Eastern Cauldron: Islam, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq in a Marxist Mirror

by Gilbert Achcar

The route to any coherent understanding of our time runs through the issues addressed in this collection of the political meaning of Islam, the relation of the West to the Islamic world, the new form of imperialism signaled by the Soviet and U.S. occupations of Afghanistan, the intractable conflict over Palestine. In confronting these inescapable issues, global power is being reshaped and the ends for which it will be used are being decided.
This volume brings together Gilbert Achcar's major writings on these issues over the past decades. The essays collected in Eastern Cauldron describe and explain the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, the fate of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and its aftermath, and above all the Palestinian conflict—in which the regional stakes are so dramatically embodied and contested. Achcar analyzes the social bases, strategies and tactics of PLO, Hezbollah, Israel and the United States from the establishment of the state of Israel to the second Intifada. He pinpoints the contradictions of the Israeli state—seeking at the same time to be Jewish and yet democratic—and the impact of these contradictions on all parties to the conflict.
Eastern Cauldron is primarily aimed at producing a better understanding of the conflicts of the region. Achcar's work is informed by strong moral and political commitments but is never limited to polemic. His work demonstrates the immense capacities of Marxism to illuminate economic, political, and ideological developments without losing sight of their concrete singularity and their complex interconnection. His analyses are supple and inventive, and consistently informed by reflection on rival traditions of political thought and a deep knowledge of the region.

Genres: Middle East, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Gilbert Achcar is a Lebanese academic, writer, and socialist. He is a Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. His research interests cover the Near East and North Africa, the foreign policy of the United States, Globalisation, Islam, and Islamic fundamentalism. He is also a Fellow at the International Institute for Research and Education.

Reviews

[Cora Galpern]

Incredibly dense and I didn’t understand a lot of what he was saying but I still learned so much and felt like I built some good academic reading muscles by the end. My least favorite parts where when he would mention a really niche or complicated issue and start out by saying “Too well understood to even mention…”

[Amal Omer · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked how the sections were broken up. read it for book club and i loved the convos it inspired. genuinely feel like i learned a lot (esp the palestine sections regarding all the diff factions on the left), but overall was confused lol.

[Ricky Carrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative essays spanning from the 80’s, 90’s, and the early 2000’s. There’s some really good stuff in here on the Arab/Israeli conflict, and the Palestinian uprising in the late 80’s. There is also some great essays on the Iraq/Iran war and the U.S involvement.

[Christopher Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest books I've ever read.

[Tamer Nosshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fundamentally this book is a series of essays from the 1970's till the mid 2000's. While not having a true solution for the issues in the middle east, the books arguements/critiques/theories regarding the current situation are some of the most interesting writing that I have read in an exceedingly long time. Specifically why the petite bourgeosie in Arab Countries play such a reactionary role in the region provides some of the most insightful perspectives. I think it bares further reading into these non-western theories. But this particular book is a definitely a great entry point into understanding the history and the entrenched issues in the Middle East.