Books vs Bombs? Humanitarian development and the narrative of terror in Northern Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID11187828
AuthorsNosheen Ali (Russian State Agrarian Correspondence University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume31
Issue4
Pages541-559
Publication date2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01436591003701075
PMID20607902
OpenAlexW2109758044
LanguageEN
Citations received30

This article examines the role of humanitarian discourse and development in reconfiguring the contemporary culture of empire and its war on terror. It takes as its point of entry the immensely popular biographical tale, Three Cups of Tea, which details how the American mountaineer Greg Mortenson has struggled to counter terrorism in Northern Pakistan through the creation of schools. Even as this text appears to provide a self-critical and humane perspective on terrorism, the article argues that it constructs a misleading narrative of terror in which the realities of Northern Pakistan and Muslim life-worlds are distorted through simplistic tropes of ignorance, backwardness and extremism, while histories of US geopolitics and violence are erased. The text has further facilitated the emergence of a participatory militarism, whereby humanitarian work helps to reinvent the military as a culturally sensitive and caring institution in order to justify and service the project of empire

Art · Empire · Geopolitics · Ignorance · Literature · Media studies · Militarism · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Gender Studies · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

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