Politicologie
A Short History of the Gaza Strip
‘An excellent primer . . . Essential reading’ GUARDIAN
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History matters, especially in Palestine.
In this essential account, historian Anne Irfan reveals the long-term roots of Israel’s genocidal destruction of Gaza. She examines six key moments in its history that provide vital context for the present day, beginning with Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinian people in 1948, when the Gaza region was truncated to a tiny ‘Strip’ of 141 square miles, through to Israel’s occupations, the first intifada and the rise of Hamas. Drawing on a decade of meticulous research, she cuts through the misinformation and conflicting narratives to tell a story that begins long before the Hamas-led attacks of October 7 and centres Gaza as a microcosm of the Palestinian struggle. Clear-sighted and compassionate, this is an account that foregrounds the voices of Palestinians of all walks of life, from farmers and teachers to poets and activists.
A Short History of the Gaza Strip is an indispensable primer for anyone seeking to deepen their knowledge of Palestine and the wider region.
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‘Brings an unsparing moral clarity and deep insight to this timely, scholarly, humane and profoundly tragic tale’ WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, NEW STATESMAN
‘Wonderfully informative, nuanced, humane’ BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE Book of the Year
‘Written with passion, precision and clarity’ IRISH INDEPENDENT
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A Very Short History of the Israel–Palestine Conflict
An indispensable guide to understanding the Israel–Palestine conflict, and how we might yet still find a way out of it.
'Ilan Pappe is the most original, radical and hard-hitting of Israel’s "new historians".' Avi Shlaim, author of Three Worlds
The devastation of 7 October 2023 and the horrors that followed astounded the world. But the Israel–Palestine conflict didn’t start on 7 October. It didn’t start in 1967 either, when Israel occupied the West Bank, or in 1948 when the state of Israel was declared. It started in 1882, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in what was then Ottoman Palestine. Ilan Pappe untangles the history of two peoples, now sharing one land. Going back to the founding fathers of Zionism, Pappe expertly takes us through the twists and turns of international policy towards Israel–Palestine, Palestinian resistance to occupation, and the changes taking place in Israel itself.
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Adriatic
“A lovely, personal journey around the Adriatic, in which Robert Kaplan revisits places and peoples he first encountered decades ago.”—Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker
In this insightful travelogue, Robert D. Kaplan, geopolitical expert and bestselling author of Balkan Ghosts and The Revenge of Geography, turns his perceptive eye to a region that for centuries has been a meeting point of cultures, trade, and ideas. He undertakes a journey around the Adriatic Sea, through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece, to reveal that far more is happening in the region than most news stories let on. Often overlooked, the Adriatic is in fact at the center of the most significant challenges of our time, including the rise of populist politics, the refugee crisis, and battles over the control of energy resources. And it is once again becoming a global trading hub that will determine Europe’s relationship with the rest of the world as China and Russia compete for dominance in its ports.
Kaplan explores how the region has changed over his three decades of observing it as a journalist. He finds that to understand both the historical and contemporary Adriatic is to gain a window on the future of Europe as a whole, and he unearths a stark truth: The era of populism is an epiphenomenon—a symptom of the age of nationalism coming to an end. Instead, the continent is returning to alignments of the early modern era as distinctions between East and West meet and break down within the Adriatic countries and ultimately throughout Europe.
With a brilliant cross-pollination of history, literature, art, architecture, and current events, in Adriatic, Kaplan demonstrates that this unique region that exists at the intersection of civilizations holds revelatory truths for the future of global affairs. Lees meer
Ai Weiwei on Censorship
Ai Weiwei is one of contemporary art's greatest practitioners. He has been a voice for artistic and personal freedom of expression for decades within his native China and around the world.
This publication offers a compelling exploration of censorship and self-censorship. Drawing on his personal experiences and advocacy for human rights, Ai Weiwei provides a uniquely informed perspective. He examines how censorship persists in authoritarian regimes as well as subtly within democratic frameworks, corporate power, the arts, and social media, arguing that its concealed and pervasive nature poses a significant threat to genuine expression. This thought-provoking work by a singular voice invites readers to critically reconsider power, ideology, and the boundaries of free speech.
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