Unmodern Men in the Modern World

"Michael Mazarr’s Unmodern Men in the Modern World represents a valuable integration of the scholarship on the political and intellectual origins of anti-modernist extremist movements in Germany, Russia and Japan of the twentieth century with that regarding the origins and nature of radical Islamism in recent decades. Mazarr has read widely and thought clearly. Even for readers who dissent from Mazarr’s policy prescriptions, Unmodern Men contains insights of value for policy makers, scholars, analysts, students and interested citizens. It is also evidence of a welcome and important phenomenon, namely the closing of a gap between the world of serious scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and that of policy debate in Washington, DC." Jeffrey Herf, author of Reactionary Modernism: Technology, Culture and Politics in Weimar and the Third Reich, and Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park
"Michael Mazarr provides a penetrating insight into the nature of jihadism by showing how it is the latest in a long line of extreme reactions to modernization. He separates valid lessons of history from invalid ones in assessing how liberal democracies can best respond. In so doing, he persuasively demonstrates how the ‘war on terror’ in its current form is misdirected and counterproductive." Paul R. Pillar, Visiting Professor, Security Studies Program, Georgetown University
"This book tackles the big issues underlying the war on terrorism. It rightly sees the ideological core of the global jihadi movement as a critique of modernity--of American and European versions of the nation-state--and a contest over the future of global politics. Insightful, clear and controversial, this is a thesis that will be much discussed." Mark Juergensmeyer, Director, Arfalea Center for Global & International Studies, University of California-Santa Barbara. Author of Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence
"[Unmodern Men in the Modern World] is one of the best diagnoses of the resentment by Islamist forces toward modernity, which has led them to utilize terrorism to retaliate against the effects of modernity on traditional life in their respective societies." The Washington Times, Joshua Sinai, Analysis Corp.
"Radical Islam is the latest in a line of anti-modern movements including Russian socialism, Japanese militarism and - inevitably - Nazi Germany, all of whom rejected Western liberal democracy. This is a well-argued and elegant essay, which makes the incredibly valuable point that Islamist movements are not nearly so exotic or unfathomable as they are usually portrayed." Peter Hart, The Globe and Mail
"The book is grand in its scope and Mazarr is to be commended for taking on the herculean task of trying to make sense of radical Islamism, an immensely complex movement. Of particular value are the insights into the sociopsychological effects of modernization on human beings confronted with such dislocating alien forces. Perspectives on Politics, Assaf Moghadam, United States Military Academy