In Defence Of The Terror: Liberty Or Death In T... May 2026

The book includes a long foreword by Slavoj Žižek. Some reviewers find his introduction ill-suited or more of a "movie review" than a historical guide, though others find it valuable for framing the "objective violence" of systems.

The book focuses on the emotions of the revolution —dread, fury, and sacred enthusiasm—arguing that these feelings were the driving force behind political decisions.

Reviewers praise the book for being a "welcome corrective" to simplistic moral critiques and a "bracing intervention" in political theory. It is noted for its concise and compelling prose. In Defence of the Terror: Liberty or Death in t...

Some critics find the delivery difficult, noting the language is often torturously abstract and "hyper-intellectualized".

Wahnich makes a sharp distinction between the 18th-century "Terror" (a state-led process for sovereignty) and contemporary "terrorism," which she argues aims at neither liberty nor equality. The book includes a long foreword by Slavoj Žižek

The book is best suited for readers already familiar with the French Revolution who are interested in political philosophy or the anthropology of violence. You can find more perspectives on The Guardian and Marx & Philosophy. Reviewed by Patrick King - Marx & Philosophy Society

Wahnich suggests the Terror was established to prevent massacres by the populace (like the September Massacres) by transferring the "right of vengeance" to the state. In Danton's words, the state had to "be terrible so as to spare the people the need to be so". Reviewers praise the book for being a "welcome

She attacks the "revisionist" history of scholars like François Furet, who view the Revolution through the lens of modern liberal democracy and judge it by "timeless" standards of morality rather than historical necessity. Critical Reception