As a celebration of our alumni, each month we will highlight a new book written by one of Oxford's North American-based alumni.
For December 2018, our author is Linn Normand, Nuffield College (2006).
Linn Normand's book investigates demonization in international politics, particularly in the Middle East. It argues that while demonization’s origins are religious, its continued presence is fundamentally political. Drawing upon examples from historical and modern conflicts, her work addresses two key questions: Why do leaders demonize enemies when waging war? And what are the lasting impacts on peacemaking? In providing answers to these inquiries, she applies historical insight to twenty-first century conflict. Specific attention is given to Israel and Palestine as Linn argues that war-time demonization in policy, media, and art is a psychological and relational barrier during peace talks.
Linn Normand obtained her BA degree in Social and Political Sciences from Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge and her MPhil/DPhil in International Relations from Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. She was a Herchel Smith Scholar at Harvard University and later a Research Fellow at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. She has also taught at the University of California, Davis, USA. Her book, Demonization in International Politics: A Barrier to Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, builds on her DPhil research at Oxford. Towards the end of her PhD, though, she became increasingly aware of the future need to investigate the phenomenon of de-demonization, and “humanizing” narratives. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in History Didactics at the University of Stavanger, Norway and will be a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley during Spring Semester 2019. Her present research project is entitled "Documenting the Undocumented: Immigrant voices of past and present" and she continues to collaborate with her UC Davis colleagues. Click here to read a review in the London Review of International Law by Professor Nathaniel Berman, Brown University.
You can purchase Demonization in International Politics: A Barrier to Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict here.
Are you an alumni author?
If you have written a book which was published within the last three years, or is due to be released soon, please email us the following information.
Your full name
Alumni number (or college/year of matriculation)
Title of book
Date of publication
ISBN
Link to purchase the book online
We thank you for sharing your books with us, and will let you know if you are selected for a feature in the coming months.
To look back at previous Alumni Authors, please visit the pages below:
Alumni Author November 2018
Alumni Author October 2018
Alumni Author September 2018
Alumni Author August 2018
Alumni Author July 2018
Alumni Author June 2018
Alumni Author May 2018
Alumni Author April 2018
Alumni Author March 2018
Alumni Author February 2018