An Iraqi-born Jew, Elie Kedourie (1926-1992) left his native Baghdad to study at the London School of Economics, where he went on to serve as one of the leading scholars of the modern Middle East. From his doctoral dissertation onward, he was a fierce critic of the regnant Middle East studies establishment that deeply influenced British (and American) foreign policy after World War II, and continues to do so today. Michael Doran discusses Kedourie’s intellectual legacy and in particular his 1970 essay, “The Chatham House Version.” The title refers to the view of the Middle East proffered by the British counterpart to the Council on Foreign Relations—a view based on a flawed faith in a chimerical Arab nationalism and a tendency to blame Western imperialism for Arab pathologies. (Interview by Eric Cohen; audio, 48 minutes.)
Read more on Tikvah: http://tikvahfund.org/library/podcast-michael-doran-on-western-elites-and-the-middle-east/