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Hating America: Bin Laden as a Civilizational Revolutionary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

Abstract

Much of the literature on September 11 focuses on bin Laden as a terrorist or on the idea of a clash of civilizations. In criticizing both, this paper instead conceptualizes bin Laden as a “civilizational revolutionary.” As a revolutionary, bin Laden has sought to topple moderate regimes in the Middle East and to reestablish the caliphate. In contrast with most other national or transnational revolutionaries, however, he has emphasized culture—militant Islamism. Nevertheless, as the literature on social revolutions suggests, bin Laden has used the big strategy of most other revolutionaries in “externalizing” regional conflicts with his attacks on the United States. But his tactic of apocalyptic terrorism has made him unique as a revolutionary.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 2003

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References

I have benefited from the comments of Timothy White, Douglas Macdonald, Eric Selbin, and anonymous reviewers.

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