US Counter-Terrorism Strategy and al-Qaeda: Signalling and the Terrorist World-View

(Routledge) In this book Geltzer examines the communicative aspects and implications of U.S. counter-terrorist policies toward al-Qaeda, looking specifically at how the perceptions of America generated by Washington’s policies have influenced (and continue to influence) those drawn to al-Qaeda. He argues that, given al-Qaeda’s unconventional strategy and the particularities of the world-view characterizing those drawn to the group, America’s counter-terrorist signalling has proved counter-productive to its goal of undermining al-Qaeda’s strategic narrative. Ultimately, he aims to show how an informed understanding of the al-Qaeda world-view can be used to revise American counter-terrorist signalling towards that group. Joshua Geltzer has a Ph.D. in War Studies from Kings College, London, and is currently a juris doctoral student at Yale Law School.