A History of Social Justice and Political Power in the Middle East
The Circle of Justice From Mesopotamia to Globalization
- 401 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
A History of Social Justice and Political Power in the Middle East
The Circle of Justice From Mesopotamia to Globalization
About This Book
From ancient Mesopotamia into the 20th century, "the Circle of Justice" as a concept has pervaded Middle Eastern political thought and underpinned the exercise of power in the Middle East. The Circle of Justice depicts graphically how a government's justice toward the population generates political power, military strength, prosperity, and good administration.
This book traces this set of relationships from its earliest appearance in the political writings of the Sumerians through four millennia of Middle Eastern culture. It explores how people conceptualized and acted upon this powerful insight, how they portrayed it in symbol, painting, and story, and how they transmitted it from one regime to the next. Moving towards the modern day, the author shows how, although the Circle of Justice was largely dropped from political discourse, it did not disappear from people's political culture and expectations of government. The book demonstrates the Circle's relevance to the Iranian Revolution and the rise of Islamist movements all over the Middle East, and suggests how the concept remains relevant in an age of capitalism.
A "must read" for students, policymakers, and ordinary citizens, this book will be an important contribution to the areas of political history, political theory, Middle East studies and Orientalism.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1. Introduction: The Circle of Justice
- 2. Mesopotamia: āThat the strong might not oppress the weakā
- 3. Persia: āThe deeds God likes best are righteousness and justiceā
- 4. The Islamic Empire: āNo prosperity without justice and good administrationā
- 5. Politics in transition: āCurb the strong from riding on the weakā
- 6. The Turks and Islamic civilization: āThe most penetrating of arrows is the prayer of the oppressedā
- 7. Mongols and Mamluks: āFierce toward offenders, and in judgements justā
- 8. Early modern empires: āThe world is a garden, its wall is the stateā
- 9. Modernization and revolution: āNo justice without law applied equally to allā
- 10. The Middle East in the twentieth century: āThe regime will endure with unbelief, but not with injusticeā
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index