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xx Preface contexts surrounding the nation’s sense of security and how they were so deeply shaken by the 9/11 and subsequent terror- ist incidents. The historical background chapter is designed to provide the context through which the reader can better under- stand current events. It presents that discussion in a compre- hensive and unbiased manner, allowing readers to form their own judgments on the issue. Chapter 2 outlines some of the most problematic concerns related to homeland security policy making and why those issues pose such difficulty for effective policy making to ensure homeland security. It addresses efforts taken at all levels of gov- ernment to cope with these problems, detailing specific actions taken to date, and discussing some proposed solutions to the problems that are now on the agenda of government, particu- larly at the national level. Chapter 3 is comprised of nine original essays by scholars and stakeholders involved in the homeland security issue. The chapter brings together voices from diverse disciplinary per- spectives to examine many sides of the issue and to enrich the perspective that the primary author is able to provide. Chapter 4 describes the key organizations and people involved as stakeholders in the homeland security discourse. It profiles hundreds of organizations and both government and nongovernment actors who advocate for or against various pol- icy proposals to cope with the problems inherently involved in homeland security. They are the participants who are involved in solutions to the problems raised by the need to better secure the safety of the American people and the homeland. Chapter 5 offers some key data and documents gathered from government sources. They are presented in graphs (line, bar, and pie charts), tables, and excerpts and summaries of pri- mary-source documents. Chapter 6 is a resource chapter. It comprises a list of anno- tated books on the subject, scholarly journals that are also anno- tated, and films and videos as nonprint sources. Together they give the reader a fairly comprehensive review of the discourse