Author: Gilbert Achcar

Gilbert Achcar grew up in Lebanon and has lived and taught in Paris, Berlin, and London. He is currently professor of Development Studies and International Relations at SOAS, University of London. His many books include The Clash of Barbarisms (2002, 2006); Perilous Power: The Middle East and US Foreign Policy, co-authored with Noam Chomsky (2007); The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives (2010); Marxism, Orientalism, Cosmopolitanism (2013); The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising (2013); and Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprising (2016).

Ukraine: “Which Peace Are We Talking About?” An Interview with Gilbert Achcar

Achcar clarifies and expands his argument on the position the left should take on peace in Ukraine

A brief response about my purported “change of position”

A response to Jean Vogel’s critique of Achcar’s “For a democratic antiwar position on the invasion of Ukraine.”

For a democratic antiwar position on the invasion of Ukraine

Some basic principles for avoiding the twin dangers of favoring the aggressor and extreme nationalism.

What is the significance of the Saudi oil decision?

What are we to make of the Saudi vote to cut OPEC+ oil production?

Irresponsible braggadocio won’t help Ukrainians

The difference between helping defend Ukraine and warmongering

Contemptuous Denial of Agency in the Name of Geopolitics and/or Peace

Internationalists must listen to the voice of Ukrainians

Coherence and Incoherence about the War in Ukraine

What should our attitude be towards arms to Ukraine?

Six FAQs on Anti-Imperialism Today and the War in Ukraine

Gilbert Achcar responds to six questions about his “Memorandum on the radical anti-imperialist position regarding the war in Ukraine.”

A memorandum on the radical anti-imperialist position regarding the war in Ukraine

Some principles for radical anti-imperialists on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Who’s Buried in the Graveyard of Empires?

The Afghan government’s fate is but the most recent in a long list of cases of puppet entities created by a foreign occupation that collapse when that occupation ends.

Reflections of an Anti-Imperialist after Ten Years of Debate

An Interview with Gilbert Achcar

What does it mean to be a left anti-imperialist today? Stephen R. Shalom interviews Gilbert Achcar.

Reflections of an Anti-Imperialist after Ten Years of Debate

What does it mean to be a left anti-imperialist today? Stephen R. Shalom interviews Gilbert Achcar.

Israel’s Racism and the Misuse of Antisemitism

Israel’s official discourse vehemently denies its “deeply ingrained institutionalized” anti-Arab racism and the settler-colonial nature of its state, although it is as blatant as could be and was even acknowledged by Zionism’s prominent historical figures.

Their anti-imperialism and ours

The logic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is a recipe for empty cynicism.

Self-Extinction of Neoliberalism? Don’t Bet on It.

Neoliberalism will not disappear by itself; we need class struggle.

The undying revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa

Gilbert Achcar is a Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at SOAS University of London. He is the author of numerous books on the Middle East, including The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising and Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the . . .

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On Gutter Journalism and Purported “Anti-Imperialism”

Gutter journalism is unfortunately not the preserve of openly right-wing tabloids. There has existed since the advent of Stalinism a “left-wing” strand of public mudslinging: Zhdanov was the counterpart of Goebbels. The Stalinist slander apparatus originally targeted the USSR’s left-wing . . .

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The War is Far from Being Over in Syria

Syrian Corner talks with Gilbert Achcar about recent developments in the Syrian conflict

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Gilbert Achcar is Professor of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London, as well as a well-known author focusing on the Middle East and the Arab World. He met with Syrian Corner during Syria Awareness Week 2018. Achcar posits that the Syrian conflict is far from over and that for Bashar al-Assad to establish a new political framework, an accord between the US and Russia is necessary. Achcar says the role of Iran in a future Syria is one of the key issues at stake, and discusses the Turkish war against the PYD, the regional role of Saudi Arabia, the international peace conferences for Syria, the recent demonstrations in Iran, and the new US foreign policy for the Middle East in the interview below.

Towards Progressive Politics in the Middle East

Problematica in conversation with Gilbert Achcar

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Recent mass movements in Middle Eastern and North African countries, despite their defeats and failures, showed prospects and possibilities of a progressive change or a progressive mass organization in the region.  Fulfillment of these possibilities requires concentrating on attaining a comprehensive, critical knowledge of the region’s social, political, economic and cultural mechanisms and relations. To achieve these initial goals, Problematica has started a series of interviews with progressive or leftist Middle Eastern and North African intellectuals, activist and MENA scholars. In this interview over Skype, we have put some questions to Gilbert Achcar, Marxist intellectual and scholar of Middle East Studies and Professor of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London. He has published in 2013 The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising. A sequel will be coming out soon under the title of Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprising.

What Caused the Killings?

ImageGilbert Achcar is a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and the author of many books, including Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder, Read more ›

"We're Facing an Important Crossroad"

Lebanese author Gilbert Achcar says the third revolutionary phase must be free of religious radicalism.

ImageLebanese Marxist intellectual Gilbert Achcar, author of The People Want (2013), Eastern Cauldron (2004) and The Clash of Barbarisms (2002/2006), says Egypt is at an historical and highly important crossroads in the development of the long-term revolutionary process— stressing the urgency in building leadership and formulating strategies appropriate for change.

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