Alastair Finlan is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University who conducts research on the Global War on Terror. His latest book is Contemporary Military Culture and Strategic Studies: US and UK Armed Forces in the 21^st Century (London: Routledge, 2013).

A timely and critical panorama of how states have responded to the test of terrorism since 9/11. It encompasses philosophical discourses about terrorism, the perils of counterterrorism encapsulated in the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, learning in counterinsurgency, the effectiveness of counterterrorism spending, Al Qaeda's modus operandi and the threat posed by Boko Haram to Nigeria.

This book was published as a special issue of Defense and Security Analysis.

1. Editorial 2. Terrorism: a philosophical discourse 3. The perils of special approaches to counterterrorism: the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005 4. Learning in counterinsurgency: what do we really know? 5. Does counterterrorism spending reduce the incidence and lethality of terrorism? A quantitative analysis of 34 countries 6. Jihad or qatal? Examining Al Qaeda's modus operandi 7. Boko Haram and the challenges of Nigeria's war on terror