Britain in the Islamic World


Book Description

This collection examines the role of Britain in the Islamic world. It offers insight into the social, political, diplomatic, and military issues that arose over the centuries of British involvement in the region, particularly focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. British involvement can be separated into three phases: Discovery, Colonization and Decolonization, and Post-Empire. Decisions made by individual traders and high governmental officials are examined to understand how Great Britain impacted the Islamic world through these periods and, conversely, how events in the Islamic world influenced British decisions within the empire, in protection of the empire, and in the wake of the empire. The essays consider early perceptions of Islam, the role of trade, British-Ottoman relations, and colonial rule and control through religion. They explore British influence in a number of countries, including Somalia, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, the Gulf States, India, and beyond. The final part of the book addresses the lasting impact of British imperial rule in the Islamic world.




Looking Backward, Moving Forward


Book Description

The decades separating our new century from the Armenian Genocide, the prototype of modern-day nation-killings, have fundamentally changed the political composition of the region. Virtually no Armenians remain on their historic territories in what is today eastern Turkey. The Armenian people have been scattered about the world. And a small independent republic has come to replace the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was all that was left of the homeland as the result of Turkish invasion and Bolshevik collusion in 1920. One element has remained constant. Notwithstanding the eloquent, compelling evidence housed in the United States National Archives and repositories around the world, successive Turkish governments have denied that the predecessor Young Turk regime committed genocide, and, like the Nazis who followed their example, sought aggressively to deflect blame by accusing the victims themselves.This volume argues that the time has come for Turkey to reassess the propriety of its approach, and to begin the process that will allow it move into a post-genocide era. The work includes "Genocide: An Agenda for Action," Gijs M. de Vries; "Determinants of the Armenian Genocide," Donald Bloxham; "Looking Backward and Forward," Joyce Apsel; "The United States Response to the Armenian Genocide," Simon Payaslian; "The League of Nations and the Reclamation of Armenian Genocide Survivors," Vahram L. Shemmassian; "Raphael Lemkin and the Armenian Genocide," Steven L. Jacobs; "Reconstructing Turkish Historiography of the Armenian Massacres and Deaths of 1915," Fatma Muge Go;cek; "Bitter-Sweet Memories; "The Armenian Genocide and International Law," Joe Verhoeven; "New Directions in Literary Response to the Armenian Genocide," Rubina Peroomian; "Denial and Free Speech," Henry C. Theriault; "Healing and Reconciliation," Ervin Staub; "State and Nation," Raffi K. Hovannisian.




The War of the World


Book Description

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower "Even those who have read widely in 20th-century history will find fresh, surprising details." —The Boston Globe "A fascinating read, thanks to Ferguson's gifts as a writer of clear, energetic narrative history." —The Washington Post Astonishing in its scope and erudition, this is the magnum opus that Niall Ferguson's numerous acclaimed works have been leading up to. In it, he grapples with perhaps the most challenging questions of modern history: Why was the twentieth century history's bloodiest by far? Why did unprecedented material progress go hand in hand with total war and genocide? His quest for new answers takes him from the walls of Nanjing to the bloody beaches of Normandy, from the economics of ethnic cleansing to the politics of imperial decline and fall. The result, as brilliantly written as it is vital, is a great historian's masterwork.




Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I


Book Description

This volume examines how the Ottoman Army was able to evolve and maintain a high level of overall combat effectiveness despite the primitive nature of the Ottoman State during the First World War. Structured around four case studies, at the operational and tactical level, of campaigns involving the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire: Gallipoli in 1915, Kut in 1916, Third Gaza-Beersheba in 1917, and Megiddo in 1918. For each of these campaigns, particular emphasis is placed on examining specific elements of combat effectiveness and how they affected that particular battle. The prevalent historiography attributes Ottoman battlefield success primarily to external factors - such as the presence of German generals and staff officers; climate, weather and terrain that adversely affected allied operations; allied bumbling and amateurish operations; and inadequate allied intelligence. By contrast, Edward J. Erickson argues that the Ottoman Army was successful due to internal factors, such as its organizational architecture, a hardened cadre of experienced combat leaders, its ability to organize itself for combat, and its application of the German style of war. Ottoman Army Effectiveness in World War I will be of great interest to students of the First World War, military history and strategic studies in general.




Collective Trauma and the Armenian Genocide


Book Description

In this pathbreaking study, Pamela Steiner deconstructs the psychological obstacles that have prevented peaceful settlements to longstanding issues. The book re-examines more than 100 years of destructive ethno-religious relations among Armenians, Turks, and Azerbaijanis through the novel lens of collective trauma. The author argues that a focus on embedded, transgenerational collective trauma is essential to achieving more trusting, productive, and stable relationships in this and similar contexts. The book takes a deep dive into history - analysing the traumatic events, examining and positing how they motivated the actions of key players (both victims and perpetrators), and revealing how profoundly these traumas continue to manifest today among the three peoples, stymying healing and inhibiting achievement of a basis for positive change. The author then proposes a bold new approach to “conflict resolution” as a complement to other perspectives, such as power-based analyses and international human rights. Addressing the psychological core of the conflict, the author argues that a focus on embedded collective trauma is essential in this and similar arenas.