2009/08/19 by Catherine V. Scott · 7 citations
Social Sciences · #Corporation #Economics #Economy #European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies #Fordism #Foreign policy #Globalization #International Relations and Foreign Policy #Law #Nationalism #Political economy #Political science #Politics #Power (physics) #Sociology #State (computer science) #Terrorism #Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
paper · doi:10.1017/s1537592709990879
published in Perspectives on Politics 7(3), 579-590 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2009/08/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Many analyses of U.S. foreign policy after September 11 have rested upon readings of the U.S. as a traditional imperialist power. In so doing, the constructions of Al Qaeda as a decentralized corporation and a virtual network are often ignored. Corporate and network constructions place less stress on conventional threats to the nation-state and instead portray terrorism in distinctively post-Fordist terms. This in turn helps explain the short-lived and partial patriotic responses to the terrorist attacks, as well as the contradictory place of race in portrayals of the threat facing the U.S. Together these discourses point to new ways of thinking about U.S. nationalism and terrorism in the twenty-first century.