The dominant theories of social movement dynamics emerged out of the study of collective action in western democracies and it remains an open question as to whether those theories hold in other parts of the world and other regime contexts. That's what makes Alegoz' book so important. One could hardly imagine a political/cultural context more different than a western democracy than Somalia in the first decade of the new millennium. And yet Alegoz uses social movement theory to offer a compelling, nuanced, and convincing account of the radicalization of al-Shabaab between 2001 and 2009. An altogether welcome addition to the social movement literature.

Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology, Stanford University, USA

To think that the emergence of al-Shabaab is simply a story of warlords emerging from political vacuum is to think way too narrowly. H. Ibrahim Alegöz demonstrates how to think broad-mindedly about this topic. The story he tells is rounded, examining not only the strategy of the militant group but also a range of forces at the local, national, regional, and international levels. But while rounded, this is not a story aimlessly rich in detail. It is rather a measured reconstruction of key dynamics by way of such mechanisms as outbidding and object shift, and such sub-mechanisms as threat attribution and brokerage. Foreign Intervention and Radicalization in Somalia (2001-2009) will benefit the discerning policy makers as well as the scholars of contentious politics, political violence, and terrorism.

Chares Demetriou, Lund University, Sweden