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

Sophie Wahnich's is a provocative, succinct essay that challenges modern "moralising" views of the Reign of Terror. Rather than seeing it as a descent into madness, Wahnich argues it was a rational institutional response designed to control and curb anarchic popular violence. Core Arguments & Themes

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. In Defence of the Terror: Liberty or Death in t...

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. Sophie Wahnich's is a provocative, succinct essay that

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