In the 1960s, the Left held a different place in politics than today. In Lebanon, the decade birthed a movement that was to have a lasting impact on generations of activists in the region: the Arab New Left.
Fadi A. Bardawil, assistant professor of Asian and Middle East Studies at Duke University, is one of those influenced by this generation of intellectuals, and in his book, ‘Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation’, he guides the reader through a journey looking back at a group of engaged leftwing intellectuals and their influence on politics today.
Bardawil investigates the main actors in this group, as well as their ideologies and written works, to understand how the movement came to be and what it meant for the political environment in Lebanon and the region.
