Sökmen, Müge Gürsoy & Başak Ertür, eds, 2008. Waiting for the Barbarians: A Tribute to Edward W. Said. London & New York: Verso. xx + 204 pp. ISBN 9781844672462
| Date | 01 May 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00223433090460030912 |
| Published date | 01 May 2009 |
| Author | Jørgen Jensehaugen |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
journal of PEACE RESEARCH volume 46 / number 3 / may 2009
458
overview on how political institutions influence
economic performance in poor countries. This is
a book that is worth picking up.
Siri Aas Rustad
Sökmen, Müge Gürsoy & Bas¸ak Ertür, eds,
2008. Waiting for the Barbarians: A Tribute to
Edward W. Said. London & New York: Verso.
xx + 204 pp. ISBN 9781844672462.
Since Antonio Gramsci coined the term ‘organic
intellectual’, there have been few clearer examples
of such than Edward W. Said. The papers col-
lected in this book were all presented at a con-
ference in May 2007 in Istanbul, which was a
tribute to the deceased professor. They all testify
to the extent of Said’s influence and the depth of
political relevance imbued in his academic career.
Throughout his life, Said was a controversial fig-
ure. He turned literary theory on its head, was an
outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause and
a sharp witted critic. Above all, however, he was
a humanist. This last trait is vital in understand-
ing his work. Several of the authors point to the
common (mis)understanding that Said had two
projects: one, the literary critique which came
to be known as post-colonialism; the other, the
struggle for Palestine. Both, however, find their
basis in the humanist tradition and are clearly
interlinked. This is why he concluded, towards
the end of his life, that the only viable solution
to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is binational:
one state with equal rights for all, independent
of religion and ethnicity. Said stands forth as one
of the few literary theorists whose thoughts are
applied so extensively by academics dealing with
questions of conflict. Said’s influence towers over
issues such as conflicts of perception, conflict dis-
course, anti-colonialist struggle and the role of
media/knowledge in conflict. As the authors in
this book all seem to agree, Said’s voice is missed
now more than ever.
Jørgen Jensehaugen
Authors of Book Notes in this issue:
Pavel Baev – PRIO
Morten Bergsmo – PRIO
Åshild Falch – PRIO
Monica Hanssen – PRIO
Helge Holtermann – PRIO
Jørgen Jensehaugen – PRIO
Nicholas Marsh – PRIO
Mark Naftalin
Ulrich Pilster – University of Essex
Siri Aas Rustad – PRIO
Fausto Scarinzi
Farrid Shamsuddin – PRIO
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