Early Reviews
"Tom Farer—international lawyer, human rights activist, distinguished scholar of international relations—has written a passionate, reasoned case for a liberal grand strategy of containment which will enable America and her allies to master the challenges of the 21st century—terrorism, war, nuclear proliferation and genocide—without sacrificing the principles of prudence, human rights and basic decency on which America’s legitimacy as a world power depends."
- Michael Ignatieff
MP. House of Commons, Canada.
"Prominent International Lawyer and Professor of International Relations Tom Farer weaves together into a coherent picture the most urgent issues of early-21st century world affairs. He warns that it is not only the "War on terrorism" threatening us, but our own foreign policies which have gradually departed from – and have now begun to undermine - the very humanistic liberal ideals that the US and, indeed, the West as a whole have stood for. Since it is written with masterful lucidity, this book will uniquely serve not only the IR specialist, the International Lawyer, and the student, but also the general public as well. It deftly guides the reader through the confusing maze of both the practice of foreign policies as well as theories about them."
- Dr. Vendulka Kubalkova
Professor of International Studies, University of Miami
"Tom Farer's book is a pleasure to read, both for the specialist and for the lay person. First of all, it is extremely well written, eloquent in a way few texts nowadays are. Farer's language is very rich without being archaic, serious but replete with healthy irony: it inspires envy of everyone who writes on similar topics. Its modern rhetorical brilliance comes from deeply-held and clearly defined "classical" liberal convictions, put to a severe test by the present hysteria caused by something Farer proves to be wrongly called "War on Terrorism". Farer combines deep philosophical insights with impressive expert knowledge of international law in order to show that history has not come to an end and that it will go on for quite a while as the permanent struggle between old-fashioned reason and stupidity and between eternal Good and Evil. He demonstrates again that there is no value-less social and political science and that, historically, human rights is still a frail vernal plant in need of patient care and vigorous defense."
-
Vojin Dimitrijevic
Professor of International Law,
Member, Permanent Court of International Arbitration,
Commissioner, International Commission of Jurists,
Member, Institut de Droit international,
Director, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Serbia,
Former Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice
Author of "Decent from Reason"
"A renowned expert on international law
and human rights and Dean of the
Graduate School of International Studies
at Denver, Tom Farer has written a highly
sophisticated and dense book which provides
an analysis of ‘‘global terrorism’’, a
severe critique of the specific interpretation
that American neo-conservatives have given
this phenomenon, and an inspired
illustration of a ‘‘liberal grand strategy’’ to
restore America’s power and moral standing
in the world after the difficult years of the
Bush administration." Click here to read the entire article.
- Emiliano Alessandri
The International Spectator, Vol. 43, No. 2, June 2008, 119–121
Emiliano Alessandri is a Research Associate at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in
Washington of the Johns Hopkins University
Tom Farer's Liberal World Order: A Realist Utopia
"Reading Tom Farer’s challenging and eloquent Confronting Global Terrorism and American
Neo-Conservatism evoked two persistent reactions. The first, and foremost, was the reminder of my
long unfulfilled wish that the U.S. was a country where the “liberal” presidential candidate of the
Democratic Party would have the courage and clarity of mind and heart to rely on someone with
Farer’s deep understanding of how to (re)shape American foreign policy in the early twenty-first
century rather than turn the job over to those tired “old hands” that might improve things by five
percent, but not by much more. (even the word liberal is now disfavored by liberals in public
discourse almost as much as the taboo word “socialist,” the former having been effectively
discredited by George H.W. Bush two decades ago; the rhetorical preference in general discussion
has shifted to “progressive,” but I will stick with liberal here taking advantage of the greater latitude
of academic discourse). It is not actually an indictment of any particular individual, and certainly not
Barack Obama, but rather the constraints of a climate of public opinion, reinforced by media gurus
and special interests, that restrict the roster of credible candidates for high elective office in the
United States to those who quibble at the margins, while affirming the consensus verities however
discredited and bereft of any basis for the necessary drastic modifications of future policy. To his
credit, Farer does not shy away from such disqualifying affirmations so as to keep alive the chance
he might be called upon to play a prominent role in the future making of American foreign policy.
On the contrary, he practices his form of controversial truth-telling with vivid prose, disarming wit,
lucid and persuasive reasoning, an unflagging respect for evidence, as well as an engaging willingness
to push provocatively the hottest red button issues." Click here to read the entire review.
- Richard Falk
Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University
Visiting
Distinguished Professor in Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
A Symposium on Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-Conservatism: The Framework of a Liberal Grand Strategy.
The online symposium was hosted by Human Rights and Human Welfare. Click here to read the entire Review symposium.
The War on Terror and the Problematique of the War Paradigm
"This volume is not for the faint-of-heart. In Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-
Conservatism: The Framework of A Liberal Grand Strategy (2008), Tom Farer reaches deep into
psyche and soul of “a nation’s humanistic culture” (79),1 and examines the “fateful decision” of the
Bush Administration after September 11, 2001, “to pursue its ends unconstrained by conventional
interpretations of the applicable law” (82). He argues that “it would strain credulity if someone
suggested that [the torture memoranda] were spontaneously generated by mid-level officials” and
locates the heart of decision-making in the White House of the Bush Administration who, Farer
writes, “requested legal advice both to determine the limits imposed by acts of Congress and the risk
of criminal liability particularly for persons not in a position to deny responsibility if they went
outside statutory law and their actions became public” (85). There is no mincing of words here, no
recoiling from the charges or criticisms made, and it is a process that comes with its unflattering and
hard-hitting historical parallels (64). Yet, it is also the case that a strong sense takes hold in
Confronting Global Terrorism that the path trodden by the United States in these years need not
have been so—that this particular democracy need not have compromised its moral standing and its
authority, or its commitment to the rule of law." Click here to read the entire review.
- Dino Kritsiotis
L. Bates Lea Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School
Reader in Public International Law in the University of Nottingham
A Symposium on Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-Conservatism: The Framework of a Liberal Grand Strategy.
The online symposium was hosted by Human Rights and Human Welfare. Click here to read the entire Review symposium.
Tom Farer’s Crisis of U.S. Liberalism
"Confronting Global Terrorism is an account of the agenda for dealing with terrorism as it
faces a concerned liberal in the early twenty-first century. The response to the appearance of
terrorism, and the role of the U.S. Neo-Conservatives (Neocons) in determining how this response
was made, and how badly, correctly heads the list of agenda items for Farer. But it is also necessary
to deal with some of the other causes of the increasing problem of terrorism. One problem is that of
how to deal with minorities in developed democracies—not much more to be said on this in these
comments, except that Farer’s judgments are profound and absolutely correct. Another is the
problem of the Middle East, which must be seen as being at the core of the problems surrounding
global terrorism facing us all, including the Neocons. Farer has produced a profound and
courageous chapter on Palestinian-Israeli relations, since what he has to say is bound to irritate the
more blinkered pro-Israelis in the U.S. For them, it should be required reading. The points made
seem incontestable: that the balance of guilt for the awful situation is at least as much that of the
Israelis as the Palestinians, and that there can be no solution unless Israel returns to the pre-1967
frontiers and accepts the internationalization of Jerusalem. All of this is backed up with detailed
evidence and strong legal argument. I doubt, however, whether the Neocons will be persuaded." Click here to read the entire review.
- Paul Taylor
Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the London School of Economics
A Symposium on Confronting Global Terrorism and American Neo-Conservatism: The Framework of a Liberal Grand Strategy.
The online symposium was hosted by Human Rights and Human Welfare. Click here to read the entire Review symposium.
