Bücher von Sophie Duhnkrack

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 85, Ben Gurion University, course: Iran , language: English, abstract: Ervand Abrahamian introduces his work Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic with a discussion of two terms interesting for an analysis of the Islamic Revolution, particularly considering Western images of Khomeini and his movement: fundamentalism and populism. These ideologically loaded concepts depict the book's central thesis, namely that fundamentalism is not an appropriate term for describing Khomeini, his ideas and movement. According to Abrahamian, it alludes "religious inflexibility, ... political traditionalism, ... social conservatism, the centrality of scriptural-doctrinal principles, [and] ... the rejection of the modern world." He instead presents populism as a more apposite term, which "connotes attempts made by nation-states to enter that world." The scholars Daniele Albertazzi and Duncam McDonnell define 'populism' in a widely accepted definition as an ideology which pits a virtuous and homogeneous people against a set of elites and dangerous 'others' who are together depicted as depriving (or attempting to deprive) the sovereign people of their rights, values, prosperity, identity and voice. Essentially approving of Abrahamian's cited thesis, this essay attempts to illustrate that the Islamic Revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, does not represent a movement driven by "religious fundamentalism" or "fanaticism," but the Iranian way of emancipation from domestic and foreign oppression and domination, materialized by the Shah and the West. This thesis will be developed through exploring the Shi'ite history and especially its appearance in Iran. Furthermore it will continually explore the religion's revolutionary and supposedly fanatical characteristics and its contribution to the 1979 revolution, which, as its leader Khomeini, Western mainstream media often denounce as fundamentalist and radical.

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Region: Near East, Near Orient, grade: 85, Ben Gurion University, language: English, abstract: Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Frantz Fanon are three well-known intellectuals who extensively dealt with decolonization. All three were involved in a heated debate about the French occupation of Algeria and its development, especially after the outset of the Algerian revolution at the end of 1956. An analysis of their stances on Algeria and on decolonization in general must take into account their differing backgrounds, experiences and schools. Sartre represents the only one of the three who was born in the French motherland. He was a prominent exponent of existentialism which characterizes his approach to decolonization and his writings strongly criticize humanism or its lack of application in the colonies. Albert Camus is an Algerian born writer and philosopher, who in 1964 received the Nobel Prize with the rational that "his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of freedom and the quest for truth, has exerted a far-reaching influence on our age.¿ Following this essay will explore weather his colleagues, Sartre and Fanon, agree with the image depicted by this quote. Like Sartre, Camus as well is called an existentialist- a title which, however, he refuses. Frantz Fanon was born in the French colony of Martinique. His origins had a strong influence on his writings, especially through the Négritude approach, which is a literary and political movement that developed in the 1930s promoting the consciousness of the indigenous black culture as the best instrument for the fight against French colonial racism. The following paper will analyze the three approaches presented by these authors to decolonization, mainly concerning the example of Algeria and its battle for independence. By means of several examples it will illustrate the similar or diverging opinions and attitudes of each one regarding the others.