BOOK OF THE DAY: BEN TONRAreviews Facts are Subversive: Political Writing from a Decade without a NameBy Timothy Garton Ash Atlantic Books, 441 pp, £25
ON HIS website, Timothy Garton Ash shares the ambition of George Orwell “to make political writing into an art”. While there may be some question as to the definition of his medium; journalism, political essays, historical travelogue, foreign affairs or contemporary history, there is no doubt that Garton Ash is a master of his art.
In this, his third collection of essays, Garton Ash dissects events, trends and phenomena that have shaped the last decade: from the coloured revolutions in eastern Europe, to Burma, Iran and the late, unlamented “war” on terror. His approach is disarmingly simple. He undertakes scholarly research; he engages with those at the coal face of momentous change and he then takes the time to reflect, to contextualise and to attempt to identify patterns and implications.
Critically, Garton Ash does all of this from a clearly specified and unapologetic standpoint: that of a liberal. Notwithstanding the ill-informed abuse frequently heaped upon that appellation, Garton Ash wears this title proudly and wields its philosophy with skill, ease and erudition. The title and underlying theme of this collection is also important. He extols the idea that “facts are subversive” and he argues the moral and aesthetic imperative of standing for facts and truth – no irony quotes here – against the arrayed hordes of relativism, of manipulation, of cant and of spin.
That dedication to truth is the leitmotif of the text. It is also somewhat problematic. For as Garton Ash insists that we collate, weigh and assess the facts of any given situation, he acknowledges the power of image, narrative and discourse even to the point where images are “the very heart of power in modern politics”. Indeed at several points, he self-consciously catches himself and refutes the possibility that his argument relies on any postmodern critique or any deconstruction of a perceived reality. He notes approvingly, however, the rueful admission of Jacek Kurón, one of the architects of Poland’s democratic revolution, that if he had the choice of controlling the secret police or national television he would always choose television – where images construct realities.
The 48 essays are presented as they were originally published, as either shorter pieces often published in the the Guardian, or as longer analyses that originally appeared in The New York Review of Books. There is considerable strength in this format. First, it brings the reader as close as possible to the events themselves; you can feel your heart race as you share the expectant fear of student demonstrators in Ukraine. You should be both outraged and inspired anew by struggles for justice in Burma, Brazil and Egypt. You may even shiver as you reflect on slender Polish birch trees with "their roots in a rich compost of corpses". This format also presents the visceral pleasure of judging the accuracy of Garton Ash's analysis in the light of later events – his pusillanimous opposition to the war in Iraq being a case in point (which, to be fair, he ruefully acknowledges himself). Usually, however, Garton Ash offers few definitive conclusions. Instead, his richly-coloured essays explore difficult and profound questions; about democracy, about human rights, about culture, about freedom, about writing and about the gulf between the professed values of liberal democracy in Europe and the United States and its practice, at home and abroad.
Whether the nature of the whole represents scholarship, journalism, commentary or all three is perhaps moot. It is certainly an outstanding pleasure to read.
Ben Tonra is associate professor of international relations at the UCD school of politics and international relations. His most recent book, Global Citizen and European Republic: Irish Foreign Policy in Transition, is published by Manchester University Press (2007)