The Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective
Key information
- Date
- Time
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6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
- Venue
- SOAS
- Event type
- Event highlights & Launch
About this event
From a foremost expert on the Middle East, The Gaza Catastrophe is a searing indictment of the forces that led to the genocidal war on Gaza and its reverberations across the globe.
The destruction rained on Gaza has been seen by many as a vengeful overreaction to the reckless Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023. However, the new catastrophe befalling the Palestinian people is the continuation of a decades-long course in which Israeli politics, policies and military strategies have inexorably shifted to the right. Gaza was the final nail in the coffin of the Atlanticist 'international liberal order' before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The Gaza Catastrophe reckons with the lethal consequences and the significance of a war waged by an advanced military-industrial state – with full US participation and support from the West. Renowned political scientist Gilbert Achcar explores the dynamics of a complex historical process that culminated in the war on Gaza and wider conflict in the Middle East. He offers critical insights on the genocide’s regional and international ramifications, as well as radical critiques of Zionism, Hamas and other state and non-state actors.
This vital new book is essential to understanding the root causes of the violence destabilising the entire region and the wider world, as well as the conditions required to bring it to an end.
About the speaker
Gilbert Achcar is Emeritus Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at SOAS University of London. He has written extensively on politics and development economics, as well as social change and social theory.
His publications include The Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder, published in 15 languages; Perilous Power: The Middle East and US Foreign Policy, with Noam Chomsky; The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising; and Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprisings; and The New Cold War: The United States, Russia and China, from Kosovo to Ukraine.
Discussants
The discussants for this event will be Dina Matar and Nimer Sultany.
Chair
Registration
This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Image credit: Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash
