The Selected Writings of Eqbal AhmadActivist, journalist, and theorist, Eqbal Ahmad (1934-1999) was admired and consulted by revolutionaries and activists as well as policymakers and academics. In articles and columns published in such journals as the Nation, New York Review of Books, Monthly Review, and newspapers in Pakistan and Cairo, Ahmad inspired new ways of thinking about global issues. Whether writing on the rise of militant Islam, the conflict in Kashmir, U.S. involvement in Vietnam, or the cynical logic of Cold War geopolitics, Ahmad offered incisive, passionate, and often prophetic analyses of the major political events and movements of the second half of the twentieth century. This work is the first to collect Ahmad's writings in a single volume. It reflects his distinct understanding of world politics as well as his profound sense of empathy for those living in poverty and oppression. He was a fierce opponent of imperialism and corruption and advocated democratic transformations in postcolonial and third-world societies. A uniquely perceptive critic of colonialism and U.S. foreign policy, Ahmad was equally vigilant in his criticisms of third-world dictatorships. Like few other writers, Ahmad's life experiences shaped his political views. He grew up amidst the turmoil of postcolonial India, worked alongside the Algerian FLN in their fight against the French occupation, and later became a prominent spokesperson for peace between Israel and Palestine. |
Contents
How to Tell When the Rebels Have Won | 13 |
Counterinsurgency | 36 |
The Lessons of Vietnam | 65 |
Fifteen Years Later | 81 |
Remembering Sidi Mohammed | 94 |
Introduction by Carollee Bengelsdorf and Margaret Cerullo | 107 |
Postcolonial Systems of Power | 128 |
Notes on the Pathology of Power | 142 |
King Husseins Dual Legacy | 381 |
SOUTH ASIA 318 | 387 |
Introduction by Yogesh Chandrani and Radha Kumar | 389 |
PARTITION AND INDEPENDENCE | 401 |
Partitioned Lands Divided Sentiments | 403 |
ON JINNAH | 413 |
Jinnah in a Class of His Own | 415 |
The Betrayed Promise | 419 |
War of the Rentier States | 154 |
Islam and Politics | 160 |
Roots of the Religious Right | 179 |
Introduction by Carollee Bengelsdorf and Margaret Cerullo | 193 |
The Cold War from the Standpoint of Its Victims | 219 |
Yet Again a New Nixon | 228 |
A World of Pain | 245 |
Theirs and Ours | 257 |
A Time to Remember | 267 |
Neglected Perspectives | 274 |
Covering the Middle East | 283 |
Introduction by Noubar Hovsepian | 293 |
American Diplomacy in the Middle East | 318 |
An Essay on Reconciliation | 350 |
On Arab Bankruptcy | 357 |
The Public Relations of Ethnocide | 360 |
Peace of the Weak | 369 |
Beyond Arafats Antics | 373 |
An Address in Gaza | 377 |
PAKISTANS MILITARY | 423 |
Letter to a Pakistani Diplomat | 425 |
Signposts to a Police State | 431 |
General Zia Is Now the Law | 446 |
AFGHANISTAN | 449 |
Bloody Games | 453 |
Stalemate at Jalalabad | 493 |
In a Land Without Music | 500 |
Talibans Unlikely Story | 504 |
What After Strategic Depth? | 509 |
Jihad International Inc | 514 |
Beyond Mutual Destruction | 523 |
Indias Obsession Our Choice | 539 |
No Alternative to Dialogue | 548 |
No Not Again | 555 |
Shotgun Governance | 563 |
Permissions | 597 |
603 | |
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