Elie Kedourie

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Elie Kedourie CBE , FBA (born January 25, 1926 in Baghdad , † June 29, 1992 in Washington ) was a British conservative historian with a focus on the Middle East . He was considered as conservative as unorthodox and taught at the London School of Economics (LSE) from 1953 to 1990 as a political scientist.

Origin and career

He grew up as the son of Iraqi Jews in Baghdad and began his studies at the LSE. His doctoral thesis (later published as England and the Middle East ) criticized Britain's interwar Iraq policy. Kedourie was initially denied the title because of a conflict with an examiner, Sir Hamilton Gibb . Michael Oakeshott brought Kedourie back to the LSE.

The later book sharply criticized TE Lawrence and British support for Arab nationalism. In 1964, Kedourie founded the Middle Eastern Studies Journal.

Considerations on Middle East policy and development problems

His 1960 book on nationalism , which he viewed as a time-bound and negative phenomenon, led to counter-publications, such as Thought and Change (1964) and Nations and Nationalism (1983) by Ernest Gellner . Kedourie criticized the weakening of the British Empire through excessive self-accusation. Arnold J. Toynbee , in The Chatham House version , he held responsible for the loss of British dominant role in the Middle East.

According to Kedourie, the Third World’s poverty and underdevelopment came about not from exploitation by the First, but from its own dysfunctional traditions and cultures, corruption and lack of citizenship.

Books

  • England and the Middle East: The Vital Years 1914-1921 (1956); New edition under the title England and the Middle East. The destruction of the Ottoman Empire 1914–1921
  • Nationalism (1960) revised edition 1993
  • Afghani and 'Abduh: An essay on religious unbelief and political activism in modern Islam (1966)
  • The Chatham House Version: And Other Middle Eastern Studies (1970)
  • Nationalism in Asia and Africa (1970) editor
  • Arabic Political Memoirs and Other Studies (1974)
  • In the Anglo-Arab Labyrinth: The McMahon-Husayn Correspondence and its Interpretations 1914–1939 (1976)
  • Middle Eastern Economy: Studies in Economics and Economic History (1976)
  • The Jewish World: Revelation, Prophecy and History (1979) editor, as The Jewish World: History and Culture of the Jewish World (US)
  • Islam in the Modern World and Other Studies (1980)
  • Towards a Modern Iran; Studies in Thought, Politics and Society (1980) editor with Sylvia G. Haim
  • Modern Egypt: Studies in Politics and Society (1980) editor
  • Zionism and Arabism in Palestine and Israel (1982) editor with Sylvia G. Haim
  • The Crossman Confessions and Other Essays in Politics, History and Religion (1984)
  • Diamonds into Glass: The Government and the Universities (1988)
  • Essays on the Economic History of the Middle East (1988) editor with Sylvia G. Haim
  • Democracy and Arab Political Culture (1992)
  • Politics in the Middle East (1992)
  • Spain and the Jews: The Sephardi Experience, 1492 and after (1992)
  • Hegel & Marx: Introductory Lectures (1995)

literature

  • Alan Beattie: Elie Kedourie, 1926-1992 . In: Proceedings of the British Academy . tape 87 , 1995, pp. 357-381 ( thebritishacademy.ac.uk [PDF]).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kedourie, Elie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British unorthodox orientalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Baghdad
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1992
Place of death Washington