First published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and by the Allen Lane imprint of Penguin in the U.K., Terror and Consent takes as its foundation Bobbitt's grand historical theory of the co-evolution of the state and warfare which he developed in The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History.

According to an argument he developed at length in The Shield of Achilles, the principle of legitimacy of the market state is "maximization of opportunities for ... civil society and citizens."

Niall Ferguson, in the New York Times Book Review, called Terror and Consent "a manifesto for a new Atlanticism" and "a reinvention of the dominant role of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

'"[2] Rebecca Seal called Terror and Consent "fascinating" and "extraordinary," and described the book as "a wide-ranging, frequently controversial and always opinionated treatise.

"[3] Kenneth Anderson called it "enormous in concept and sweep," and praised its "remarkably rich strategic vision of how concretely to make war against terror, terrorists and violent jihad.