Barbarism and civilization form one of the oldest and most rigid oppositions in Western history. According to this dichotomy, barbarism functions as the negative standard through which -civilization- fosters its self-definition and superiority by labeling others -barbarians.- Since the 1990s, and especially since 9/11, these terms have become increasingly popular in Western political and cultural rhetoric-a rhetoric that divides the world into forces of good and evil. This study intervenes in this recent trend and interrogates contemporary and historical uses of barbarism, arguing that...