Iraq Revisited Amatzia Baram, Culture, History and Ideology in the Formation of Baathist Iraq, 1968-1989 (Macmillan, 1991). Samir al-Khalil, The Monument: Art, Vulgarity and Responsibility in Iraq (Andre Deutsch, 1991). Robert Fernea and Wm. Roger Louis, eds. The Iraqi Revolution of 1958: The Old Social Classes Fred Halliday • 7 min read
Categorical Theory Aijaz Ahmad’s book In Theory helpfully reminds us of the continuing relevance of political-economic analysis. Current discussions on post-colonialism or postmodernism often privilege libidinal over political economies and thus overlook the global distribution of material privilege that goes some way Dipesh Chakrabarty • 3 min read
Marxism and Postmodernism During the Thatcher-Reagan-Bush era, just as critical intellectuals and left political activists had won a small place for the concepts of political economy and class analysis in academia, postmodernism and post-structuralism replaced Marxism as the favored mode of Anglo-American intellectual radica Joel Beinin • 8 min read
The Democratization Industry and the Limits of the New Intervention In the wake of the Gulf war, the question of democracy in the Middle East has finally caught up with Washington, but in ways that reinforce dominant strains of Cold War thought and action. Witness the regular depiction of Islam and Islamist movements in terms once reserved for communism, reflecting Robert Vitalis • 12 min read
How Safe Is the Safe Haven? More than 10 million landmines have been scattered in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1975. Fifty percent of these were made in Italy. During the Iran-Iraq war, vast areas like Haj Omran and Penjwin were mined by both sides. After the Anfal campaign in 1988, Iraqi troops heavily mined the remnants of destroye Ronald Ofteringer, Ralf Backer • 2 min read
A Republic of Statelessness For nearly three years, Iraqi Kurdistan has been in a state of de facto self-rule. At first glance, it appears that the international engagement in Iraq on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 688 (Operation Provide Comfort) provided this opportunity. Ronald Ofteringer, Ralf Backer • 12 min read
Beyond the Ultra-Nationalist State The current debate on the compatibility of Arab-Muslim culture with Enlightenment ideals of rationality, democracy and tolerance is curiously devoid of historical reference. In the Arab world, the debates on democracy and progress regained momentum during the late 1970s, when the Islamist movements Isam al-Khafaji • 14 min read
An Interview with Muhammad Sahnoun Muhammad Sahnoun is a former Algerian diplomat who served as the special representative of UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in Somalia prior to the US military intervention there. He is presently a fellow at the International Development and Research Center in Ottawa. Joe Stork spoke with Joe Stork • 11 min read
The Sanctions Dilemma The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has a historical perspective regarding the use of economic sanctions. We have both supported and opposed the implementation of sanctions -- at times with clear strength of conviction, at other times with doubts and apprehensions. We have supported econom John Patterson • 9 min read
An Interview with Mark Duffield Mark Duffield visited Croatia and Bosnia between January 9 and 22, 1994, as part of a study of complex political emergencies. Joe Stork spoke with him on January 28, 1994. In your field report you refer to the failure to provide protection as representing a political failure of historic consequence Joe Stork • 8 min read
Bosnia and the Future of Military Humanitarianism Mark Duffield was in Bosnia and Croatia from January 9 to January 22, 1994 as part of a larger study of complex emergencies. The following is condensed from his “first impression” field report. The war in former Yugoslavia has displaced over 4 million people. Nearly 3 million of these are in Bosnia Mark Duffield • 6 min read
Sovereignty and Intervention After the Cold War Over the past several years, the perception has become widespread that the world has entered a period of profound change. A main feature of this change has been some erosion of the principle of state sovereignty as a major structural feature of international relations. The new activism of the United John Prendergast, Mark Duffield • 16 min read
