A Genealogy of Terrorism: Colonial Law and the Origins of an Idea

by Joseph McQuade

Overview

Using India as a case study, Joseph McQuade demonstrates how the modern concept of terrorism was shaped by colonial emergency laws dating back into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning with the 'thugs', 'pirates', and 'fanatics' of the nineteenth century, McQuade traces the emerging and novel legal category of 'the terrorist' in early twentieth-century colonial law, ending with an examination of the first international law to target global terrorism in the 1930s. Drawing on a wide range of archival research and a detailed empirical study of evolving emergency laws in British India, he argues that the idea of terrorism emerged as a deliberate strategy by officials seeking to depoliticize the actions of anti-colonial revolutionaries, and that many of the ideas embedded in this colonial legislation continue to shape contemporary understandings of terrorism today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108901659
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/12/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

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

Table 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.

Editorial Reviews

‘A brilliant deconstruction of the colonial prose of counter-terrorism and its post-colonial legacy, McQuade's book provides new insights into how legal states of exception were crafted to delegitimize revolutionary violence. A must read for anyone wishing to understand the true nature of British ‘rule of law' in India and its global ramifications.' Sugata Bose, Harvard University, Massachusetts

‘The declaration of a global war on terrorism in 2001 did not come out of the clear blue sky. Instead, as Joseph McQuade demonstrates in this brilliantly conceived and researched genealogy, some of its most forgotten roots lie in Britain's colonial administration in India and its diplomatic efforts on the world stage. An essential contribution to imperial and international legal history.' Samuel Moyn, Yale University, Connecticut

'McQuaid provides a fascinating discussion of historical debate about political violence as it evolved in India from the eighteenth century to the making of terrorism as an international legal category in 1937 … McQuaid’s excellent book will appeal to anyone interested in India, terrorism, or an elegant application of Foucault’s ideas.' Richard Bach Jensen, Project Muse

From the Publisher