Book description
"Whatever the subjects . . . Halliday's knowledge,
imagination, and intellectual independence illuminate them
all."Â-Francis Wheen
"Fred Halliday's Political Journeys range over wide
intellectual and political landscapes, with brilliant insights,
absorbing narratives, lucid writing, and subtle humour."Â-Sami Zubeida
Fred Halliday always combined the broad sweep of modern history,
its currents and ideas, with a profound knowledge of modern
revolutions, the Middle East, and national movements. This
collection of columns written for openDemocracy between 2004 and
2009 is proof of a subtle worldview that continues to generate
questions: what is the relation between religion, nationalism, and
progress? Is a new international order possible? When is
intervention a force for progress?
From the big headline topics like the Iraq War or the Danish
cartoons, to the unexpected comparisons of Tibet and Palestine, or
Afghanistan and the Falklands, Halliday is a perennially surprising
and enlightened guide to the major issues of international politics.
Fred Halliday (1946Â-2010) was a leading authority on
superpower relations, the Middle East, and international relations
theory. He was professor emeritus of international relations at the
London School of Economics from 1985 to 2008 and a research
professor at the Barcelona Institute for International Studies.
'Unlike many veterans of 1968, Fred Halliday never stopped listening
and observing and thinking in the present tense. There are fresh
insights and shafts of enlightenment on every page of this invigorating
collection of essays. Whatever the subjects - from Auschwitz to Armenia,
Beirut to Barcelona - Halliday's knowledge, imagination and intellectual
independence illuminate them all.' Francis Wheen, author of How Mumbo
Jumbo Conquered the World 'Fred Halliday's Political Journeys range over
wide intellectual and political landscapes, with brilliant insights,
absorbing narratives, lucid writing and subtle humour. The Middle East,
the Cold War, Islamism, imperialism and international relations, the
dilemmas of our time, are all illuminated with deep analyses coupled
with passionate commitment to the universal values of justice and human
rights.' Sami Zubaida, author of Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of
the Middle East '[Fred] shaped the fields in which he worked through
powerful insight, clarity of writing and a passionate commitment to his
subjects ... He revelled in simplifying complexity, debunking myths and
challenging conventional wisdoms.' The Times
Fred Halliday
(1946Â-2010) was a leading authority on superpower relations, the
Middle East and International Relations theory. He was Professor
Emeritus of International Relations at the London School of Economics
from 1985 to 2008, when he moved to Spain as a research professor at
the Barcelona Institute for International Studies.
