"At a time when US hegemony is being challenged and redefined, narratives about Afghanistan - combining the threats of terrorism with the attractions of the region's economic resources - are being used to underscore American exceptionalism and perceptions of national identity. Bose's astute book reveals the underbelly of these 'mock narratives' for what they are: stories that the US tells about itself, both internally and externally, to substitute affective relations for political analysis in the narrative that has become 'Afghanistan.'"<br /> — Susan Jeffords, author of Hard Bodies<br /> "<i>Intervention Narratives </i>is like a bright light switched on suddenly in the mind of those uneasy about temporizing in a world of perpetual war. Instead of probing stories <i>about </i>empire, Bose dismantles empire's own – the narrative "soft weapons" concocted by strategists of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. In this beautifully factual, honest, and theoretically astute book – roving from canine rescue tales to premature withdrawal fantasies – she upends the usual meaning of posthumanism, affect, and post-truth by inserting them into the dark arenas of contemporary geopolitics."— Timothy Brennan, author of Borrowed Light<br /> "Campaign for the American Reader: Pg. 99: Purnima Bose's "Intervention Narratives"<br /> https://americareads.blogspot.com/2020/01/pg-99-purnima-boses-intervention.html— Campaign for the American Reader<br /> "The Page 99 Test: Purnima Bose's "Intervention Narratives"<br /> https://page99test.blogspot.com/2020/01/purnima-boses-intervention-narratives.html<br /> — The Page 99 Test<br /> "<i>Intervention Narratives</i> provides theoretical underpinning to explicate the narratives Bose analyzes, and Bose also offers a comprehensive thesis about what makes them persuasive, compulsively repeated, and ultimately harmful."— Time Now<br /> <p>"Bose's book marks one of the first that actually breaks down the assumptions of the abundance of war literature that has been written about Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. In effect, Bose takes on the knowledge–industrial complex that exists around Afghanistan, showing us, sometimes line by line, where the discursive violence lies, and how it sets the stage for actual violence."</p> — Helena Zeweri, Interentions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies<br /> "<i>Intervention Narratives </i>is like a bright light switched on suddenly in the mind of those uneasy about temporizing in a world of perpetual war. Instead of probing stories <i>about </i>empire, Bose dismantles empire's own – the narrative "soft weapons" concocted by strategists of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. In this beautifully factual, honest, and theoretically astute book – roving from canine rescue tales to premature withdrawal fantasies – she upends the usual meaning of posthumanism, affect, and post-truth by inserting them into the dark arenas of contemporary geopolitics."— Timothy Brennan, author of Borrowed Light<br /> "Campaign for the American Reader: Pg. 99: Purnima Bose's "Intervention Narratives"<br /> https://americareads.blogspot.com/2020/01/pg-99-purnima-boses-intervention.html— Campaign for the American Reader<br /> "The Page 99 Test: Purnima Bose's "Intervention Narratives"<br /> https://page99test.blogspot.com/2020/01/purnima-boses-intervention-narratives.html<br /> — The Page 99 Test<br /> "At a time when US hegemony is being challenged and redefined, narratives about Afghanistan - combining the threats of terrorism with the attractions of the region's economic resources - are being used to underscore American exceptionalism and perceptions of national identity. Bose's astute book reveals the underbelly of these 'mock narratives' for what they are: stories that the US tells about itself, both internally and externally, to substitute affective relations for political analysis in the narrative that has become 'Afghanistan.'"<br /> — Susan Jeffords, author of Hard Bodies<br /> <p>"Bose's book marks one of the first that actually breaks down the assumptions of the abundance of war literature that has been written about Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. In effect, Bose takes on the knowledge–industrial complex that exists around Afghanistan, showing us, sometimes line by line, where the discursive violence lies, and how it sets the stage for actual violence."</p> — Helena Zeweri, Interentions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies<br /> "<i>Intervention Narratives</i> provides theoretical underpinning to explicate the narratives Bose analyzes, and Bose also offers a comprehensive thesis about what makes them persuasive, compulsively repeated, and ultimately harmful."— Time Now<br />
Contents
Acronyms ix
Introduction:
Intervention Narratives and Geopolitical Fetishism
1 The Premature-Withdrawal Narrative
Hegemonic Masculinities and the Liberal Humanist Subject
2 The Capitalist-Rescue Narrative
Afghan Women and Micro-Entrepreneurship
3 The Canine-Rescue Narrative
and Post-Humanist Humanitarianism
4 The Retributive-Justice Narrative
Osama bin Laden as Simulacra
Postscript: Three Presidents, One Policy
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index