RAGE FOR ORDER: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
How would you begin the describe the approach taken by Robert Worth in Rage For Order? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book? What is missing from this book? What most surprised you?
Who is Robert Worth and how do you think his background and experiences influence his perspective in Rage For Order?
Worth's book combines an exploration of larger themes with a focus on individual nations as case studies. What is most distinctive about the recent history of each of the following nations? Where would you begin in trying to make sense of that history? How would you frame these history against a backdrop that includes discussion of common region-wide themes?
Libya
Yemen
Tunisia
Syria
Egypt
What role does the 2011 Arab Spring play in Worth's account? What happened in 2011 and how to explain it? How would you fit 2011 into a coherent narrative of Middle Eastern history that imposes some overall order upon the developments, trajectories, and tensions that have characterized the region since that time?
What is the idea of the caliphate and what place does it assume in Worth's chronicle?
How would you compare and contrast the story of revolution told by Worth in Rage For Order with that told by Marjane Satrapi in Persepolis? What points of connection do you notice between the two books?
A recurrent strategy of Worth is to explore larger issues through introducing us to some less-famous citizens? What character or characters did you find most compelling here, and why?
Key historical individuals and terms are listed below. Identify some of the following and what you learned about each from Rage For Order.
Individuals:
Bashar Al Assad
Hafez Al Assad
Abu Bakr Al Bahdadi
Muhammad Beltagy
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Muhammad Morsi
Hosni Mubarak
Muammar Qaddafi
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Abdelfattah Al Sisi
Terms:
Alawis
Al Qaeda
Daraa
Ennahda
Huthis
Islamic State
Muslim Brotherhood
Rabaa al-Adawiya Square
Tahrir Square
SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Kenneth M. Pollack, "Robert F. Worth's 'A Rage For Order,'" New York Times, April 25, 2016.
Adam Kirsch, "A Masterful Account Of Humiliation And Despair," Tablet (April 27, 2016).
"History Derailed: Understanding The Messy Middle East," CBC, Ideas, May 29, 2017.
"A Rage For Order: The Middle East In Turmoil, From Tahrir Square To ISIS," Middle East Institute, May 13, 2016.
"Robert Worth's 'A Rage For Order' Takes On Troubled Middle East," Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, May 8, 2016.
Isaac Chotiner, "'I Don't Mean To Suggest Long-Term Hope': A Bleak Conversation About The Post-Arab Spring Middle East," Slate, April 25, 2016.
"Global Ethics Forum -- 'A Rage For Order: The Middle East In Turmoil, From Tahrir Square To ISIS," Carnegie Council For Ethics In International Affairs, September 6, 2016.