For most American publishers, the Frankfurt Book Fair, which officially opened last night, is primarily a place to sell rights to their books.

And for some, it’s an increasingly expensive anachronism in a world in which rights are traded year round, and other book fairs, like the one held in London every March, have gained momentum.

But this year’s convention has taken on an additional political dimension as the guest of honor is not a single nation, but the Arab world as a whole. (Or almost as a whole; Arab league members Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait, and Iraq all chose not to participate.)

For the first time, German Chancellor Schroder appeared at the opening ceremonies, with attendant increases in security and press attention. And he used the occasion for a politicized speech about relations between the West and the Middle East.

He called for an end to the “vicious cycle of violence” in the Middle East. For Israelis and Palestinians, “What we have on the road map is still valid.” In Iraq, he said, “It’s about stability for the country and stability for the whole region. Germany will continue to make a contribution to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. It’s not about the question of who was right when the conflict was judged. This is past history. Now all of us are responsible for more stability, more democracy being created and reached in the region. This will only be possible once we have created peace in Iraq.”

Wondering about the motivations behind the honor, literary speaker Nagib Machfus offered this thought in a letter delivered on his behalf: “Did the events of a regrettable confrontation between the West and the Arab Islamic East force us to pay attention to the relevance of communication? Did the West need to feel its security threatened so that it would engage in a rediscovery of Islamic civilization and Arab culture?…Whatever the reasons, we have now reached a meeting point in our histories where all parties must benefit.”

The president of the German trade organization that owns the book fair, Dieter Schormann, answered in his own way, underscoring that, “Books are the key medium in our society. This is the message Frankfurt sends out around the world.”