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Imperial Designs: War, Humiliations & the Making of History
Author(s): Deepak Tripathi (Author)
- Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
- Publication Date: 1 April 2013
- Language: English
- Print length: 208 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781612346243
- ISBN-13: 1612346243
Book Description
Since the age of Alexander the Great, waves of foreign armies have invaded the Middle East and South Asia to plunder their vast treasures. In Imperial Designs, Deepak Tripathi offers a powerful and unique analysis of how this volatile region has endured the manipulation and humiliation of such wars. He argues that these foreign invasions to gain access to others’ wealth and the consequent ignominy of the defeated peoples of the regions have had far-reaching consequences. Over the centuries, again and again, the conquered peoples have been left helpless, their shame on display. The victims’ collective frustration has strengthened their will to resist and avenge the wrongs done to them–all according to their own values and in their own time. Displaying a keen awareness of Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures, Tripathi argues that this enduring theme resonates throughout the region’s history and informs the present. Referring to declassified official documents and scholarly works, Imperial Designs offers an authoritative analysis of Middle Eastern history since World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Scholars, policymakers, and concerned citizens should read this book, for it tells us how the shame of defeat radicalizes nations and societies, and often makes future conflict inevitable.
Editorial Reviews
Review
…Imperial Designs has much to offer to decision-makers, particularly its insights into the causes and devastating impact of humiliation in international relations, including the desire for revenge on the part of the humiliated… Tripathi’s excellent summation of past events in the Middle East and his cogent analysis of their continuing implications should be required reading for all who are dealing directly with this troubled region, as well as those seeking to understand it and its relations with the United States. ― American Diplomacy
About the Author
DEEPAK TRIPATHI is a British historian and former journalist whose long career (1974–2000) was spent primarily with the BBC, where he was a correspondent, editor, and commentator. In the early 1990s, Tripathi set up the BBC bureau in Kabul and was the resident correspondent in Afghanistan. He has also reported from Syria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India. This is the third book in a trilogy that encompasses Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan (2010) and Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism (2011), both published by Potomac Books. Tripathi lives near London.
