Cosmopolitanism and the Arab Spring—Foundations for the Decline of Terrorism

Alterity dynamics are fundamental to terrorism both on the side of those who would employ terrorist tactics and on the side of those who foster the conditions for terrorism, argues Underwood (philosophy, Christopher Newport U.), and therefore, if we are ever to truly address the problem of terrorism, we must address the alterity dynamic itself. She suggests revisiting Immanuel Kant's theory of cosmopolitanism in light of modern communication technologies as a possible avenue for addressing alterity. After describing the fundamentals of Kant's cosmopolitanism, she considers how new visions of cosmopolitanism may come about through contemporary communication technologies. She extends this exploration through a consideration of the role of social media in the events of the "Arab Spring." Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Lori J. Underwood is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. She holds a PhD from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and is the author of Terror by Consent: The Modern State and the Breach of the Social Contract and Kant’s Correspondence Theory of Truth: An Analysis and Critique of Anglo-American Alternatives.