Awards

• Nominated for J. David Greenstone Book Prize 2014
• Nominated for James Willard Hurst Prize 2014
• Nominated for PROSE Awards 2013
• Nominated for Robert Jervis and Paul Schroeder Best Book Award 2014

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9780674073135

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Reviews

Thompson boldly tackles some of the thorniest issues in the making of the modern Middle East -- constitutionalism, freedom, democracy, visions of justice from across the political spectrum - -and lucidly demonstrates how they have been experienced and contested by a broad range of social actors. An urgent and accessible history of 'ideas in action, ' Justice Interrupted is essential reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and possible futures of the entire region.--Max Weiss, Author Of in The Shadow Of Sectarianism: Law, Shi'ism, And The Making Of Modern Lebanon

Thompson sees the thirst for justice and reform blossoming as long as 400 years ago, when the region was in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In the generations since, bureaucrats, intellectuals, workers, and peasants have seized on the language of empire, law, and even Islam to agitate for rights and due process...Most intriguing, she finds elements of this constitutional liberalism even within fundamentalist Islamist movements that democratizers most worry about. These threads suggest a possible way forward, a way to build a constitutional, democratic consensus on indigenous if often overlooked traditions. Islamists and secular Arabs, it turns out, have found common ground in the past, even written constitutions together. The same could happen again now...It's easy to assume that religiously driven movements are all antidemocratic--and indeed, some have proven so in practice, like the ayatollahs in Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. But Thompson offers a more nuanced view, showing that many of these religious movements have internalized central elements of liberal discourse.--Thanassis Cambanis Boston Globe (08/18/2013)

Thompson s portraits are lively, accurate and informative--a highly readable primer for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Middle Eastern political history.--Lawrence Rosen Literary Review (10/01/2013)

Author Information

Elizabeth F. Thompson is Associate Professor of History at the University of Virginia.

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