Syrian Kabuki
- Written by James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles
Despite outcries from horrified aficionados of Japanese theater, the term “Kabuki” seems to have found a permanent place in the American political lexicon. The term refers to an act that is more a contrived and ritualized posturing than a useful means to an end.
As someone who has written and taught about the Middle East for more than...