1958: Re-imagining a Revolutionary Year in Revolutionary Times w/ Jeffrey Karam (E73)

This is a conversation with Jeffrey Karam. He’s Assistant Professor  of Political Science at the Lebanese American University and an  associate at Harvard’s Middle East Initiative.He’s also the editor of the book “The Middle East in 1958: Reimagining a Revolutionary Year“, the topic of our conversation.Topics Discussed:What was so special about 1958? Its legacy in the Middle East and the worldThe  formation of the short-lived United Arab Republic (between Egypt and  Syria), the Iraq revolution, the attempted coup in Jordan, the slide  towards more authoritarianism in Iran, the clash between the princes in  Saudi Arabia, the collapse of the fourth republic in France etcThe internationalization of the region and the role of the great powers (US, UK, France, USSR)History as non-linear, connecting different threadsAuthoritarianism in the region and the role of the big powersAsking ‘what ifs’ in thinking about history1957 in Lebanon (the rigged elections with US support) and the 1958 eventsA  look into the debates on decolonization, revolutionary nationalism,  internationalism, post-colonialism, imperialism, anti-imperialism and  state formationLessons from 1958 for the present day, the example of IraqHow hope is linked to the understanding of timeUpcoming book: The Lebanon Uprising of 2019: Voices from the Revolution, co-edited with Rima MajedLearning about revolutions in revolutionary timesBook recommendationsCoups and Revolutions: Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi by Amy Austin HolmesOilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy Policy by Robert VitalisThe Politics of Art Dissent and Cultural Diplomacy in Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan by Hanan ToukanThe Paranoid Style in American Diplomacy Oil and Arab Nationalism in Iraq by Brandon Wolfe-HunnicuttWinning Lebanon: Youth Politics, Populism, and the Production of Sectarian Violence, 1920–1958 by Dylan BaumBanking on the State The Financial Foundations of Lebanon by Hicham SafieddineResources mentioned/that are relevant07. Denying Genocide, from Halabja to Ghouta with Sabrina Azad14. Revolution, disenchantment and the Lebanese New Left with Fadi Bardawil