Formations of Terror

"Ever ambitious and attuned to issues that matter Simon Bell has set out to do what all good Systems scholars do – act so as to engage with the complex and uncertain from which a new synthesis emerges. The central question that this book sets out to address is: can fear be better understood by systemic means? The short and unequivocal answer is yes. Bell is above all else a methodologist. He has formulated a systems method, primarily diagnostic at this stage, for engaging with what he calls the Formations of Terror. At this historical moment citizens and policymakers need to appreciate how fear can be manipulated and to be ready to resist. Bell’s book offers insights into a much needed practice of resistance and response."

"I first heard John Cale’s song Fear is a ‘man’s’ Best Friend in 1974. The potential energy in fear immediately struck me, if only we had the courage and means to harness it. Simon Bell has both the courage and systemic means. This book introduces a new and dimension to systemic thinking and practice through fear that deserves your attention, if you have the courage."

"‘Project fear’ is a term that has been on the tip of many tongues, especially in the United Kingdom, over the past few years. Indeed, it almost seems that any attempt to present information, be it environmental, economic or social, that contradicts a position held by a group is dismissed as an attempt to scaremonger. The result can be a favoured exchange where fear becomes a valuable strategic space fought over by all sides. This book from Simon Bell provides us with an invaluable contribution for understanding this ‘fear-scape’ and what it means to us all. While fear has long been a weapon, Bell takes us to places in this ‘fear scape’ that few have tried or perhaps dared to go. But we need to know this space and this book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how fear is being used today."

"This book is important and fascinating in many different ways. It is like no other book I’ve read. It weaves together many seemingly disparate themes to develop a systemic understanding of how we are responding to the major threats and uncertainties we confront in our contemporary complex society. It is both a book of great scholarship and a personal autobiography. It is a powerful statement about research methods and about the need for systems thinking. And it is an important contribution to the debate about climate change and how the ‘experts’ in the field can best help the rest of us come to terms with it. Above all, the theme of fear runs right through the book and the treatment of fear is like no other I’ve ever seen. In an age when public discourse seems to be increasingly dominated by simple slogans, Simon Bell offers us the antidote: a carefully constructed ‘sense making’ treatise that shows how and why these simple messages are so readily accepted and how systems thinking can offer everybody a better way of understanding the world we share."