Glen Rangwala
Encyclopedia
Glen Rangwala is a University Lecturer and fellow of Trinity College
, Cambridge University
in England
. Trained in political theory and international law
, he completed a doctorate
on political and legal rhetoric in the Arab
Middle East
. His academic work focuses on Palestinian
politics from 1967 to 1977, and the rhetorical relations between the West Bank
resident population and the leadership of the Palestinian resistance movement in exile. He has co-written a monograph, Iraq in Fragments (Cornell University Press, 2006), on the fragmentation of the Iraqi polity following the invasion of 2003. He has also published on international humanitarian law
, comparative human rights
law, Iraq
and nuclear weapons.
He is involved with Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (dissolved and replaced by Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq in October 2003) and Arab Media Watch. His website Middleeastreference.org.uk contains information about Middle Eastern history and politics, in particular Palestine and Iraq. He is an editor of Labour Briefing.
In the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war
Rangwala wrote articles in newspapers and appeared on British TV, especially in the context of the "dodgy dossier
" prepared by Tony Blair
's government. Rangwala had discovered that this dossier was mostly plagiarised
from a postgraduate student's thesis and articles in Jane's Intelligence Review
(with minor falsifications) http://www.channel4.com/news/2003/02/week_1/06_dossier.html and traced back the people who had edited the dossier http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3037760.stm. He submitted written evidence to the House of Commons
Select Committee on Foreign Affairs when it investigated the British government's information policy leading to the Iraq war http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmfaff/813/813we18.htm. He has since published a number of articles on the Iraq war, especially in The Independent
http://middleeastreference.org.uk/writings.html.
Together with Dan Plesch, he contributed an article to A Case to Answer, a report commissioned by MP Adam Price
on which impeachment
procedures against Tony Blair are based. The report assembles evidence that Blair misled the British Parliament and people over reasons for the 2003 war on Iraq mainly from the PM's own statements and evidence disclosed by the Hutton Inquiry
and the Butler Report.
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Trained in political theory and international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, he completed a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
on political and legal rhetoric in the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. His academic work focuses on Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
politics from 1967 to 1977, and the rhetorical relations between the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
resident population and the leadership of the Palestinian resistance movement in exile. He has co-written a monograph, Iraq in Fragments (Cornell University Press, 2006), on the fragmentation of the Iraqi polity following the invasion of 2003. He has also published on international humanitarian law
International human rights law
International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
, comparative human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
law, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and nuclear weapons.
He is involved with Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (dissolved and replaced by Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq in October 2003) and Arab Media Watch. His website Middleeastreference.org.uk contains information about Middle Eastern history and politics, in particular Palestine and Iraq. He is an editor of Labour Briefing.
In the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
Rangwala wrote articles in newspapers and appeared on British TV, especially in the context of the "dodgy dossier
Dodgy Dossier
Iraq: Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation was a 2003 briefing document for the Blair Labour government...
" prepared by Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's government. Rangwala had discovered that this dossier was mostly plagiarised
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
from a postgraduate student's thesis and articles in Jane's Intelligence Review
Jane's Intelligence Review
Jane's Intelligence Review is a monthly journal on military intelligence published by Jane's Information Group . Its coverage includes international security issues, ongoing conflicts, organized crime, and weapons proliferation....
(with minor falsifications) http://www.channel4.com/news/2003/02/week_1/06_dossier.html and traced back the people who had edited the dossier http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3037760.stm. He submitted written evidence to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Select Committee on Foreign Affairs when it investigated the British government's information policy leading to the Iraq war http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmfaff/813/813we18.htm. He has since published a number of articles on the Iraq war, especially in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
http://middleeastreference.org.uk/writings.html.
Together with Dan Plesch, he contributed an article to A Case to Answer, a report commissioned by MP Adam Price
Adam Price
Adam Price is a politician in Wales, and former Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr. He was elected to Parliament in the 2001 general election and re-elected in 2005 but stood down at the 2010 election...
on which impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
procedures against Tony Blair are based. The report assembles evidence that Blair misled the British Parliament and people over reasons for the 2003 war on Iraq mainly from the PM's own statements and evidence disclosed by the Hutton Inquiry
Hutton Inquiry
The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour government to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, a biological warfare expert and former UN weapons inspector in Iraq.On 18 July 2003, Kelly, an employee...
and the Butler Report.
External links
- Cambridge university site
- Cambridge Department of Politics and International Studies site
- IraqPolicy.org.uk (This URL no longer works, but its content can still be found on the Internet Archive.)
- Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq, renamed to Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq
- Arab Media Watch
- A Case to Answer (link to PDF file)