Review
"A commanding exposé of the duplicitous and damaging role played by US leaders and others in a dark drama. Well-written, well focused, deeply informed---an excellent corrective for the many who cannot tell the difference between humanitarian assistance and imperial aggrandizement." --
Michael Parenti, author of 'Contrary Notions' and 'Against Empire'"At a time when everyone from George Clooney to George Bush is an instant expert on Darfur, Kevin Funk and Steven Fake have given us what we so urgently need: a clear, sober assessment of the conflict and how it fits into the foreign policy of the United States. With neither fear nor favour, they take us back stage, show us our blind spots, and come up with some troubling conclusions. Explosive, masterful, and impeccably fair. Consider it the thinking person's guide to Darfur." --
John Ghazvinian, author of 'Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil'"Elegantly written, erudite without being academic, and with a forceful yet sensible political argument, Scramble for Africa is a must read for anyone concerned with making sense of one of the most haunting crises of our time." --
Stephen Eric Bronner, Rutgers University"So much of what has been written on Darfur is either expression of humanitarian concern without awareness of the imperial context, or denunciation of Western perfidy without appreciation of the horrible human tragedy that has been unfolding. In this extremely well-documented study, Steve Fake and Kevin Funk combine deep compassion with a keen critical analysis to show how we might best support the suffering people of Darfur. This is a book for all those interested in working for a more just world." --
Stephen R. Shalom, Professor of Political Science at William Paterson University in New Jersey and author of, among other works, 'Imperial Alibis: Rationalizing US Intervention After the Cold War'"This extremely well-researched analysis reveals the real goals of US foreign policy in one of the greatest horrors of our generation. The authors have produced an essential book for analysts and activists everywhere, together with a call to action which no-one should ignore." --
Mark Curtis, author, 'Web of Deceit: Britain's Real Role in the World'
From the Publisher
What others are saying about
The Scramble for Africa:
"Scramble for Africa: Darfur Intervention and the USA is the book we've all been waiting for. Clearly written, and scholarly without losing its skeptical edge, this new work takes on the U.S. Government and the Save Darfur coalition alike, offering a fresh analysis of Darfur in its larger geopolitical context. Saving Darfur belongs on every Darfur activist's bookshelf."
--David Morse, Darfur activist and journalist
"So much of what has been written on Darfur is either expression of humanitarian concern without awareness of the imperial context, or denunciation of Western perfidy without appreciation of the horrible human tragedy that has been unfolding. In this extremely well-documented study, Steve Fake and Kevin Funk combine deep compassion with a keen critical analysis to show how we might best support the suffering people of Darfur. This is a book for all those interested in working for a more just world."
--Stephen R. Shalom, Professor of Political Science at William Paterson University in New Jersey and author of, among other works, Imperial Alibis: Rationalizing US Intervention After the Cold War.
"This excellent book presents the basic information on the political and military aspects of the conflict, examines the options from a clear and transparent ethical position, and presents ways forward with a concern for broad international implications and concern for the hundreds of thousands of victims. It is is exactly what is needed and I hope it is very widely read. I will recommend it to everyone."
--Justin Podur, writer and activist
"One of the few works to tackle honestly the vexing question of what is to be done about Darfur. Cheerleaders for intervention and humanitarians who persist in rosy fantasies about the U.S. role in the world have had no trouble advocating "solutions," but for others on the left the question has been much more difficult. Not content, like so many, to simply wash their hands of the question, the authors have constructed a deeply informed and carefully reasoned argument that addresses seriously the possibilities for constructive humanitarian interventions in an imperfect world vitiated by great power interests and political posturing. For the cruise-missile left and the hard-core anti-interventionist left alike, Darfur is not about Darfur but about their own self-image; Fake and Funk rightly bring the focus back to what is best for the people on the ground."
--Rahul Mahajan, activist and author of Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond
"For those, like myself, who have long felt both revulsion and confusion by the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and wished to know more, this is the perfect handbook. ...an objective, dispassionate, meticulously researched account of the conflict... The authors of Scramble for Africa... startle us with their documentation of the little known but equally sordid role our own government has played in Sudan for the past thirty years - suggesting that our present official "humanitarian concerns" are merely crocodile tears masking another agenda."
--Timothy Kendall, Ph. D., Senior Research Scholar, Dept. of African-American Studies, Northeastern University and Director of Archaeological Mission, Jebel Barkal (Karima), Sudan, Sudan Dept. of Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), Khartoum, Sudan.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
