Resurrecting Empire

by Khalidi, Rashid

• ISBN13: 9780807002346
• ISBN10: 0807002348
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-15
• Publisher: Beacon Press

Summary

Begun as the United States moved its armed forces into Iraq, Rashid Khalidi's powerful and thoughtful new book examines the record of Western involvement in the region and analyzes the likely outcome of our most recent Middle East incursions. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of the political and cultural history of the entire region as well as interviews and documents, Khalidi paints a chilling scenario of our present situation and yet offers a tangible alternative that can help us find the path to peace rather than Empire. We all know that those who refuse to learn history are doomed to repeat it. Sadly, as Khalidi reveals with clarity and surety, America's leaders seem blindly committed to an ahistorical path of conflict, occupation, and colonial rule. Our current policies ignore rather than incorporate the lessons of experience. This cogent and highly accessible book should help U.S. citizens to recognize better solutions.

Author Biography

Rashid Khalidi, author of six books about the Middle East—Sowing Crisis, The Iron Cage, Resurrecting Empire, Origins of Arab Nationalism, Under Siege, and the award-winning Palestinian Identity—is the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies and director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University. He has written more than eighty articles on Middle Eastern history and politics, including pieces in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and many journals. Professor Khalidi has received fellowships and grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the American Research Center in Egypt, and the Rockefeller Foundation; he was also the recipient of a Fulbright research award. Professor Khalidi has been a regular guest on numerous radio and TV shows, including All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, Morning Edition, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and Nightline.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Perils of Ignoring History	p. ix
The Legacy of the Western Encounter with the Middle East	p. 1
America, the West, and Democracy in the Middle East	p. 37
The Middle East: Geostrategy and Oil	p. 74
The United States and Palestine	p. 118
Raising the Ghosts of Empire	p. 152
Notes	p. 177
Acknowledgments	p. 212
Index	p. 214
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