Elie Kedourie's Approaches to History and Political Theory: 'The Thoughts and Actions of Living Men'

Elie Kedourie was one of the twentieth century’s most important and controversial historians of the Middle East. He redefined the landscape of the field by challenging the notion that the West’s imperial domination of the region spawned nationalism in Arab countries. In a long career lecturing in politics at the London School of Economics, Kedourie inspired a generation of political scientists and politicians. A dedicated scholar and meticulous teacher, he founded Middle Eastern Studies, a journal which, forty years after its launch, remains one of the leading publications in the field and a monument to his work.

Bringing together some of the most distinguished figures in Middle Eastern studies, this collection evaluates Kedourie’s contribution to Middle Eastern history and political thought and assesses the impact of his scholarly legacy. The volume contains a complete bibliography of his writing and was previously published as a special issue of Middle Eastern Studies.