBarbaryCoast 151
5 Intheshadowofthespears:AlQaeda’sclash
withcivilization 199
Conclusion 243
Index 268
v
Figures
4.1 Cinque-tetes,ortheParisMonster(1798)
ImagereproducedbypermissionofTheHuntingtonLibrary,
SanMarino,California 193
C.1 Identityandfunctionaluncertainty 255
vi
Maps
2.1 Abbasidsuccessorstates(latetenthcenturyCE) 73
2.2 SeljukEmpire(lateeleventhcenturyCE) 75
2.3 MajorNizariIsmailifortificationsinPersia 80
2.4 MajorNizariIsmailifortificationsinSyria 88
3.1 Sedentarystatesandsteppetribes 111
vii
Tables
I.1 Casesandcontexts 18
1.1 Logicsofconcealment 36
1.2 Systemictosystemchange 38
1.3 Systemchangetointernationalsociety 68
viii