I read these against the Marx I had studied as an undergraduate, and moved on to Derrida and Heidegger, all of which informed the book I eventually produced, Colonising Egypt.
[5] Mitchell's book rests on the theory that the roots of colonialism are as much internal as external, and that power operates through representation and culture as well as brute force.
Nineteenth century reforms and modernization, Mitchell asserts, were backdoor attempts to subjugate Egypt to British influence.
Mitchell responded to 9/11 with a critique of American support for autocracy in the Muslim world and for Israel, asserting that "Washington continues to side with the exclusionary politics and expansionist militarism of the Israeli government.
But the resources for collective resistance are very few, the rule of the Palestinian authority is increasingly inept and corrupt, and for some the politics of despair and a reactive violence are never far away.