Moustapha Safouan, in this courageous and honest book, confronts head-on the problem of Arab despotism, examining it from the point of view of political philosophy, religious argument and linguistic history.

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• A ground-breaking book written by the eminent Lacanian psychoanalyst Moustapha Safouan.
  
• Rejects explanations of Arab despotism which appeal either to imperialism or to notions of Arab culture in favour of an analysis which focuses on the relations between writing and power.
  
• Investigates the divorce between the classical Arabic which is the medium of education and the diverse vernacular Arabics which are the languages of the streets.
  
• A tour de force of political philosophy, religious argument and linguistic history.