Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

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Karen J. Greenberg

Subtle Tools

The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

Karen J. Greenberg

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English

Princeton University Press
15 March 2023

Political science & theory; Political structures: democracy; International relations; Terrorism, armed struggle; Local government law

How policies forged after September 11 were weaponized under Trump and turned on American democracy itself

In the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, the American government implemented a wave of overt policies to fight the nation's enemies. Unseen and undetected by the public, however, another set of tools was brought to bear on the domestic front. In this riveting book, one of today's leading experts on the US security state shows how these ""subtle tools"" imperiled the very foundations of democracy, from the separation of powers and transparency in government to adherence to the Constitution.

Taking readers from Ground Zero to the Capitol insurrection, Karen Greenberg describes the subtle tools that were forged under George W. Bush in the name of security: imprecise language, bureaucratic confusion, secrecy, and the bypassing of procedural and legal norms. While the power and legacy of these tools lasted into the Obama years, reliance on them increased exponentially in the Trump era, both in the fight against terrorism abroad and in battles closer to home. Greenberg discusses how the Trump administration weaponized these tools to separate families at the border, suppress Black Lives Matter protests, and attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Revealing the deeper consequences of the war on terror, Subtle Tools paints a troubling portrait of an increasingly undemocratic America where disinformation, xenophobia, and disdain for the law became the new norm, and where the subtle tools of national security threatened democracy itself.

By: Karen J. Greenberg
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
ISBN: 9780691216577
ISBN 10: 0691216576
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 15 March 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Karen J. Greenberg is director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law, an international studies fellow at New America, and a permanent member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her books include Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State and The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days.

Reviews for Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump

""Greenberg . . . a longtime critic of expanded state power after 9/11, draws a straight line between the early U.S. response to the attacks and the abuses of the Trump administration.""---Quinta Jurecic, Washington Post ""Subtle Tools strikes a . . . note of guarded hope for the rule of law against populist lawlessness.""---Jonathan Stevenson, Survival ""This is an expertly researched cri de coeur regarding recapturing the processes and procedures of American democracy, which Greenberg (Fordham Univ. School of Law) argues were lost in the 20 years between the 9/11 attacks and the present."" * Choice *