Charles Townshend

Una de las máximas preocupaciones de la sociedad occidental es la amenaza de un terrorismo cuyo principal objetivo es que la gente se sienta vulnerable. CHARLES TOWNSHEND desmenuza este fenómeno, ambiguo en su definicion, alejandose de quienes consideran que el terrorismo no tiene causas, solo consecuencias, y de que realizar un analisis del mismo supone comprension o incluso compasion hacia los terroristas. TERRORISMO. UNA BREVE INTRODUCCION desarrolla el tema desde la aparicion del termino en la epoca del Terror francesa, pasando por los atentados anarquistas que aplicaban la propaganda por la accion, su uso por movimientos de liberacion nacional (FLN argelino, IRA, ETA) o por grupos que lo consideraban necesario para alcanzar la revolucion (Brigadas Rojas, Ejercito Rojo aleman), hasta el terrorismo transnacional de hoy, cuyo mejor ejemplo es Al Qaeda. El libro concluye planteando cuestiones trascendentales para las sociedades democraticas, como el papel a desempeñar por los medios de comunicacion, y hasta donde han de llegar las medidas antiterroristas por parte del Estado sin alterar los fundamentos de una sociedad de derecho.Una de las máximas preocupaciones de la sociedad occidental es la amenaza de un terrorismo cuyo principal objetivo es que la gente se sienta vulnerable. CHARLES TOWNSHEND desmenuza este fenómeno, ambiguo en su definicion, alejandose de quienes consideran que el terrorismo no tiene causas, solo consecuencias, y de que realizar un analisis del mismo supone comprension o incluso compasion hacia los terroristas. TERRORISMO. UNA BREVE INTRODUCCION desarrolla el tema desde la aparicion del termino en la epoca del Terror francesa, pasando por los atentados anarquistas que aplicaban la propaganda por la accion, su uso por movimientos de liberacion nacional (FLN argelino, IRA, ETA) o por grupos que lo consideraban necesario para alcanzar la revolucion (Brigadas Rojas, Ejercito Rojo aleman), hasta el terrorismo transnacional de hoy, cuyo mejor ejemplo es Al Qaeda. El libro concluye planteando cuestiones trascendentales para las sociedades democraticas, como el papel a desempeñar por los medios de comunicacion, y hasta donde han de llegar las medidas antiterroristas por parte del Estado sin alterar los fundamentos de una sociedad de derecho.

Since 2003, Iraq has rarely left the headlines. But less discussed is the fact that Iraq as we know it was created by the British, in one of the most dramatic interventions in recent history. A cautious strategic invasion by British forces led - within seven years - to imperial expansion on a dizzying scale, with fateful consequences for the Middle East and the world. In When God Made Hell, Charles Townshend charts Britains path from one of its worst military disasters to extraordinary success with largely unintended consequences, through overconfidence, incompetence and dangerously vague policy. With monumental research and exceptionally vivid accounts of on-the-ground warfare, this a truly gripping account of the Mesopotamia campaign, and its place in the wider political and international context. For anyone seeking to understand the roots of British involvement in Iraq, it is essential reading.

A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021A model of research and analysis ... Townshends concise and intelligent book tells a painful story that is probably not yet over Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph A compelling history of the turbulent journey to Irish independence, published for the centenary of the Partition In the aftermath of the horrors of the Irish Famine, the grim, distrustful relationship between Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom deteriorated into a generations-long argument about Home Rule. The unprecedented nature of the Irish problem - with most Irish people wanting to break away from the worlds largest Empire - made it extraordinarily difficult for either side to come up with a compromise. For many years actual independence seemed inconceivable. And then, as these bitter disputes continued, it became clear that under no circumstances would the Protestants be party to any of it.The Partition is a remarkable, clear-sighted and thoughtful account of how two unthinkable events - full Irish independence and the creation of the state of Northern Ireland - came to pass. The Irish nationalist claim to leave ran into a loyalist demand to remain, increasingly centred on the north-eastern Protestant community, threatening large-scale violent resistance. Here Charles Townshend lays out what is ultimately a tragic story, as partition became the only answer to an otherwise insoluble problem. The settlement of the Irish question drew in every major politician, conjured up heroes and villains, led to civil war and finally to Ulsters catastrophic Troubles. The hard border has always been seen as a failure of both British and Irish statecraft, but has endured now for a century. The Partition brilliantly brings to life the contingency and uncertainty that created it.A timely and important book ... so much of its content remains relevant to understanding contemporary preoccupations and controversies Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times

Before Easter 1916 Dublin had been a city much like any other British city, comparable to Bristol or Liverpool and part of a complex, deep-rooted British world. Many of Dublins inhabitants wanted to weaken or terminate Londons rule but there remained a vast and conflicting range of visions of that future: far more immediate was the unfolding disaster of the First World War that had put home rule issues on ice for the duration. The devastating events of that Easter changed everything. Both the rising itself and-even more significantly-the ferocious British response ended any sense at all that Dublin could be anything other than the capital of an independent country, as an entire nation turned away in revulsion from the British artillery and executions. As we approach the 90th anniversary of the rebellion it is time for a new account of what really happened over those fateful few days. What did the rebels actually hope to achieve? What did the British think they were doing? And how were the events really interpreted by ordinary people across Ireland? Vivid, authoritative and gripping, Easter 1916 is a major work.

A gripping narrative of the most critical years in modern Irelands history, from Charles TownshendThe protracted, terrible fight for independence pitted the Irish against the British and the Irish against other Irish. It was both a physical battle of shocking violence against a regime increasingly seen as alien and unacceptable and an intellectual battle for a new sort of country. The damage done, the betrayals and grim compromises put the new nation into a state of trauma for at least a generation, but at a nearly unacceptable cost the struggle ended: a new republic was born.Charles Townshends Easter 1916 opened up the astonishing events around the Rising for a new generation and in The Republic he deals, with the same unflinchingly wish to get to the truth behind the legend, with the most critical years in Irelands history. There has been a great temptation to view these years through the prisms of martyrology and good-and-evil. The picture painted by Townshend is far more nuanced and sceptical - but also never loses sight of the ordinary forms of heroism performed by Irish men and women trapped in extraordinary times.Reviews:Electric ... [a] magisterial and essential bookIrish TimesAbout the author:Charles Townshend is the author of the highly praised Easter 1916:The Irish Rebellion. His other books include The British Campaigns in Ireland, 1919-21 and When God Made Hell: The British Invasion of Mesopotamia and the Making of Iraq, 1914-21.