Routledge Dangerous Others, Insecure Societies: Fear and Social Division

Dangerous Others, Insecure Societies examines the turn in post-industrial societies towards a fear of cultural, racial or religious externality, adopting a ground-breaking analysis which considers 'insecurity' a constituent part of 'otherness', rather than something separate or following from it. By addressing the link between insecurity and otherness, this book sheds light on the contemporary cultures of fear and risk that have made possible the aggressive measures that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US and which continue to dominate contemporary geopolitics. The result of particular socio-economic and political circumstances, a sense of fear in relation to the Other has emerged as a replacement for the social bond, as otherness and danger are increasingly associated with one another - a development that appears paradoxical in the modern, globalized world. Bringing together the latest research from scholars in the UK, Europe and Australia, Dangerous Others, Insecure Societies engages with diverse issues surrounding migration, authoritarianism and social exclusion to consider the implications of a culture of fear and exclusion for multicultural, globalized, networked societies. As such, it will appeal to sociologists, geographers, social anthropologists and political scientists concerned with questions of identity, citizenship, exclusion and belonging. Review ’In times of economic austerity and political turmoil, insecurity and otherness can have dangerous outcomes, especially for those groups marginalized and damaged by neo-liberalism. This challenging and ambitious multidisciplinary text seeks to identify and underline the problems Europe is facing as well as addressing potential solutions. It is an essential and gripping read.’ Colin Clark, University of Strathclyde, UK ’Insecurity and fear of the other have risen to become major organizing principles of social life, transforming both our forms of communality and our political subjectivities. This excellent book brings together some exceptional thinkers that not only offer us acute analyses of this critical condition but provide us with new tools and concepts that allow us to think it further.’ Ghassan Hage, University of Melbourne, Australia ’This book attempts to capture otherness and relative fear as a prominent figure of the problematic relations between Western societies and not fully included citizens or migrants. Through an interdisciplinary analysis of European cases, the text can help us to understand challenges and dynamics related to the winds of crisis that appear, not surprisingly, as inseparable companions of the last two decades.’ Lucio d'Alessandro, Suor Orsola Benicasa University, Italy 'Dangerous Others, Insecure Societies breathes new life into scholarly questions that sociologists in France and elsewhere have wrestled with for many decades. The examples of how othering translates into urban segregation and residentialization are especially intriguing. ... the pleasure of this text is found in the provocative chapters that will appeal to cultural, social, and political theorists across disciplines.' Sociological Research Online This is an intriguing volume, given that it is not a collection broadly connected by an overarching topic, but the contributions take up the same ideas, extending, discussing or contradicting them. Thus, the About the Author Michalis Lianos is Professor of Sociology at the University of Rouen-Haute Normandie, France.