Orientalism is thriving in 2012, albeit in a more subtle and refined form. The proverbial ‘white man’s burden’ is no more about a civilizing mission, but instead to fulfill a ‘responsibility to protect’, from the terror of the irrational other. In fact, Edward Said in his monumental study of the interdependence between Orientalist discourse and imperial policy making, had suggested that apart from its philosophical significance, Orientalism at the psychological level is also ‘a form of paranoia’. In today’s age of ‘humanitarian’ interventions, the imperial hack of yesteryears has been replaced by the global media outlets, that manufacture a constant paranoia among its vast audiences. And often aiding them in this project is an ever acquiescent civil society, ‘NATO, Keep the Progress Going’ reads a public advertisement released by none other than the Amnesty International at a recent summit of the military alliance to discuss the future of Afghanistan. Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose.
August 2012, volume 36, No 8