Grand theft history

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Shlomo Sand

"Quand le peuple juif fut-il créé? Est-ce il y a quatre mille ans, ou bien sous la plume d'historiens juifs du XIXe siècle qui ont reconstitué rétrospectivement un peuple imaginé afin de façonner une nation future? Dans le sillage de la " contre-histoire " née en Israël dans les années 1990, Shlomo Sand nous entraîne dans une plongée à travers l'histoire " de longue durée " des juifs. Les habitants de la Judée furent-ils exilés après la destruction du Second Temple, en l'an 70 de l'ère chrétienne, ou bien s'agit-il ici d'un mythe chrétien qui aurait infiltré la tradition juive? Et, si les paysans des temps anciens n'ont pas été exilés, que sont-ils devenus? L'auteur montre surtout comment, à partir du XIXe siècle, le temps biblique a commencé à être considéré par les premiers sionistes comme le temps historique, celui de la naissance d'une nation. Ce détour par le passé conduit l'historien à un questionnement beaucoup plus contemporain : à l'heure où certains biologistes israéliens cherchent encore à démontrer que les juifs forment un peuple doté d'un ADN spécifique, que cache aujourd'hui le concept d'" Etat juif ", et pourquoi cette entité n'a-t-elle pas réussi jusqu'à maintenant à se constituer en une république appartenant à l'ensemble de ses citoyens, quelle que soit leur religion? En dénonçant cette dérogation profonde au principe sur lequel se fonde toute démocratie moderne, Shlomo Sand délaisse le débat historiographique pour proposer une critique de la politique identitaire de son pays. Construit sur une analyse d'une grande originalité et pleine d'audace, cet ouvrage foisonnant aborde des questions qui touchent autant à l'origine historique des juifs qu'au statut civique des Israéliens. Paru au printemps 2008 en Israël, il y est très rapidement devenu un best-seller et donne encore lieu à des débats orageux."--Book cover.

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[edited by Edgar Pieterse

"The City of Cape Town is heading for disaster and is already in deep crisis if one cares to look close enough. The recent proliferation of public construction, public squares and public housing along the N2 towards the airport is little more than a mirage compared with the direction of more underlying trends. Cape Town's grim future is born out of the confluence of the globalised economic and ecological collapse that is fast becoming the defining feature of the twenty-first century. It is manifested most starkly in the dire situation that faces the majority of the city's residents, who are excluded from the formal economy and must rely on substandard public services and their own makeshift shelters. The scenario is serious enough to draw everyone's attention but should be set against the broader issues of long-term economic resilience and environmental sustainability to achieve a low-carbon society - so we have our work cut out for us. The purpose of this volume is to demystify these challenges and present readers with a creative portfolio of thinking, practice and strong vision to show that we can find alternatives - and, moreover, that these alternatives are already emerging in (marginal) sections of the state, civil society and the business sectors."--Introd.

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Saïd Amir Arjomand

Much of the Western world responded to Iran's recent post-election upheaval with surprise. The demands of protesters left many pundits scrambling to explain what they perceived as unprecedented politicization of the citizenry. The author analyzes Iran's political and ideological transformation in the post-Khomeini period. For many Americans, Iran is our most dangerous enemy--part of George W. Bush's "axis of evil" even before the appearance of Ahmadinejad. But what is the reality? How did Ahmadinejad rise to power, and how much power does he really have? What are the chances of normalizing relations with Iran? In After Khomeini, Saïd Amir Arjomand paints a subtle and perceptive portrait of contemporary Iran. This work, a sequel to Arjomand's acclaimed The Turban for the Crown, examines Iran under the successors of Ayatollah Khomeini up to the present day. He begins, as the Islamic Republic did, with Khomeini, offering a brilliant capsule biography of the man who masterminded the revolution that overthrew the Shah. Arjomand draws clear distinctions between the moderates of the initial phrase of the revolution, radicals, pragmatists, and hardliners, the latter best exemplified by Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Taking a chronological and thematic approach, he traces the emergence and consolidation of the present system of collective rule by clerical councils and the peaceful transition to dual leadership by the ayatollah as the supreme guide and the subordinate president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He explains the internal political quarrels among Khomeini's heirs as a struggle over his revolutionary legacy. And he outlines how the ruling clerical elite and the nation's security forces are interdependent politically and economically, speculating on the potential future role of the Revolutionary Guards. -- Publisher description.

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John S. Dryzek

"The Politics of the Earth provides an excellent and accessible introduction to environmental affairs. John Dryzek analyses the approaches which have dominated environmental issues over the last four decades and which are likely to be influential in the future." "The Politics of the Earth is essential reading for all students of environmental politics and policy, and for anyone with an interest in environmental issues. This second edition is thoroughly updated and revised to cover the evolution of environmental discourses into the twenty-first century."--Jacket.