World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Rashid Ismail Khalidi

ラシード・イスマイル・ハリーディ

Rashid Ismail Khalidi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-11-18 （New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
Palestinian-American, American
Languages
English, Arabic
Residence History
New York City (grew up) → Beirut (resident during 1970s–1980s) → Columbia University (New York)

Career

Occupations
Historian, Professor, Author, Journal editor
Active Years
1970-2024
Affiliations
Columbia University, University of Chicago, Georgetown University, American University of Beirut, Lebanese University, Institute for Palestine Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Memberships
Middle East Studies Association (former president), Council on Foreign Relations (member), Board of Sponsors, Palestine–Israel Journal
Influenced By
Edward Said, Benedict Anderson

Education

Yale University
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1966–1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: United States
Received B.A.
University of Oxford (St Antony's College / Middle East Centre)
Modern Middle Eastern Studies
Degree: D.Phil.
Period: 1970–1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: United Kingdom
D.Phil. thesis: British policy towards Syria & Palestine, 1906-1914

Awards

Albert Hourani Book Award
1997
Work: Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness
Organization: Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Result: 受賞
Albert Hourani Book Award
2004
Work: Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East
Organization: Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Result: 受賞
Gerry Lenfest Teaching Award
2007
Organization: Columbia University
Result: 受賞
WOCMES Seville Award for Outstanding Contribution to Middle Eastern Studies
2018
Organization: World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES)
Result: 受賞
Honorary Fellow of St Antony's College
2024
Organization: St Antony's College, University of Oxford
Result: 選出
Frantz Fanon Lifetime Achievement Award
2025
Organization: Caribbean Philosophical Association
Result: 受賞
Arab American Book Award
2007
Organization: Arab American Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Palestine Book Awards
2013
Organization: Palestine Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Lionel Trilling Book Award
2014
Organization: Lionel Trilling Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness

1997 History / Nationalism studies 320 pages

A scholarly study tracing the emergence of Palestinian national consciousness in the early twentieth century within Ottoman and British colonial contexts, emphasizing the complex social, educational, and media factors that shaped identity formation rather than reducing it solely to anti-Zionist reaction.

NationalismColonialismIdentity formation

The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood

2006 History / Political history 384 pages

Examines Palestinian attempts at statehood since the British Mandate, analyzing leadership failures alongside the roles of British and Zionist actors in constraining Palestinian state-building.

State-buildingLeadership critiqueMandate period

Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East

2004 International relations / History 352 pages

Traces Western, especially U.S., involvement in the Middle East, characterizing aspects of that engagement as colonialist and critically assessing the moral and practical consequences of such policies.

U.S. Middle East policyCritique of colonialismCold War legacies

Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East

2009 History / Policy studies 304 pages

Analyzes how U.S. Cold War policies shaped the Middle East in ways that undermined democracy and exacerbated tensions, tracing long-term consequences of strategic choices.

Cold WarU.S. foreign policyRegional destabilization

Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East

2013 Contemporary history / Political critique 272 pages

Argues with case studies that U.S. diplomacy and mediation have in many instances undermined prospects for peace in the Middle East.

Diplomatic failuresPeace process critique

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017

2020 History / Settler colonialism studies 480 pages

Presents a long-term history of settler colonialism in Palestine since 1917, analyzing dynamics of settler expansion, dispossession, and Palestinian resistance.

Settler colonialismResistanceHistorical continuity

Bibliography

  • Under Siege: PLO Decision-making during the 1982 War (1986)
  • Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (1997)
  • Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East (2004)
  • The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (2006)
  • Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East (2009)
  • Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East (2013)
  • The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 (2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly and analytical proseExtensive use of primary sources and historical context
Recurring Motifs
Formation of nationalismEffects of colonialismResistance and displacement

Legacy

Rashid Khalidi is an internationally influential historian of Palestine and the modern Middle East whose scholarly books and public interventions have significantly shaped the field, demonstrating the historical foundations of Palestinian nationalism and affecting public debate.

Academic Societies

  • Middle East Studies Association (MESA)

Archives

  • Khalidi family library (manuscripts and Palestinian collections)

In Popular Culture

  • Appearances on television and radio programs such as Charlie Rose and C-SPAN

Quotes

  • The now universally applauded two-state solution faces the juggernaut of Israel's actions in the occupied territories over more than forty years, actions that have been expressly designed to make its realization in any meaningful form impossible.
    Source: Interview / Writings (2008)
  • The United States and Israel can basically do anything they please. They are the world superpower, they are the regional superpower.
    Source: Interview (2008)

Trivia

  • Served as editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies from 2002 until 2020 and then as co-editor.
  • Served as president of the Middle East Studies Association in 1994.
  • Retirement from Columbia University finalized in October 2024.