POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLITICS OF WEST ASIA - 270

Beth K. Dougherty MI 112B, x2084

Fall 2007

MWF 1-1:50 pm R noon – 1pm

Content

This course examines the role of West Asian states in world affairs, with a particular focus on the foreign policies of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Topics include the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, the invasion of Kuwait and its aftermath, post-Saddam Iraq, Turkey’s role in the Middle East, the Kurds, Iranian foreign policy, and Afghanistan’s troubled history. The course will combine lectures, interactive techniques, including round table debates and role-play simulations, and videos.

Readings

There are four required books, all of them available in the bookstore.

Abdo, Geneive & Jonathan Lyons. Answering Only to God. New York: Henry Holt (2003).
Kepel, Gilles. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Belknap (2001).
Packer, George. The Assassins’ Gate. Boulder, CO: Westview (2004).
Dorronsoro, Giles. Revolution Unending. New York: Cambridge University Press (2002).

You must also purchase two case studies ($3.50 each for a PDF file download, or $5 for the paper copy): Case #348 – Iran Hostage Negotiations & Case #283 – The Turkish Democratic Experience – Integrating the Demands of Kemalism and Political Islam. They are available from www.guisd.org. In addition there are readings on reserve in the library or available through College on-line databases [Academic ASAP, JSTOR]; these readings are REQUIRED. I expect you to follow events in the region by reading a major daily paper, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, London Times, etc.

Requirements

Three 6-8 page briefing papers, each worth 20%. During the term we will run three interactive exercises in class: a meeting to discuss the regional actors’ threat assessments in the aftermath of the Iran – Iraq war (paper due SEPT 21); a conference on the future of Iraq (paper due OCT 9); and a debate on the future direction of Iranian foreign policy (paper due NOV 6). Please see the end of the syllabus for more details on these topics.

One 10 page paper, worth 25%. At the end of the term we will discuss the strength of militant Islam (paper due DEC 1), based on the Kepel book and your case studies of individual states.

Papers MUST include citations and bibliography. If you fail to include both, I will return your paper without a grade and late penalties will attach. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL PENALTY. Exceptions to this rule will be granted in advance on a case-by-case basis for serious situations (death in the family, serious health issue); procrastinating, having other papers due at the same time, and the common cold are NOT valid reasons for seeking an extension. The grade will be based on the thoroughness of your research, the accuracy of your position, the development of your arguments, and the clarity of your writing.

Class participation, worth 15%. You are expected to make regular, informed contributions to class discussions and to be prepared to actively engage in the exercises. If you have an issue or news story related to the West Asia region that you would like to discuss in class please introduce the subject at the beginning of class. We will also regularly hold discussions of the readings and the films; you are expected to be prepared to critically analyze those materials. Part of this grade will comprise a map quiz, scheduled for SEPT 6. Failure to appear in class on a day when an activity is planned will result in an “F” (zero), and will adversely affect your participation grade. In the event of repeated class absences, I reserve the right to assign you an “F” for the course.

Topics

Aug 31 Overview of the region

Sept 1 Researching the Middle East – meet Chris Nelson in the library

Topic 1: From the Iranian Revolution to the Fall of Saddam

READING: George Packer, The Assassins’ Gate – you must finish this book by October 4

Sept 4 It all starts in 1953….

Reading: Mark Gasiorowski, “The 1953 Coup D’Etat in Iran,” International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 19, 3 (1987): pp. 261-86 [JSTOR].

Sept 6 The Iranian Revolution

Reading: Nikki Keddie, “The Revolution,” in Roots of Revolution, pp. 231-258; View 444 Days by class on Sept 8.

Sept 6 Map Quiz in class today!

Sept 7 No Class

Sept 8 Hostage simulation

Reading: Case #348 – Iran Hostage Negotiations

Sept 11 Revolutionary Iran’s foreign policy

Sept 13 Iraq’s vulnerability (1970s, Kurds & Shiis)

Sept 14 Iraq invades! (topic sign-up)

Reading: Shahram Chubin & Charles Tripp, Iran and Iraq at War, Chapters 4-7 (pp. 53 – 138).

Sept 15 The Iran – Iraq war

Sept 18 The end game (Iran-contra / the internationalization of the war)

Sept 20 the Anfal campaign

Reading: Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Great Terror,” New Yorker (March 25, 2002): 52+.

Sept 21 Discussion: regional threat assessment after the Iran-Iraq war

Sept 21 Regional Threat assessment: - PAPER DUE

Sept 22 Iraq’s post-war ambitions / Things don’t go so well...

Reading: View The Gulf War by Sept 22 (video, on reserve, 2 tapes @ 4 hours total)

Sept 25 Iraq invades! motive & opportunity

Reading: keep reading The Assassins’ Gate

Sept 27 The uprisings

Sept 28 discuss The Gulf War, uprisings

Sept 29 Keeping Saddam in a box: sanctions, no-fly zones, the INC (topic sign-up)

Reading: Baram, Amatzia, “Effects of Iraqi Sanctions,” Middle East Journal 54, 2 (Spring 2000): 194-223

Oct 2 Keeping Saddam in a box: UNSCOM

Oct 4 Iraq invaded!

Reading: View The Invasion of Iraq by Oct 4 (2 hours); recommended viewing, Truth, War, & Consequences and The Insurgency, (60 mins each,) on-line at www.pbs.org/wbgh/pages/frontline/

Oct 5, 6 Discuss Packer and Iraq videos

Oct 9 Post-Saddam Iraq – why it was always going to be hard

Oct 9 The State of Iraq: PAPER DUE

Oct 11-13 State of Iraq exercise

Topic II: Islamic Governments and the Challenge of Radical Islam

Reading: Giles Kepel, Jihad: On the Trial of Militant Islam – you must finish this book by Dec. 6

IRAN: Abdo & Lyons, Answering Only to God.

Oct 23 Iran after the Iran-Iraq War through Desert Storm

Oct 25 Iran as object of dual containment

Oct 26 The Khatami years (topic sign-up)

Oct 27 The conservatives strike back

Oct 30 Iran as the axis of evil

Nov 1 Iran exercise

Nov 2 Iran exercise

Nov 3 Iran exercise

Nov 6 Iranian foreign policy: PAPER DUE

AFGHANISTAN: Giles Dorronsoro, Revolution Unending.

Nov 6 Afghanistan – Soviet invasion and Reagan era help

Nov 8 NO CLASS: symposium – mandatory attendance at McCoy talk

Nov 9 Afghanistan – from the Soviet withdrawal to the Taliban

Nov 10 Discussion of McCoy talk & implications of use of torture for US role in Afghanistan

Nov 13 Taliban in power

Nov 15 post-Taliban Afghanistan

Nov 16 the Karzai govt

Nov 17 View Afghanistan Unveiled

Nov 20 rebuilding Afghanistan

Nov 22 Happy Thanksgiving! No class

TURKEY

Nov 27, 29 Turkey, the Kurds, & the Iraq invasion

Reading: Murat Somer, “Turkey’s Kurdish Conflict: Changing Context, and Domestic and Regional Implications,” Middle East Journal 58, 2 (Spring 2004): 235-254 [ASAP]; Mustafa Kibaroglu, “Clash of Interest over Northern Iraq Drives Turkish-Israeli Alliance to a Crossroads,” Middle East Journal 59, 2 (Spring 2005): 246 – 265 [ASAP].

Nov 30 Turkey – identity, democracy & Islam

Dec 1 Turkey – identity, democracy & Islam

Reading: Case #283: The Turkish Democratic Experience – Integrating the Demands of Kemalism and Political Islam (2006); Meltem Muftuler, “The New Face of Turkey: Domestic and Foreign Policy Implications of the November 2002 Elections,” East European Quarterly 37, 4 (Winter 2003): 421-439 [ASAP]; Umut Cizre, “Demythologizing the National Security Concept: The Case of Turkey,” Middle East Journal 57, 2 (Spring 2003): 212-229 [ASAP].

Dec 1 The rise (and fall?) of militant Islam: PAPER DUE

Dec 4, 6 Turkey & the EU

Reading: Birol A. Yesilada, “Turkey’s Candidacy for EU Membership,” Middle East Journal 56, 1 (Winter 2002): 94-111 [ASAP]; “The Turkey-EU-US triangle in Perspective: Transformation or Continuity?” Middle East Journal 59, 2 (Spring 2005): 265 – 285 [ASAP].

THE RISE (AND FALL?) OF MILITANT ISLAM

Dec 7, 8, 11 Discussion of Kepel and papers

Dec 12, 13 Final thoughts, evaluations

Please know the following countries and their capitals, and the listed places:

Iran United Arab Emirates Bosphorus Strait Syria Qatar

Iraq Strait of Hormuz Persian Gulf Armenia Oman

Georgia Saudi Arabia Azerbaijan Black Sea

Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Kazakhstan

Kuwait Shatt al -Arab Bahrain Turkey

PAPER TOPICS / SIMULATION INFORMATION

Threat perceptions after the Iran-Iraq war (sign up for topic on Sept 13, due Sept 20)

Please choose one of the following players: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Your paper should explore the threat perceptions of your country in the aftermath of the Iran – Iraq war (circa late 1988, early 1989). Which state is the bigger threat to your security / your national interests? Why is it a threat? Issues to consider may include your definition of your national interest, what happened during the Iran-Iraq war, oil politics, and how your state plans to deal with Iran/Iraq in the post-war period. In class we will convene an informal meeting of the Arab League to decide a general direction for the region’s foreign policy. You will be expected to explain your state’s threat assessment, and to critically assess the positions of other regional players.

The Future of Iraq (sign up Sept 29, due Oct 9)

Please choose one of the following identities: Shii, Sunni, Kurd, Turkomen. You may represent this group as a whole, or identify yourself as a specific faction within that identity group (followers of Moqtada al-Sadr, a Kurd with the KDP). The setting is the long-delayed conference to discuss constitutional revisions. Your paper should address what outcome your player desires from an amended constitution. What are the fears / grievances of your player (both historical and current)? What are your priorities? What methods will you use to protect your group’s position or to change the positions of other key players (ie, peaceful means, alliances with other factions, violence)? What is your relationship with and/or attitude towards other key players, including the U.S.? You may narrow your topic as much as necessary, provided you clearly indicate the scope of your inquiry in your introduction. Thus, you may decide that as a representative of the Turkomen or the Kurds, you will only address Kirkuk, or that as a member of one of the Shii religious parties you will only address the role of women or the relationship between mosque and state. The first day of the conference, the four main factions will meet to discuss their group’s positions and to hammer out proposed amendments. On days 2-3, each faction will have the opportunity to introduce an amendment, and negotiations will proceed from there.

Iranian foreign policy (sign up Oct 25, due Nov 6)

You will choose both a side (Iran or its opponents) and an issue. The possible issues are: Iran’s nuclear program; Iran’s connections to / influence upon the Shiis in Iraq; Iran’s opposition to Israel (support for Hamas); Iran’s role in Lebanon (Hizbollah); Iran’s larger strategic presence / role in the Persian Gulf.

If you are Iran, your paper should present the Iranian perspective – identify goals and threats, place the issue in some historical perspective, lay out Iran’s current position or policy and explain the logic which is animating it, and assess the success / costs of the policy. If you are not Iran, you must identify first which state(s) or party’s views you are representing – for example on the nuclear program you could be the US or the EU; for Iraq you could represent the US, an Iraqi party such as the Kurds, or the Arab states; for Israel, you could be Israel or the US; for Lebanon, you could be the US, Israel, or the Lebanese govt; for the strategic role, you could be the US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or the GCC. You will also address goals and threats, and the historical context, as well as lay out your player’s current position or policy towards Iran on this issue, explain the logic behind that policy, and assess the success / costs of the policy. In class, there will be debates covering each of the issue areas. To ensure that the issues and sides are all covered, there will be a sign-up sheet on Oct 25.

Rise and fall of militant Islam (due Dec 1)

You may chose any country profiled in Kepel and assess the CURRENT threat/challenge posed by radical Islam to that state. If you want to research a country NOT covered in Kepel, please confirm your choice with me PRIOR to the deadline. If you submit a paper on an unauthorized country, I reserve the right to refuse it. Your papers should identify the radical Islamic group(s) operating in that country, explain the roots of its grievances, lay out its strategy and ideology, explain its popular support (if any), and discuss the state’s response to the movement as well as the success of its efforts (if any). Your conclusion should offer an assessment of the current threat/challenge posed by radical Islam to that state. Each person will present their findings to the class.