The book All the Shah’s Men was written by American journalist Stephen Kinzer. The subject matter of the book is the America backed coup-de-tat carried out in Iran in 1953, in which its incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was forcefully replaced by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The latter was loyal to Western interests and it…
Tag: middle east
Propaganda Studies: Invasion and occupation of Iraq since 2003
The invasion and occupation of Iraq since 2003 is a classic example of the power and effectiveness of propaganda campaigns. For some people, subsequent revelations about the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) might have come as a surprise. But even before the invasion took place, many people across the world (including Americans) took…
Overview of Orientalism by Edward Said
Orientalism as a geo-political and sociological concept has attracted much controversy. It remains author Edward Said’s definitive work, alongside other titles such a The Question of Palestine and Covering Islam. Orientalism as a scholarly work is the combined study and analysis of Oriental “philology, linguistics, ethnography, and the interpretation of culture through the discovery, recovery,…
The need for a liberal review of the Niqab and the Hijab
The issue of dress codes for women has been a debating point for long. Some Islamic scholars believe that there is no such decree in the holy books, while others interpret it counter-wise to make their case. Even with so much new research conducted on the subject, there is no consensus among Islamic scholars and…
Comparing Samuel P. Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations’ and Edward W. Said’s ‘The Clash of Ignorance’
Samuel Huntington’s book The Clash of Civilizations has evoked a broad range of responses from political commentators both in the United States as well as abroad. Huntington asserts that the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 had marked a new beginning in the history of international politics. While prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union…
Nixon-Kissinger reaction to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war
Discuss the Nixon-Kissinger reaction to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. What issues were at stake, both within the region and the wider Cold War? How would you assess the success and/or consequences of Nixon and Kissinger’s handling of the Middle East crisis? The 1973 War between Israel and the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria is…
The Political Situation in Iran
As a strategically important country in the Middle East, the course Iran would take will have profound consequences for the entire region. But given its history and recent developments, the future looks dark and dangerous for both Iran and its enemies. The recent years had seen a gradual but definite change in Iran’s social conditions….