The Power and the People: Paths of Resistance in the Middle East
Author(s): Charles Tripp (Author)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Date: February 25, 2013
Edition: Illustrated
Language: English
Print length: 407 pages
ISBN-10: 0521809657
ISBN-13: 9780521809658
Book Description
This book is about power. The power wielded over others – by absolute monarchs, tyrannical totalitarian regimes and military occupiers – and the power of the people who resist and deny their rulers’ claims to that authority by whatever means. The extraordinary events in the Middle East in 2011 offered a vivid example of how non-violent demonstration can topple seemingly invincible rulers. Drawing on these dramatic events and parallel moments in the modern history of the Middle East, from the violent uprisings in Algeria against the French in the early twentieth century, to revolution in Iran in 1979, and the Palestinian intifada, the book considers the ways in which the people have united to unseat their oppressors and fight against the status quo to shape a better future. The book also probes the relationship between power and forms of resistance and how common experiences of violence and repression create new collective identities. Nowhere is this more strikingly exemplified than in the art of the Middle East, its posters and graffiti, and its provocative installations which are discussed in the concluding chapter. This brilliant, yet unsettling book affords a panoramic view of the twentieth and twenty-first century Middle East through occupation, oppression, and political resistance.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Completed during the tumultuous year of 2011, The Power and the People is as broad in scope as it is ambitious … It would be incredibly useful as a core text for a course on resistance movements in the Middle East, and scholars already familiar with the topic and historical context should gain something from Tripp’s ability to weave these seemingly diverse and unconnected events together in a single book.” H-Net Reviews
“Charles Tripp has written a remarkable book that provides historical depth and rigorous insight into the long arcs of protest in the Middle East and North Africa. Ranging from Morocco to Iran and from the nineteenth century to the “Arab Spring”, Tripp dissects the pathways of popular resistance to authoritarian power. Mixing country case-studies with reflections on the nature of violence, authority and symbolism, he demonstrates how they have for decades undermined the edifice of autocracy in often surprising and effective ways. At a time of profound regional upheaval and great uncertainty over the general ‘direction of travel’, the book provides a timely and highly original insight into power and politics in the modern Middle East.” International Affairs
“In this book, Tripp looks at recent movements across the Middle East for those hidden causes and underlying motivations that often remain unseen and ignored by both scholars and policy makers, much to their analytical detriment … Tripp gives readers the opportunity to understand the issue of civil unrest and potential uprising regardless of geography or specific case study … This insightful work is organized in a comprehensive, probing manner likely to maintain its significance well into the future. It makes sense and is accessible to all: a much-needed addition to the literature. Summing up: highly recommended. All readership levels.” Choice
“This spirited account carries conviction and by telling it Tripp has made an important contribution in supplementing the record of national liberation struggles.” Morning Star
“This important and erudite book is written with clarity and illuminated with a commanding knowledge of the Middle East and its complexities. It should be read by anyone hoping to calibrate their moral and political bearings in this difficult and problematic region.” The Times Literary Supplement
Book Description
This book affords a panoramic view of the twentieth and twenty-first century Middle East through occupation, oppression and political resistance.
About the Author
Charles Tripp is Professor of Politics with reference to the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the General Editor of the Cambridge Middle East Studies Series and author of A History of Iraq (3rd edition, 2007) and Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism (2006).
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