Voicemails from History

Today's voicemail is taken from page 176 of "Pride and Power: A Modern History of Iraq" by Johan Franzén

In 1963, 'Aref and the Ba'thists instigated the Ramadan Revolution which toppled Karim Qasim from power, a mere 5 years after the first revolution. What followed after was a brief period in which different factions across the Ba'athist and nationalist factions fought for control in Iraq. Eventually, the Ba'this secured their rise to power and would remain as Iraq's single party until Saddam Hussein's downfall in 2003. In this episode, I delve a bit deeper into the end of Qasim's rule by looking at competing Arab political groups and how eventually, the rise of the 'Aref brothers and then al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein, shifted Iraq's political history forever. I spend some time in the middle discussing tensions between defining Ba'thism and how it is different to earlier pan-Arab thinking.

Episode cover: Soldier in the ruins of the Ministry of Defence, where Qasim made his last stand References:
Johan Franzén's book "Pride and Power: A Modern History of Iraq".  Achim Rohde's "State-Society Relations in Ba'thist Iraq: Facing Dictatorship" 

Ofra Bengio's "Kurds of Iraq: Building a State within a State"

Ralph Coury's article titled "The demonisation of pan-Arab nationalism"

Isaac, Steven. "The Ba ‘th of Syria and Iraq." The International Encyclopedia of Protest and Revolution 2009

Today's voicemail is taken from p.225 of Claire Hollingworth's article in 'World Today'. 

The Iraqi and Kurdish saga continues! I begin with a quick recap of last episode's story and we get right into Barzani's return to Iraq, how the Kurdish Democratic Party and Iraqi Communist Party continued to affect Kurdish-Arab dynamics, and the different approaches Karim Qasim took to navigate the drama of Iraq's ever changing political scene.

We end by talking about Qasim's depressing downfall, the tentative position the Kurds find themselves in when the 'Arif brothers carry out the Ramadan Revolution in 1963, ushering in a new phase of Iraqi politics. The Kurdish-Iraqi war continues...

As ever, let me know what you think of the episode! 

References:

Rubin, Avshalom H. "Abd al-Karim Qasim and the kurds of Iraq: Centralization, resistance and revolt, 1958–63." Middle Eastern Studies 43.3 (2007): 353-382.

Hollingworth, Clare. "The Ba'athist revolution in Iraq." The World Today 19.5 (1963): 225-230.

Degli Esposti, Nicola. "Land reform and Kurdish nationalism in postcolonial Iraq." Middle East Critique (2022): 1-17.

Today's voicemail is taken from page 1-2 of Quil Lawrence's book, Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' quest for state-hood is shaping Iraq.

In this episode, I turn to look at the Kurdish situation in Iraq, beginning in 1920 with its establishment under a British mandate and the new monarchy. I begin by recounting the Barzani rebellions from 1931-1945, which began primarily due to economic grievances and then evolved to take a more political outlook. There is also discussion on the broader political movements within the Kurds in Iraq as well as among the Arab Iraqis, who are getting to grips with ruling a new nation-state. A plethora of political parties and clubs emerged, aided by factors such as the printing press, communist ideas, anti-imperialism, the early Cold War and the rise of Gamal Abdel Nassir in Egypt, specifically his calls for pan-Arabism. 

This episode ended up a lot longer than I had planned when I started recording! So, I ended this one by looking at the 1958 Iraqi Revolution, a military coup against the Hashemite monarchy. The result was the rise of the military and the politics of Abd al-Karim Qasim, who would go on to shape Kurdish political life when Barzani returned from exile in Iran. We will continue the Kurdish saga in Iraq in the next few episodes! 

References:
Lawrence, Quil. Invisible nation: how the Kurds' quest for statehood is shaping Iraq and the Middle East. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2009.

Franzen, Johan. "The problem of Iraqi nationalism." National Identities 13.3 (2011): 217-234.

Rubin, Avshalom H. "Abd al-Karim Qasim and the kurds of Iraq: Centralization, resistance and revolt, 1958–63." Middle Eastern Studies 43.3 (2007): 353-382.

McDowall, David. A modern history of the Kurds. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

Today's voicemail is taken from James Barr's book, A Line in the Sand, paraphrased from page 11-12.

The consequences of WWI were far-reaching, and the Middle East was no exception. Between 1916 to 1923, three major treaties were signed which carved up this region. These treaties went on to define the new borders, influence policies and as ever, impact the lives of millions.

In this episode I hope to give you a summary of how significant each treaty was, who the winners and losers were. I present the treaties more in the context in which they were produced: Ottoman policies, WWI, alliance rivalry, the Paris Peace Conference, the Turkish War of Independence and Mustafa Kemal.

References:

Jwaideh, Wadie. The Kurdish national movement: its origins and development. Syracuse University Press, 2006.

Barr, James. A line in the sand: Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East. Simon and Schuster, 2011.

Today's voicemail is taken from page 188, The Hidden History of Burma, A Crisis of Race and Capitalism, by Thant Myint-U. 

Timestamps (as I know this episode is longer than usual!)

Intro & background: until 10:30

Burma's economy: 11:00 

Aung San Suu Kyi: 23:58

Rohingya and the state of Arakan: 31:25

In part 2 of this episode, I try to understand some of the main political and economic developments of the newly independent country in the 20th and 21st century. There's the military dictatorship and how it tried to rule, the growth of illicit drugs and insurgent groups, how Aung San Suu Kyi fits into Burma’s narrative, and the steady slow burn of the Rohingya crisis and contested genocide.

Sidenotes: I use the word Arakan, as does the author, for historical purposes, but in the present the state is known as Rakhine. Same goes for Rangoon/Yangon. Also, I realised much later after recording that I lumped in Tony Blair as being a "celebrity" with the likes of McKellen and Clooney - slight error there on my part! 

Episode cover art: Deutsche Welle (DW)

Today's voicemail is taken from the book, The Hidden History of Burma, A Crisis of Race and Capitalism, by Thant Myint-U.

Burma/Myanmar has experienced a long period of instability, turmoil and civil war. It has cropped up in the news time and time again in relation to 2 main crises - the military junta versus Aung San Suu Kyi and the mistreatment of the Rohingya. In part 1 of this episode, I explore some of the main threads in Burma's medieval and colonial history, as well as the developments during WWII which would later become the new challenges facing modern Burma. 

Thant Myint-U is the grandson of U-Thant, who was the UN Secretary-General in the 1960s, a position he held with diligence and success. Thant Myint-U himself is a historian and former UN official, who has worked extensively in and about Burma. Reading this book was in many ways scratching the surface of Burma, which as Myint-U puts it, is in a crisis of race & capitalism. The 'race or ethnic' factors of Burma have been talked about a lot but with little true understanding, whereas Burma's economic faults have received little to no attention. This book sheds lights on both of these issues, revealing the deep fissures within a country which for the most part, has yet to reap the rewards of modern day life.

I cannot stress how well-written this book is, a concise account of history, experience, reflection and political commentary. 

Select audio at the beginning of episode: All credits go to the right owners, I own nothing. No copyright intended.

References:

The Hidden History of Burma, a Crisis of Race and Capitalism, Thant Myint-U, 2021

A History of Myanmar Since Ancient Times, Traditions and Transformations, Michel Aung-Thwin, Maitrii Aung-Thwin, 2013

The History of Myanmar, William J Topich, Keith A Leitich, 2013

Cover art: Fresco depicting a procession of soldiers and elephants, from Bagan (formerly Pagan), a city in Burma (Myanmar) that was the ancient capital of several kingdoms from the 11th to 13th centuries A.D.

Today's voicemail is taken a snippet of a poem titled Learning Urdu from Agha Shahid Ali, a Kashmiri-American poet.

The partition of British India in 1947 brought about a scale of violence and bloodshed which followed the pattern of the traumatic years following 1945. In this episode, I break down Chatterji's article, in which she has analysed how the partition came about, specifically looking at the Bengal Boundary Commission. 

Contrary to previous episodes where I've looked at the experiences of ordinary people, this one focusses more on the 'higher politics', the competing intentions of political groups, and how they contributed, significantly, to the ensuing violence in August 1947. I do spend some time discussing the effects of these decisions on every-day life in Bengal.

Books/articles mentioned:

The Fashioning of a Frontier: The Radcliffe Line and Bengal's Border Landscape, 1947-52, Joya Chatterji

Partitions: A Transnational History of Twentieth-Century Territorial Separatism, Arie Dubnov and Laura Robson

Cover art - taken from Wikipedia.

Today's voicemails are taken from the book, the Polish Deportees of WWII, edited by Tadeusz Piotrowski. This book is a collection of diaries and memoirs of Polish deportees from 1939 to 1945.

World War Two witnessed one of the largest population movements in modern history, with approximately 40-60 million Europeans becoming refugees or displaced peoples. Out of this tragedy, 1.7 million Poles were exiled by the Soviet Union until 1941 when they were granted 'amnesty'. This led to a Polish exodus and subsequently thousands of Poles found themselves making new temporary homes in Iran, India, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, and Palestine. 

I discuss the series of events that led them to these new places of refuge and some of the key patterns found in their memories. Their stories show how the natives of these countries welcomed and took care of them, amidst the turmoil of the 1940s. Note: I do spend the first 5 minutes discussing some of my thoughts around migration discourse and how history-making should be approached in line with current political debate.

Other publications mentioned: 

Peter Gatrell, The Making of the Modern Refugee

Malcolm J Proudfoot, European Refugees 1939-1952

Today's voicemails are taken from Greta Uehling's book, Beyond Memory: The Crimean Tatars' Deportation and Return. 

In this episode, I talk about the history of the Crimean Tatars, a group considered to be Europe's oldest surviving Muslim community. On the 18th of May 1944, Joseph Stalin ordered the en masse deportation of 191,000 Crimean Tatars, signalling an astounding break from previous Soviet policy towards ethnic groups in the late 1920s. I consider how the study of Crimean Tatars challenges the idea that Europe and Asia are 'different' from each other and how the Crimean Tatars have formed a unique sense of belonging in this world.