Azmi Bishara
Doha Institute: The Arab Center For Research and Policy Studies, Research, Department Member
- General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the... moreGeneral Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI). An Arab researcher and intellectual with numerous books and academic publications on political thought, social theory and philosophy. Was named by Le Nouveau Magazine Littéraire as one of the world’s most influential thinkers. Publications in Arabic include: Civil Society: A Critical Study (1996); From the Jewishness of the State to Sharon (2004); On The Arab Question: An Introduction to an Arab Democratic Manifesto (2007); To Be an Arab in Our Times (2009); On Revolution and Susceptibility to Revolution (2012); Religion and Secularism in Historical Context (in 3 vols., 2013, 2015); The Army and Political Power in the Arab Context: Theoretical Problems (2017); The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh): A General Framework and Critical Contribution to Understanding the Phenomenon (2018); What is Populism? (2019) and Democratic Transition and its Problems: Theoretical Lessons from Arab Experiences (2020). Some of these works have become key references within their respective field. The latest publication titled The Question of the State: Philosophy, Theory, and Context (2023).
English publications include: Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice (Hurst, 2022); On Salafism: Concepts and Contexts (Stanford University Press, 2022); Sectarianism without Sects (Oxford University Press, 2021), among other writings. His trilogy on the Arab revolutions, published by I.B. Tauris, consists of Understanding Revolutions: Opening Acts in Tunisia (2021); Egypt: Revolution, Failed Transition and Counter-Revolution (2022); and Syria 2011-2013: Revolution and Tyranny before the Mayhem (2023), in which they provide a theoretical analysis in addition to a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three Arab countries: Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.edit
An updated version of Azmi Bishara’s essay "Moral Matters in Hard Times," published earlier on the website of the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, adding an introduction and revisions in the first section, with integrated... more
An updated version of Azmi Bishara’s essay "Moral Matters in Hard Times," published earlier on the website of the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies, adding an introduction and revisions in the first section, with integrated sections from the author’s discussion of Jürgen Habermas's stance on the war.
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À propos de l’antisémitisme et des manifestations étudiantes :
quand une sociologue délaisse le raisonnement logique au profit de l'inconscient
quand une sociologue délaisse le raisonnement logique au profit de l'inconscient
Research Interests: Israel Studies, Antisemitism (Prejudice), Israel/Palestine, Holocaust Studies, Antisemitism/Racisms, and 12 moreIsrael, Israel and Zionism, Holocaust, Arab-Israeli conflict, Genocide, Antisemitism, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Student Antiwar Protest, History of Antisemitism, War on Gaza, and Student Protest
Azmi Bishara’s article “On Antisemitism and the Student Protests: When a sociologist abandons tools of rational inference and resorts to the unconscious” is a response to Eva Illouz’s article, published in the German newspaper Süddeutsche... more
Azmi Bishara’s article “On Antisemitism and the Student Protests: When a sociologist abandons tools of rational inference and resorts to the unconscious” is a response to Eva Illouz’s article, published in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, in which she answers the question of whether the university protests are antisemitic in the affirmative. Bishara asserts that his response to the article does not stem from any negative feelings towards this particular author, but, because her essay goes from mere incitement to an attempt to prove her allegation, it offers a fine opportunity to discuss the subject.
Research Interests: Israel Studies, Genocide Studies, Antisemitism (Prejudice), Israel/Palestine, Holocaust Studies, and 15 moreAnti-Semitism, Antisemitism/Racisms, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Holocaust, Arab-Israeli conflict, Genocide, Antisemitism, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, The Holocaust, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, History of Antisemitism, War on Gaza, and Student Protest
مقال عزمي بشارة بعنوان "عن اللاساميّة ومظاهرات الطلاب: حين تستغني عالمة اجتماع إسرائيلية عن أدوات الاستنتاج العقلاني وتلجأ إلى اللاوعي" في رده على مقال عالمة الاجتماع الإسرائيلية، إيڤا إيلّوز، الذي نُشر في جريدة زودويتشه... more
مقال عزمي بشارة بعنوان "عن اللاساميّة ومظاهرات الطلاب: حين تستغني عالمة اجتماع إسرائيلية عن أدوات الاستنتاج العقلاني وتلجأ إلى اللاوعي" في رده على مقال عالمة الاجتماع الإسرائيلية، إيڤا إيلّوز، الذي نُشر في جريدة زودويتشه تسايتونغ الألمانية، ويردّ مقالها بالإيجاب عن السؤال: هل كانت الاحتجاجات في الجامعات معادية للساميّة؟ ويؤكد بشارة أن لا علاقة لردّه عليه بموقفٍ من الكاتبة، بل لأنه ينتقل من مجرد التحريض إلى محاولة إثبات التهمة، على نحوٍ يتيح فرصةً لمناقشة الموضوع.
Research Interests: Israel Studies, Genocide Studies, Antisemitism (Prejudice), Israel/Palestine, Holocaust Studies, and 15 moreAnti-Semitism, Antisemitism/Racisms, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Holocaust, Arab-Israeli conflict, Genocide, Antisemitism, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, إسرائيل, اليهود, History of Antisemitism, Student Protest, الهولوكوست, and الاحتلال الإسرائيلي
صيغة معدّلة من مقال عزمي بشارة الذي نُشر بتاريخ 12 تشرين الثاني/ نوفمبر 2023، وذلك مع إضافات للنشر في دورية تبيُّن للدراسات الفلسفية والنظريات النقدية.
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Azmi Bishara’s keynote lecture of the Second Annual Palestine Forum, organized by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) in Doha on 10-12 February 2024.
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نص المحاضرة الافتتاحية التي قدّمها الدكتور عزمي بشارة في افتتاح أعمال الدورة الثانية للمنتدى السنوي لفلسطين، يوم السبت 10 شباط/ فبراير 2024، التي نظّمها المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات بالتعاون مع مؤسسة الدراسات الفلسطينية، في... more
نص المحاضرة الافتتاحية التي قدّمها الدكتور عزمي بشارة في افتتاح أعمال الدورة الثانية للمنتدى السنوي لفلسطين، يوم السبت 10 شباط/ فبراير 2024، التي نظّمها المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات بالتعاون مع مؤسسة الدراسات الفلسطينية، في الدوحة خلال الفترة 10-12 شباط/ فبراير 2024.
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This paper explores the concept of political culture and its origins, establishing four main theses. First, the nature of a country’s system of government cannot be concluded from its political culture. Second, political culture cannot be... more
This paper explores the concept of political culture and its origins, establishing four main theses. First, the nature of a country’s system of government cannot be concluded from its political culture. Second, political culture cannot be extrapolated from the broader general culture. Third, direct conclusions about political practice are unlikely to be drawn from political culture. And fourth, the impact of the political culture of elites during the democratic transition should not be underestimated. The paper addresses the importance of both “civic culture” in preserving democratic stability and the belief in liberal democratic values. It makes a distinction between political culture as attitudes and as behavioural trends. It contends that the emergence of theories linking the nature of the system of government to the prevalent culture in a given country was due to Cold War alliances between Western democracies and their loyal dictatorships. There is no truth to the claim that the political culture of a society must be democratic as a precondition for establishing a democratic system. Conversely, this assumption obscures the true condition for democracy, which is the political culture of the elites, and the latter’s adherence to democratic principles during the democratization process.
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The full text of Azmi Bishara's lecture titled "The War on Gaza: Politics, Ethics, and International Law" held on 28 November 2023 at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS).
Research Interests: Ethics, International Law, Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, and 14 moreHolocaust Studies, Comparative genocide, Israel and Zionism, Holocaust, Genocide, Political Ethics, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Palestine Gaza, The International Law of Self-Defence, Gaza Strip, Self Defense, War on Gaza, Colonial Genocide, and Palestine and International Law
النص الكامل للمحاضرة التي ألقاها عزمي بشارة بعنوان: "الحرب على غزة: السياسة والأخلاق والقانون الدولي"
الثلاثاء، 28 تشرين الثاني/ نوفمبر 2023
الثلاثاء، 28 تشرين الثاني/ نوفمبر 2023
Research Interests: International Law, Genocide Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Comparative genocide, and 11 moreIsrael and Zionism, Holocaust, Genocide, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, The Holocaust, Palestine Gaza, فلسطين, The International Law of Self-Defence, Self Defense, Colonial Genocide, and Palestine and International Law
The aim of this article – which is addressed neither to the war criminals nor their victims, who have enough to deal with – is to discern and address the moral issues raised by the Israeli war on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.... more
The aim of this article – which is addressed neither to the war criminals nor their victims, who have enough to deal with – is to discern and address the moral issues raised by the Israeli war on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. I mean those moral dilemmas that confront humanity as a result of the atrocities committed during the aggression and the mechanisms that allow the suspension of any moral judgment of the crimes committed.
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إن هدف هذه المقالة – وهي غير موجهة إلى مجرمي الحرب ولا إلى ضحاياهم الذين تكفيهم همومهم – هو تمييز القضايا الأخلاقيّة التي أثارتها وتثيرها الحرب الإسرائيلية على الشعب الفلسطيني في قطاع غزة، ومعالجتها على حدة. والمقصود هو المعضلات الأخلاقية... more
إن هدف هذه المقالة – وهي غير موجهة إلى مجرمي الحرب ولا إلى ضحاياهم الذين تكفيهم همومهم – هو تمييز القضايا الأخلاقيّة التي أثارتها وتثيرها الحرب الإسرائيلية على الشعب الفلسطيني في قطاع غزة، ومعالجتها على حدة. والمقصود هو المعضلات الأخلاقية التي تواجه الإنسانية نتيجة للأعمال الوحشية التي تُرتكب خلال العدوان، والآليات (ميكانيزم) التي استخدمها لتحييد الحكم الأخلاقي على ما يُرتكب من جرائم.
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مقال عزمي بشارة في مراجعة لمفهوم الثقافة السياسية، وتقييم ثقافة النخب السياسية، ومسألة الديمقراطية.
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Presented at the Presidential Session titled "Liberalism, the Other and Religion" of the XX ISA World Congress of Sociology in Melbourne, Australia, from 25 June – 1 July 2023.
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محاضرة الدكتور عزمي بشارة في افتتاح المنتدى السنوي لفلسطين 2023، الذي عقده المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات مع مؤسسة الدراسات الفلسطينية خلال الفترة 28–30 كانون الثاني/ يناير 2023.
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Azmi Bishara's Opening Lecture at the Annual Palestine Forum - 2023, held by The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Institute for Palestine Studies from 28-30 January 2023.
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‘Syria 2011-2013: Revolution and Tyranny before the Mayhem’ is Azmi Bishara’s third book of his Revolutions Trilogy including: ‘Understanding Revolutions: Opening Acts in Tunisia’ and ‘Egypt: Revolution, Failed Transition and... more
‘Syria 2011-2013: Revolution and Tyranny before the Mayhem’ is Azmi Bishara’s third book of his Revolutions Trilogy including: ‘Understanding Revolutions: Opening Acts in Tunisia’ and ‘Egypt: Revolution, Failed Transition and Counter-Revolution’.
In this series, Bishara provides a theoretical analysis in addition to a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three Arab countries: Tunisia, Egypt and Syria. This Revolutions Trilogy discusses the social, economic and political backdrop to the Arab revolutions that began in 2011.
Bishara’s book on the Syrian Revolution is one of the most comprehensive and profound works on the subject published to date. Originally released in Arabic in 2013, this expanded and revised English edition examines the complex roots of Syria's political and sectarian conflicts. Its publication brings well-known Arabic-language scholarship to the English-speaking world.
The book provides an analysis of the country's socio-economic background, examining the Syrian regime's strategy, its political and media discourse, the ruralization and militarization of Syrian politics, and the subsequent economic 'liberalization', which eventually led to the revolt against the Baath party. Bishara delivers an analytical record of the revolution from day one to its subsequent descent into civil war, chronicled in two stages: the peaceful civil stage and the armed stage. He excavates the very first signs of protests throughout the country with a comprehensive analysis of what drove those early events, explaining the failure of the transition and how it slipped into a civil meltdown that has impacted on the Arab region ever since. Bishara's analysis first centres on the regime's strategy, unveiling despotism, massacres, kidnapping, sectarian tendencies, jihadist violence, the emergence of warlords, and the chaotic spread of arms. He critically discusses the role of the opposition, narrating in detail the events that broke out and how a peaceful protest turned into an armed struggle.
Bishara has supplemented this seminal work with a rigorous account of the developments that Syria and the Syrian people have experienced over the last decade. Written as the revolution unfolded, this book conveys a sense of immediacy and urgency as Bishara makes wide-ranging assessments with many of his forecasts corroborated in the years to come. The book is renowned for its use of primary source material, and high-level interviews, thus preserving the memory of the revolution and remaining one of the most comprehensive reference books on the subject to date.
In this series, Bishara provides a theoretical analysis in addition to a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three Arab countries: Tunisia, Egypt and Syria. This Revolutions Trilogy discusses the social, economic and political backdrop to the Arab revolutions that began in 2011.
Bishara’s book on the Syrian Revolution is one of the most comprehensive and profound works on the subject published to date. Originally released in Arabic in 2013, this expanded and revised English edition examines the complex roots of Syria's political and sectarian conflicts. Its publication brings well-known Arabic-language scholarship to the English-speaking world.
The book provides an analysis of the country's socio-economic background, examining the Syrian regime's strategy, its political and media discourse, the ruralization and militarization of Syrian politics, and the subsequent economic 'liberalization', which eventually led to the revolt against the Baath party. Bishara delivers an analytical record of the revolution from day one to its subsequent descent into civil war, chronicled in two stages: the peaceful civil stage and the armed stage. He excavates the very first signs of protests throughout the country with a comprehensive analysis of what drove those early events, explaining the failure of the transition and how it slipped into a civil meltdown that has impacted on the Arab region ever since. Bishara's analysis first centres on the regime's strategy, unveiling despotism, massacres, kidnapping, sectarian tendencies, jihadist violence, the emergence of warlords, and the chaotic spread of arms. He critically discusses the role of the opposition, narrating in detail the events that broke out and how a peaceful protest turned into an armed struggle.
Bishara has supplemented this seminal work with a rigorous account of the developments that Syria and the Syrian people have experienced over the last decade. Written as the revolution unfolded, this book conveys a sense of immediacy and urgency as Bishara makes wide-ranging assessments with many of his forecasts corroborated in the years to come. The book is renowned for its use of primary source material, and high-level interviews, thus preserving the memory of the revolution and remaining one of the most comprehensive reference books on the subject to date.
Research Interests: Revolutions, Syria, Dictatorships, Sectarianism, Military Dictatorship, and 12 moreArab Spring (Arab Revolts), Baath Party and Hafez Al-Assad, Syrian Revolution, Bashar al-Assad, Tyranny, Democratic Transitions, Reading Hafez, Arab Revolutions, Syrian Conflict, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Syrian Civil War, and Syrian Refugees
On Salafism offers a compelling new understanding of this phenomenon, both its development and contemporary manifestations. Salafism became associated with fundamentalism when the 9/11 Commission used it to explain the terror attacks and... more
On Salafism offers a compelling new understanding of this phenomenon, both its development and contemporary manifestations. Salafism became associated with fundamentalism when the 9/11 Commission used it to explain the terror attacks and has since been connected with the violence of the so-called Islamic State. With this book, Azmi Bishara critically deconstructs claims of continuity between early Islam and modern militancy and makes a counterargument: Salafism is a wholly modern construct informed by specific sociopolitical contexts.
Bishara offers a sophisticated account of various movements—such as Wahabbism and Hanbalism—frequently collapsed into simplistic understandings of Salafism. He distinguishes reformist from regressive Salafism, and examines patterns of modernization in the development of contemporary Islamic political movements and associations. In deconstructing the assumptions of linear continuity between traditional and contemporary movements, Bishara details various divergences in both doctrine and context of modern Salafisms, plural. On Salafism is a crucial read for those interested in Islamism, jihadism, and Middle East politics and history.
Bishara offers a sophisticated account of various movements—such as Wahabbism and Hanbalism—frequently collapsed into simplistic understandings of Salafism. He distinguishes reformist from regressive Salafism, and examines patterns of modernization in the development of contemporary Islamic political movements and associations. In deconstructing the assumptions of linear continuity between traditional and contemporary movements, Bishara details various divergences in both doctrine and context of modern Salafisms, plural. On Salafism is a crucial read for those interested in Islamism, jihadism, and Middle East politics and history.
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Azmi Bishara's seminal study of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution chronicles in granular detail the lead up to the momentous uprisings and the subsequent transition and coup. The book critically investigates the social and economic conditions... more
Azmi Bishara's seminal study of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution chronicles in granular detail the lead up to the momentous uprisings and the subsequent transition and coup. The book critically investigates the social and economic conditions that formed the backdrop to the revolution and the complex challenges posed by the transition from authoritarianism to democracy.
Part One, 'From July Coup to January Revolution', goes back to what is called the '1952 revolution' or the '1952 Coup d'état' and traces events until 2011 when Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the president of Egypt after weeks of protest. It highlights the relationship between the presidency and the army to show that, contrary to popular belief, the presidency grew gradually stronger at the expense of other institutions, especially the army, and reached its apogee under Mubarak. Part Two 'From Revolution to Coup d'Etat', covers the critical stages from when the military junta took over the governing of Egypt as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and the election of Morsi, up until the coup to overthrow his presidency. Using a democratic transition theory perspective, Azmi Bishara explains the failure of the democratic transition and how it has impacted on Arab revolutions ever since.
Written while the revolutions were taking place, this book conveys a sense of immediacy and urgency as Bishara makes wide-ranging assessments with many of his forecasts corroborated in later years. The book is renowned for its use of primary source material - including interviews, statistics and public opinion polls – thus preserving the memory of the revolution and remaining one of the most comprehensive reference books on the subject to date.
Part One, 'From July Coup to January Revolution', goes back to what is called the '1952 revolution' or the '1952 Coup d'état' and traces events until 2011 when Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the president of Egypt after weeks of protest. It highlights the relationship between the presidency and the army to show that, contrary to popular belief, the presidency grew gradually stronger at the expense of other institutions, especially the army, and reached its apogee under Mubarak. Part Two 'From Revolution to Coup d'Etat', covers the critical stages from when the military junta took over the governing of Egypt as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and the election of Morsi, up until the coup to overthrow his presidency. Using a democratic transition theory perspective, Azmi Bishara explains the failure of the democratic transition and how it has impacted on Arab revolutions ever since.
Written while the revolutions were taking place, this book conveys a sense of immediacy and urgency as Bishara makes wide-ranging assessments with many of his forecasts corroborated in later years. The book is renowned for its use of primary source material - including interviews, statistics and public opinion polls – thus preserving the memory of the revolution and remaining one of the most comprehensive reference books on the subject to date.
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On the assassination attempt on novelist Salman Rushdie on Friday, August 12, 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution, New York.
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حول محاولة اغتيال الكاتب الروائي سلمان رشدي خلال إلقائه محاضرة في معهد تشوتوكوا يوم الجمعة، 12 آب/ أغسطس 2022، في مدينة تشوتوكوا شمال ولاية نيويورك الأميركية وخصوصية حرية التعبير.
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تتأمل هذه الدراسة في مفهوم الهوية؛ بغية تبيّن دلالاته المتعددة وتوضيح أسباب تضخّمه، عربيًا وعالميًا، لدرجة أن هناك قضايا كبيرة جرى إخفاؤها تحت عباءة ما بات يعرف بـ "أزمة الهوية". واشتغلت الدراسة أيضًا بفك التباسات تداخل مفهوم الهوية مع... more
تتأمل هذه الدراسة في مفهوم الهوية؛ بغية تبيّن دلالاته المتعددة وتوضيح أسباب تضخّمه، عربيًا وعالميًا، لدرجة أن هناك قضايا كبيرة جرى إخفاؤها تحت عباءة ما بات يعرف بـ "أزمة الهوية". واشتغلت الدراسة أيضًا بفك التباسات تداخل مفهوم الهوية مع مفاهيم أخرى كالشخصية الحضارية، والطائفية السياسية، والإيمان الديني والمظلوميات على أنواعها، مثلما سعت لنقاشٍ فلسفي بشأن علاقة الهوية بالكرامة، وتبيان الفروق بين الهوية الفردية والهوية الجماعية والتداخل بينهما، والصلة بين الهوية والأخلاق. واستعانت كذلك بعلم النفس الاجتماعي لمناقشة قضايا تتعلق بأسس الانتماءات ووظائفها، وسياقات نشوء التمييز بين "نحن" و"هم"، وشرط الوعي الحديث للأفراد بذواتهم بصفتهم أفرادًا في تشكيلات الهوية. وتُختم الدراسة بتحليل قضايا الهوية العربية والتداخل والتنافر بين الهوية الوطنية والهوية القومية، وبين الهوية القومية والعولمة، وفحصت إمكانية تكامل الهوية والمواطنة.
Research Interests: Ethics, Ethnicity, Imagined Community, Collective Identity, Identity, and 14 moreEmpathy, Sympathy, Collective Identities, Human Dignity, Arab nationalism, Individual Identity, Imagined Communities, الهوية, Collective/ Individual Identities, Belonging and Citizenship, الانتماء, القومية العربية, الكرامة , and الاثنية
نُشِرَ هذا المقال في 17 كانون الأول / ديسمبر 2009 على موقع الجزيرة نت
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In January 2020, US President Donald Trump announced his ‘deal of the century’. Supposedly intended to ‘resolve’ the Palestine–Israel conflict, it accepted Israeli occupation as a fait accompli. Azmi Bishara places this normalisation of... more
In January 2020, US President Donald Trump announced his ‘deal of the century’. Supposedly intended to ‘resolve’ the Palestine–Israel conflict, it accepted Israeli occupation as a fait accompli. Azmi Bishara places this normalisation of occupation in its historical context, examining Palestine as an unresolved case of settler colonialism, now evolved into an apartheid regime.
Drawing on extensive research and rich theoretical analysis, Bishara examines the overlap between the long-discussed ‘Jewish Question’ and what he calls the ‘Arab Question’, complicating the issue of Palestinian nationhood. He addresses the Palestinian Liberation Movement’s failure to achieve self-determination, and the emergence of a ‘Palestinian Authority’ under occupation. He contends that no solution to problems of nationality or settler colonialism is possible without recognising the historic injustices inflicted on Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948.
This book compellingly argues that Palestine is not simply a dilemma awaiting creative policy solutions, but a problem requiring the application of justice. Attempts by regional governments to marginalise the Palestinian cause and normalise relations with Israel have emphasised this aspect of the struggle, and boosted Palestinian interactions with justice movements internationally. Bishara provides a sober perspective on the current political situation in Palestine, and a fresh outlook for its future.
Drawing on extensive research and rich theoretical analysis, Bishara examines the overlap between the long-discussed ‘Jewish Question’ and what he calls the ‘Arab Question’, complicating the issue of Palestinian nationhood. He addresses the Palestinian Liberation Movement’s failure to achieve self-determination, and the emergence of a ‘Palestinian Authority’ under occupation. He contends that no solution to problems of nationality or settler colonialism is possible without recognising the historic injustices inflicted on Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948.
This book compellingly argues that Palestine is not simply a dilemma awaiting creative policy solutions, but a problem requiring the application of justice. Attempts by regional governments to marginalise the Palestinian cause and normalise relations with Israel have emphasised this aspect of the struggle, and boosted Palestinian interactions with justice movements internationally. Bishara provides a sober perspective on the current political situation in Palestine, and a fresh outlook for its future.
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Based on empirical and theoretical investigation, and original insight into how a local protest movement developed into a revolution that changed a regime, this book shows us how we can understand political revolutions. Azmi Bishara... more
Based on empirical and theoretical investigation, and original insight into how a local protest movement developed into a revolution that changed a regime, this book shows us how we can understand political revolutions. Azmi Bishara critically explores the gradual democratic reform and peaceful transfer of power in the context of Tunisia. He grapples with the specific make-up of Tunisia as a modern state and its republican political heritage and investigates how this determined the development and survival of the revolution and the democratic transition in its aftermath.
For Bishara, the political culture and attitudes of the elites and their readiness to compromise, in addition to an army without political ambitions, were aspects that proved crucial for the relative success of the Tunisian experience. But he distinguishes between protest movements and mass movements that aim at regime change and discerns the social and political conditions required for the transition from the former to the latter. Bishara shows that the specific factors that correspond to mass movements and regime change are relative deprivation, awareness of injustice, dignity and indignation. He concludes, based on meticulous documentation of the events in Tunisia and theoretical investigation, that while revolutions are unpredictable with no single theory able to explain them, all revolutions across different historical and conceptual contexts be seen as popular uprisings that aim at regime change.
The book is the first of a trilogy, the Understanding Revolutions series by Bishara, seeking to provide a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three states: Tunisia, Syria, and Egypt.
For Bishara, the political culture and attitudes of the elites and their readiness to compromise, in addition to an army without political ambitions, were aspects that proved crucial for the relative success of the Tunisian experience. But he distinguishes between protest movements and mass movements that aim at regime change and discerns the social and political conditions required for the transition from the former to the latter. Bishara shows that the specific factors that correspond to mass movements and regime change are relative deprivation, awareness of injustice, dignity and indignation. He concludes, based on meticulous documentation of the events in Tunisia and theoretical investigation, that while revolutions are unpredictable with no single theory able to explain them, all revolutions across different historical and conceptual contexts be seen as popular uprisings that aim at regime change.
The book is the first of a trilogy, the Understanding Revolutions series by Bishara, seeking to provide a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three states: Tunisia, Syria, and Egypt.
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This chapter by Azmi Bishara is part of the edited book by Abdelwahab El-Affendi and Khalil Al Anani titled "After the Arab Revolutions: Decentring Democratic Transition Theory", published by Edinburgh University Press in 2021. "After... more
This chapter by Azmi Bishara is part of the edited book by Abdelwahab El-Affendi and Khalil Al Anani titled "After the Arab Revolutions: Decentring Democratic Transition Theory", published by Edinburgh University Press in 2021.
"After the Arab Revolutions" brings together experienced scholars from the region and beyond to cast new light on the challenges facing democratic transitions and democratic stability. Rather than taking refuge in ‘context’ and ‘regional specificity’ to excuse failures to unpack Arab politics, the book argues that sound political science should – and could – prove relevant across regions and cultures.
Contents:
Preface
1. Introduction: Rethinking Transition Theory after the ‘Arab Moment’
2. Democratic Transition Studies: Lessons from another Region
3. The Moderation of Insecurity: Standing the Eurocentric Democratic Transition Paradigm on its Head
4. After the Arab Spring
5. Revolutions and the Colonial Question
6. Authoritarian Regime Types as an Alternative to the Transition Paradigm: A Critical Assessment
7. Visible and Invisible Political Actors and their Strategies during the Arab Spring Transitions
8. Elite Women and Democratisation in Morocco: 1998–2016
9. Rethinking Religion and Democratic Transition: Lessons from the Arab World
10. Democratic Transition in Rivalry Contexts
11. The ‘Arab Spring’ and the Challenges of Security Sector Reform
12. Concluding Remarks: On Viruses, Phantom Actors and Other Colonial Ghosts
"After the Arab Revolutions" brings together experienced scholars from the region and beyond to cast new light on the challenges facing democratic transitions and democratic stability. Rather than taking refuge in ‘context’ and ‘regional specificity’ to excuse failures to unpack Arab politics, the book argues that sound political science should – and could – prove relevant across regions and cultures.
Contents:
Preface
1. Introduction: Rethinking Transition Theory after the ‘Arab Moment’
2. Democratic Transition Studies: Lessons from another Region
3. The Moderation of Insecurity: Standing the Eurocentric Democratic Transition Paradigm on its Head
4. After the Arab Spring
5. Revolutions and the Colonial Question
6. Authoritarian Regime Types as an Alternative to the Transition Paradigm: A Critical Assessment
7. Visible and Invisible Political Actors and their Strategies during the Arab Spring Transitions
8. Elite Women and Democratisation in Morocco: 1998–2016
9. Rethinking Religion and Democratic Transition: Lessons from the Arab World
10. Democratic Transition in Rivalry Contexts
11. The ‘Arab Spring’ and the Challenges of Security Sector Reform
12. Concluding Remarks: On Viruses, Phantom Actors and Other Colonial Ghosts
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حوار خاص وشامل مع د. عزمي بشارة أجراه سماح إدريس ويسري الأمير نُشر في مجلة الآداب عام 2009
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An Interview with Azmi Bishara by Joe Stork
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This book develops a theory of sectarianism and its relationship with communities of shared religion and with the emergence of imagined communities of this kind. Distinguishing between social sectarianism and political sectarianism, it... more
This book develops a theory of sectarianism and its relationship with communities of shared religion and with the emergence of imagined communities of this kind. Distinguishing between social sectarianism and political sectarianism, it discusses the relationship of political sectarianism to communities of religion as pre-existing social-historical entities. The main concern of the study, however, is to investigate how modern sectarianism invents imagined religious communities, or ta’ifas in Arabic. It does this by exploring sectarianism in various Arab countries. The book puts forward five theses. First, political sectarianism is a modern phenomenon. Second, an ‘imagined community of religion’ is a modern social imaginary based on the sectarian conceptualization of a religious or confessional affiliation as an identity shared by people who have never formed a community in practice within a vast imagined community, built on a selective reading of history and legend. Third, religious communities do not produce sectarianism, but sectarianism reproduces these communities as imagined communities. Fourth, power in modern authoritarian regimes is not attained by sectarian (Khaldunian) ‘asabiyya (group solidarity), but rather an authoritarian regime might use primordial ties to ensure loyalty and thereby produce sectarianism. Fifth, unlike a traditional community, an imagined community is not an ethical community.
Contents
Preface
1. On the Problematic of Sectarianism
2. Mapping Terms: Towards Analytical Conceptualisation
3. Confessionalisation as a Prelude to Sectarianisation
4. Is a Ta’ifa a Community?
5. Firqa and Iftiraq in Islam
6. Social Conflict, Sects, and Foreign Intervention: The Tanzimat and the Events of 1860
7. Ibn Khaldun’s ‘Asabiyya and Sects
8. Sectarianism, its Historicity, and Some Ethical Implications
9. Nothing Eternal About It
10. Is Modern Sectarianism a Product of Secularisation?
11. Community to Imagined Community, Social Sectarianism to Political Sectarianism
12. Sectarianism from Popular Participation in the Public Sphere to a Barrier to Participation
13. Majorities, Minorities, and Tolerance
Conclusion
Contents
Preface
1. On the Problematic of Sectarianism
2. Mapping Terms: Towards Analytical Conceptualisation
3. Confessionalisation as a Prelude to Sectarianisation
4. Is a Ta’ifa a Community?
5. Firqa and Iftiraq in Islam
6. Social Conflict, Sects, and Foreign Intervention: The Tanzimat and the Events of 1860
7. Ibn Khaldun’s ‘Asabiyya and Sects
8. Sectarianism, its Historicity, and Some Ethical Implications
9. Nothing Eternal About It
10. Is Modern Sectarianism a Product of Secularisation?
11. Community to Imagined Community, Social Sectarianism to Political Sectarianism
12. Sectarianism from Popular Participation in the Public Sphere to a Barrier to Participation
13. Majorities, Minorities, and Tolerance
Conclusion
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Las diferentes formas de la resistencia en Irak han logrado poner obstáculos a las pretensiones colonialistas de EEUU, que utiliza actores locales como el presidente iraquí Ayad Alaui dentro de un supuesto plan hacia la soberanía y la... more
Las diferentes formas de la resistencia en Irak han logrado poner obstáculos a las pretensiones colonialistas de EEUU, que utiliza actores locales como el presidente iraquí Ayad Alaui dentro de un supuesto plan hacia la soberanía y la democratización del país. Sin embargo, estas acciones contra la ocupación no implican una alternativa a la hegemonía estadounidense en Irak. Ante la pregunta ¿será Múqtada al-Sáder la alternativa a la ocupación estadounidense?, el autor sostiene que no más que Kerry lo era de Bush. El caso de Venezuela, con sus diferencias y limitaciones, representa el potencial de una alternativa a la dominación de EEUU y no solo una antítesis.
The story of David and Goliath epitomizes the supremacy of intelligence, acumen, pragmatism and faith in God, over strength, power, military might and numbers. It is easy, of course, to illustrate the confrontation of David with Goliath... more
The story of David and Goliath epitomizes the supremacy of intelligence, acumen, pragmatism and faith in God, over strength, power, military might and numbers. It is easy, of course, to illustrate the confrontation of David with Goliath in Bint Jbeil as an embodiment of this equation, but in a reversal of roles; the Arabs, represented by Hezbollah, were David this time, the weaker opponent armed with faith and intelligence, against power and formidable strength. However, there is another aspect of the myth, not addressed yet; Saul's jealousy of David could as easily have illustrated one of the parties to the war on Lebanon. David's king, Saul, who had failed so far to defeat Goliath, envied David his success and saw him as a threat. He harboured malicious intent towards him and resolved to pursue him until he was able to kill him (1 Samuel 17).
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Azmi Bishara was a young rising star in the Communist Party of Israel (Rakah) for several years. Since leaving the party after the upheavals of 1989, he and other Arab intellectuals periodically considered establishing a new Arab... more
Azmi Bishara was a young rising star in the Communist Party of Israel (Rakah) for several years. Since leaving the party after the upheavals of 1989, he and other Arab intellectuals periodically considered establishing a new Arab political party with a progressive-nationalist orientation. After much debate and several false starts, al-Tajammu‘ (Democratic National Assembly) was established in March 1996, shortly before Israeli elections. Al-Tajammu‘ includes former members and supporters of the Communist Party, the Covenant of Equality (an Arab-Jewish movement founded in 1991), the Progressive Movement (including Muhammad Mi‘ari, former MK of the Progressive List for Peace), Abna’ al-Balad (Sons of the Village) and others.
The principle objective of al-Tajammu‘ which defines itself as a nationalist party-in-formation, is to halt the marginalization and “Israelization” of the Arab citizens in the Jewish state. The new party advocates cultural autonomy for the Arab community as a strategy for transforming Israel from a state of the Jewish people to a state of all its citizens (Jews and Arabs). The demands of its immediate program include: the determination of the curriculum of Arab schools by the Arab community; the establishment of an independent, non-government run Arab television station; the participation of the Arab community in decisions concerning the development of the Galilee and the Negev (centers of Arab population); the abolition of the concept of Jewish national land (unavailable for use by Arab citizens); the severing of the links between Zionist institutions (the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund, for example) and the institutions of the state of Israel.
Before the Israeli elections, al-Tajammu‘ entered into an agreement with the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash — the electoral front led by the Communist Party) to form a joint electoral list called “Hadash and al-Tajammu‘.” The joint list received three percent of the total vote and elected five members of Knesset, including Azmi Bishara — two members more than Hadash alone had won in the 1992 Knesset elections. On June 24, 1996, Sara Scalenghe and Steve Rothman interviewed Azmi Bishara in his office at the Israeli Knesset.
The principle objective of al-Tajammu‘ which defines itself as a nationalist party-in-formation, is to halt the marginalization and “Israelization” of the Arab citizens in the Jewish state. The new party advocates cultural autonomy for the Arab community as a strategy for transforming Israel from a state of the Jewish people to a state of all its citizens (Jews and Arabs). The demands of its immediate program include: the determination of the curriculum of Arab schools by the Arab community; the establishment of an independent, non-government run Arab television station; the participation of the Arab community in decisions concerning the development of the Galilee and the Negev (centers of Arab population); the abolition of the concept of Jewish national land (unavailable for use by Arab citizens); the severing of the links between Zionist institutions (the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund, for example) and the institutions of the state of Israel.
Before the Israeli elections, al-Tajammu‘ entered into an agreement with the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash — the electoral front led by the Communist Party) to form a joint electoral list called “Hadash and al-Tajammu‘.” The joint list received three percent of the total vote and elected five members of Knesset, including Azmi Bishara — two members more than Hadash alone had won in the 1992 Knesset elections. On June 24, 1996, Sara Scalenghe and Steve Rothman interviewed Azmi Bishara in his office at the Israeli Knesset.
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تتناول هذه الدراسة طبيعة إسرائيل بوصفها دولة نشأت عن مشروع استعمار استيطاني، وتبيّن أن هذه النشأة ليست مسألة تاريخية فقط، بل هي أيضًا مكوّن رئيس في بنية الدولة وطبيعة المواطنة فيها. وتوضح أيضًا أن إسرائيل تختلف عن الدول الأخرى التي نشأت... more
تتناول هذه الدراسة طبيعة إسرائيل بوصفها دولة نشأت عن مشروع استعمار استيطاني، وتبيّن أن هذه النشأة ليست مسألة تاريخية فقط، بل هي أيضًا مكوّن رئيس في بنية الدولة وطبيعة المواطنة فيها. وتوضح أيضًا أن إسرائيل تختلف عن الدول الأخرى التي نشأت عن استعمار استيطاني في عرقلة تطبيعها وتحوّلها إلى محلانية؛ لأنّ الفلسطينيين، أولًا، تبلوروا قوميًّا قبل نشوئها، ومن ثمّ لم يتحولوا إلى "سكان أصلانيين" يطالبون بتعويضات وحقوق ثقافية كما في تلك الدول، ولأن احتلال عام 1967، ثانيًا، ليس احتلالًا كلاسيكيًا تمارسه "دولة طبيعية"، بل يشكل استمرارًا للاستعمار الاستيطاني نفسه، وثالثًا لأن إسرائيل، التي أنشأت إثنوقراطية بعد طرد غالبية السكان عام 1948 ومنح الأقلية التي تبقت المواطنة الإسرائيلية، تحولت إلى دولة أبارتهايد بعد احتلال عام 1967 وفرض حكمها على الفلسطينيين الذين لم تطرد غالبيتهم في هذه الحالة، كما لم يمنحوا المواطنة، بل أخضعوا لاحتلال مباشر تحول تدريجيًّا بفعل الاستيطان إلى نظام فصل عنصري.
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This article addresses the near absence of American Studies, as an Academic discipline, and in cultural and intellectual debates on America in the Arab world. This absence prevails despite — and to a large extent due to — the overwhelming... more
This article addresses the near absence of American Studies, as an Academic discipline, and in cultural and intellectual debates on America in the Arab world. This absence prevails despite — and to a large extent due to — the overwhelming political, economic, media and cultural presence of the United States in the Arab region and the third world. It persists despite the preoccupation with the US presence and the divisive, if not contradictory love/hate feelings about it. The polarization between clichéd positions does not leave a space for an analysis of American foreign policy based on an informed critique of US domestic policies.
Critical Cultural Studies and Transnationalism approach made a difference in American Studies in the United States, but it is not of use in the American Studies outside America, where American Studies cannot be a sort of critical cultural studies. The only way to study America in the third world is to use social sciences and humanities tools to generate Area Studies of the United States. In any case, the author believes that before they were globalized, modern social sciences in general emerged as “Area Studies” of European societies — and non-European societies — by Europeans.
This article is an extended version of the author's keynote speech presented at the opening ceremonies of the international conference titled "From Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park: The Arab Spring and the De-Centering of American Studies," Co-organized by the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and George Washington University, held from 8-11 January 2018.
Critical Cultural Studies and Transnationalism approach made a difference in American Studies in the United States, but it is not of use in the American Studies outside America, where American Studies cannot be a sort of critical cultural studies. The only way to study America in the third world is to use social sciences and humanities tools to generate Area Studies of the United States. In any case, the author believes that before they were globalized, modern social sciences in general emerged as “Area Studies” of European societies — and non-European societies — by Europeans.
This article is an extended version of the author's keynote speech presented at the opening ceremonies of the international conference titled "From Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park: The Arab Spring and the De-Centering of American Studies," Co-organized by the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and George Washington University, held from 8-11 January 2018.
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ورقة للدكتور عزمي بشارة نُشرت قبل 23 عامًا في مجلة الكرمل (العدد 50، شتاء 1997)
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ورقة للدكتور عزمي بشارة نُشرت قبل 23 عامًا في مجلة الكرمل (العدد 53، خريف 1997)
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This 14-part essay written by Azmi Bishara consists of a series of think pieces originally posted on social media, republished by Arab 48 and some other sites. Colleagues at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies suggested that... more
This 14-part essay written by Azmi Bishara consists of a series of think pieces originally posted on social media, republished by Arab 48 and some other sites. Colleagues at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies suggested that the posts be amended and re-published in the form of an extended essay as part of the ACRPS Covid-19 series. The essay covers the current Covid-19 pandemic from various angles and was originally published in Arabic on 20 April 2020.
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دراسة الباحث زهير سوكاح، والتي تهتم هذه القراءة ببحث الدكتور عزمي بشارة في موضوع السلفية ومتخيلاتها ضمن كتابه "في الإجابة عن سؤال ما السلفية؟"، حيث تسعى إلى إبراز ومناقشة جوانب مهمة من طبيعة ووظيفة الاستذكار المؤدلج ضمن الظاهرة... more
دراسة الباحث زهير سوكاح، والتي تهتم هذه القراءة ببحث الدكتور عزمي بشارة في موضوع السلفية ومتخيلاتها ضمن كتابه "في الإجابة عن سؤال ما السلفية؟"، حيث تسعى إلى إبراز ومناقشة جوانب مهمة من طبيعة ووظيفة الاستذكار المؤدلج ضمن الظاهرة السلفية كما عالجها الكتاب الذي يضم بين دفتيه حفريات في ذاكرة الظاهرة السلفية بتنويعاتها المتباينة، في محاولة بينتخصصبة لتقديم فهم دقيق للظاهرة بوصفها استنادا مؤدلجا لماض متخيل، ببرز فيه الفعل السلفي من كونه فعلاً استذكاريا. مما يجعل من هذا الكتاب دعوة مستجدة لفتح أفاق بحثية للتعاطي البينتخصصي مع الحركات الدينية الحديثة بوصفها قطاعا مهما من مجموع المتخيلات الاجتماعية ذات الحضور الواضح في السياق السوسيوثقافي للمنطقة.
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مراجعة الباحث في المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات رائد السمهوري لكتاب د. عزمي بشارة في الإجابة عن سؤال: ما السلفية؟
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نشر المؤلف سلسلة نصوص من 14 حلقة بعنوان "خواطر في زمن كورونا ولأزمنة أخرى" على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، وأعاد موقع عرب 48 وبعض المواقع الأخرى نشرها. وقد طلب الزملاء في المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات من المؤلف أن يحولها إلى مقالة... more
نشر المؤلف سلسلة نصوص من 14 حلقة بعنوان "خواطر في زمن كورونا ولأزمنة أخرى" على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، وأعاد موقع عرب 48 وبعض المواقع الأخرى نشرها. وقد طلب الزملاء في المركز العربي للأبحاث ودراسة السياسات من المؤلف أن يحولها إلى مقالة طويلة Essay، أو يبني عليها مقالة كهذه، لتنشر ضمن ما يقوم المركز بنشره حول أزمة وباء كورونا، فغيّر المؤلف النصوص، وأضاف إليها، كما حوّل العنوان إلى "جبر الخواطر في زمن المخاطر"، مُلمّحًا إلى إعادة الصياغة (جبر وتجبير للخواطر السابقة، وفي الوقت ذاته مُحلًّا معنى تهدئة المخاوف)، ومحلًّا في لفظ "الخواطر" دلالة مختلفة عن دلالتها في النصوص المتقطعة.
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مقالة د. عزمي بشارة عن أقدم استخدام مكتوب للفظة "علمانية" و"علماني" و"علمانيون"
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Although this article generally acknowledges the priority of internal factors, it discusses the conditions for bringing back the external factor in certain cases, especially after the collapse of a despotic regime in a dependent state.... more
Although this article generally acknowledges the priority of internal factors, it discusses the conditions for bringing back the external factor in certain cases, especially after the collapse of a despotic regime in a dependent state. The article discusses American foreign policy, refuting the thesis that the US became a supporter of democratic transformation after the Cold War, and makes the point that the “democratic realism” that guided American policy in the Middle East is a continuation of Cold War policies with new enemies.
International and regional external factors impeding democratic transformation in an Arab country are less prevalent if the country is less important in geostrategic terms, especially concerning the Arab Israeli conflict and oil production. This is one of the most important differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian experiences.
International and regional external factors impeding democratic transformation in an Arab country are less prevalent if the country is less important in geostrategic terms, especially concerning the Arab Israeli conflict and oil production. This is one of the most important differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian experiences.
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Full Text of Azmi Bishara's Keynote Lecture “Democratic Transition and its Problems: Theoretical Lessons from Arab Experiences” Given at the College de France, Paris, 28 November 2019