New publication: Die Banalität des Orientalismus

Kai Hafez
Die Banalität des Orientalismus
Strukturelle Feindlichkeit in der modernen Gesellschaft
Transcript publishing house, 2026
ISBN: 978-3-8376-7833-8
376 pages
39 EUR
(also available as an e-book)

How have Orientalism and Islamophobia managed to endure for centuries in enlightened Western modernity? Unlike the postcolonial school of thought centred on Edward Said, Kai Hafez does not seek the causes solely in the ideologies of racism and imperialism. Modern institutions in politics, the media and academia also generate a “banal Orientalism” through ignorance and flawed routines, which unconsciously increases global risks. This functionalist approach to the analysis of Orientalism combines an innovative theoretical debate with empirical findings from various social sciences, and is at once more nuanced and more radical in its implications: a new Enlightenment and a cosmopolitan restructuring of institutions are required.