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POLS 270 : Comparative Politics of the Middle East
| Beth K. Dougherty |
x 2084 |
| Fall 2007 |
MI 112B |
| Office hours: |
TTH 1- 3 |
Description
This course examines the political processes of Middle Eastern countries and how internal dynamics influence the shape and direction of international issues in the region. The course will investigate themes common to the experiences of most states in the Middle East, including the legacy of colonialism, national identity, authoritarianism, radical religion, the role of the military, the position of women, minorities, economic development and globalization, and prospects for democracy. For the purposes of your research, we are using an expansive definition of “Middle East” – from North Africa east through the “-stans,” and including Palestine.
Readings: There are five required texts.
Aarts & Nonneman. Saudi Arabia in the Balance. New York: New York University Press (2006).
Efron, Noah. Real Jews. New York: Basic Books (2003).
Khalidi, Rashid. The Iron Cage. Boston: Beacon (2006).
Mango, Andrew. The Turks Today. New York: Overlook Press (2006).
Nasr, Vali. The Shia Revival. New York: Norton (2006).
Nearly all of the additional readings are available via one of Beloit’s on-line databases: ASAP – Expanded Academic ASAP, ELITE – Academic Search Elite, JSTOR, and MUSE – Project Muse. Reserve readings are REQUIRED. If you are not willing to do the readings, please drop the course. You are also expected to follow events in the Middle East by reading a major daily newspaper.
Requirements
- One 12 - 15 page research paper, worth 40%.
This paper should assess the prospects for democratic liberalization (or the state of democracy) in the Middle Eastern country (includes Palestine) of your choice. Papers MUST include citations and bibliography. Please follow the Chicago Manual of Style. The grade will be based on the thoroughness of your research, the thoughtfulness of your position, the evidence presented to support your argument, and the clarity of your writing. Concentrate on clearly stating at the beginning of the paper your argument (for example, “prospects for a political opening in Egypt are unlikely while Mubarak is in power, or “Democratization cannot move forward until the military retreats from its leading role in policy-making.”). Then the rest of the paper should build the strongest possible argument for your case by giving specific examples and data, and/or by logically presenting your position. You are allowed to focus on a narrow aspect of the question: for example, assessing how women’s organizations are contributing to building civil society, or exploring the role of the media, or investigating how human rights abuses are preventing a political opening. If you need help choosing a country or a focus, please come see me. It is DUE NO LATER THAN 2PM ON DECEMBER 7.
- Two 8-page research papers, worth a total of 45%.
Same rules apply as for the paper above. The first paper will assess the threat religion poses to the stability of the Middle Eastern country of your choice. It is DUE IN CLASS ON OCTOBER 4. Paper II will investigate the role a particular social group (women, the military, an ethnic or religious minority, a labor union, youth, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc.) plays in the Middle Eastern country of your choice. It is DUE NO LATER THAN 2PM ON NOVEMBER 9.
- Class attendance and participation, worth 15%.
Attendance is expected, and I reserve the right to fail you for the course for excessive absences. You are expected to make regular, informed contributions to class discussions; simply showing up and never speaking will earn you a 75 at best. There will be several days set aside for discussion of a particular issue, and on occasion you will also be asked to make a brief oral presentation based on the findings of your research paper. If you have an issue or news story related to the Middle East you would like to discuss in class, please introduce the subject at the beginning of class. Part of this grade will include a map quiz, SEPT 4. See the end of the syllabus for a list of countries and places.
- General rules:
- Late assignments will receive a substantial grade penalty. I will entertain legitimate requests for an extension, but you may only make ONE such request.
- Do not plagiarize. This is the worst form of academic dishonesty, and will be dealt with severely. If you plagiarize, you will automatically fail the assignment and I will forward your name to the Dean of Students office. I reserve the right to fail you for the course for cheating of any kind. (Do not tempt fate - I am very good at catching plagiary.)
Topics:
| Aug 28 |
The first day of class |
| Aug 30 |
Watch The Dupes, based on Ghassan Kanafani’s classic story, Men in the Sun. |
| Sept 4 |
Legacy of colonialism and the struggle for independence (Map Quiz) |
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READING: Nasr, The Shia Revival, pp. 17-80; Mango, The Turks Today, pp. 1-38. |
| Sept 6 |
The ramifications of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle |
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READING: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, pp. 1- 104. |
| Sept 11 |
State formation and national identity |
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READING: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, pp. 105 – 139; Adeed Dawisha, “‘Identity’ and Political Survival in Saddam’s Iraq,” Middle East Journal 53, 4 (Autumn 1999): 553-567 [reserve]; Laurie Brand, “Palestinians and Jordanians: A Crisis of Identity,” Journal of Palestine Studies 24, 4 (Summer 1995): 46-61 [JSTOR]. |
| Sept 13 |
The state / regime typologies |
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READING: Martha Pripstein Posusney (ed), Authoritarianism in the Middle East, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner (2005), Chapters 2-4, 8. |
| Sept 18 |
The role of the military |
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READING: Mango, The Turks Today, pp. 39 – 103; Read any 2 of the following three: Imad Harb, “The Egyptian Military in Politics,” Middle East Journal 57, 2 (Spring 2003): 267-290 [ASAP]; Ahmed S. Hashim, “Military Power and State Formation in Modern Iraq,” Middle East Policy 10, 4 (Winter 2003): 29-47 [ASAP]; Eyal Zisser, “The Syrian Army: Between the Domestic and the External Fronts,” Middle East Review of International Affairs 5, 1 (March 2001) [ciaonet.org]. |
| Sept 20 |
Secular ideologies |
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READING: C. Ernest Dawn, “Formation of Pan-Arab Ideology in the Interwar Years,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 20, 1 (February 1988): 67-91 [JSTOR]; John Devlin, “The Baath Party: Rise and Metamorphosis,” The American Historical Review 96, 5 (December 1991): 1396-1407 [JSTOR]; Eberhard Kienle, “Arab Unity Schemes Revisited,” International Journal of Middle East Studies 27, 1 (February 1995): 53-71 [JSTOR]; Adeed Dawisha, “Requiem for Arab Nationalism,” Middle East Quarterly 10, 1 (Winter 2003): 25-41 [ASAP]. |
| Sept 25 |
Ataturk and Modern Turkey (discussion) |
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READING: Mango, The Turks Today, pp. 107 – 139, 157 – 206, 233 – 254. |
| Sept 27 |
Religious ideologies |
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READING: Nasr, The Shia Revival, pp. 81 – 273 (to be completed by Oct 4). |
| Oct 2 |
Radical religious ideologies |
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READING: Aarts & Nooneman, introduction and Section I: Ideology and Change. |
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| OCT 4 – RELIGION PAPER DUE |
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| Oct 4, 9 |
Presentations & debate on the role of religion / discussion of Nasr |
| Oct 11 |
Economic underdevelopment / Rentier economies: the distortions of oil |
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READING: Mango, pp. 141 – 156; Aarts & Nooneman, Section II: Political Economy. |
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| BREAK: OCT 15 - 21 |
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| Oct 23 |
Economic Challenges: globalization & conflict |
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READING: Mehran Kamrava, “Structural Impediments to Economic Globalization in the Middle East,” Middle East Policy 11, 4 (Winter 2004): 96-112; Robert Looney, “Economic Consequences of Conflict: The Rise of Iraq’s Informal Economy,” Journal of Economic Issues 40, 4 (December 2006): 991-1008 [ASAP]; Philippe Egger, “The Economics of Peace: Trends and Prospects of the Palestinian Economy and Labor Market,” International Labor Review 141, 1 (Spring 2002): 31-55 [ASAP]. |
| Oct 25 |
Saudi Arabia |
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READING: Aarts & Nooneman, Section III: Regime and Opposition, & Conclusions and Outlook. |
| Oct 30 |
Ethnic and religious minorities |
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READING: Start reading Noah Efron, Real Jews. |
| Nov 1 |
Israel |
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READING: Continue Efron. |
| Nov 6 |
Palestinians |
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READING: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, pp. 140 – 217. |
| Nov 8 |
Discussion: Israeli and Palestinian society |
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READING: You should have completed Efron and Khalidi. |
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| NOV 9, 2PM – SOCIAL GROUP PAPER DUE |
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| Nov 13 |
Lebanon – the fractured mosaic |
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READING: Oren Barak, “‘Don’t Mention the War?’ The Politics of Remembrance and Forgetfulness in Postwar Lebanon,” Middle East Journal 61, 1 (Winter 2007): 49-70 [ASAP]; Oussmana Safa, “Getting to Democracy: Lebanon Springs Forward,” Journal of Democracy 17, 1 (January 2006): 22-37 [MUSE]; Bryan Early, “Larger Than a Party, Yet Smaller Than a State: Locating Hizbollah’s Place Within Lebanon’s State and Society,” World Affairs 168, 3 (Winter 20060: 115-129 [ASAP]. |
| Nov 15 |
The Kurds in Iraq and Turkey |
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READING: Mango, pp. 207 – 231; Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Great Terror,” New Yorker 78, 5 (March 25, 2002): 52-76 [ASAP]; Henri Barkey & Ellen Laipson, “Iraqi Kurds and Iraq’s Future,” Middle East Policy 12, 4 (Winter 2005): 66-77 [ASAP]. |
| Nov 20 |
The position of women |
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READING: Louay Bahry & Phebe Marr, “Qatari Women: A New Generation of Leaders?,” Middle East Policy 12, 2 (Summer 2005): 104-119 [ASAP]; Nikki Keddie, “Iranian Women’s Status and Struggles Since 1979,” Journal of International Affairs 60, 2 (Spring/Summer 2007): 17-33 [ASAP]; Lucy Brown and David Romano, “Women in Post-Saddam Iraq: One Step Forward or Two Steps Back?,” NWSA Journal 18, 3 (Fall 2006): 51-70 [ELITE]. |
| Nov 22 |
NO CLASS – Happy Thanksgiving! |
| Nov 27 |
Civil society |
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READING: Posusney, Authoritarianism in the Middle East, Chapter 9; Stefanie Eileen Nanes, “Fighting Honor Crimes: Evidence of Civil Society in Jordan,” Middle East Journal 57, 1 (Winter 2003): 112-129 [ASAP]; Diane Singerman, “Restoring the Family to Civil Society: Lessons From Egypt,” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies 2, 1 (Winter 2006): 1-33 [ASAP]; Marc Lynch, “Beyond the Arab Street: Iraq and the Arab Public Sphere,” Politics and Society 31, 1 (March 2003): 55-91 [available on his home page, Williams College]. |
Nov 29,
Dec 4, 6 |
Prospects for democratization – presentations and debate |
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READING FOR NOV 29: Mark Tessler & Eleanor Gao, “Gauging Arab Support for Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 16, 3 (July 2005): 83-97 [MUSE]; Adeed Dawisha and Larry Diamond, “Iraq’s Year of Voting Dangerously,” Journal of Democracy 17, 2 (April 2006): 89-103 [MUSE]; Andrew Reynolds, “The Curious Case of Afghanistan,” Journal of Democracy 17, 2 (April 2006): 104-117 [MUSE]. |
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| DEC 7, 2pm – DEMOCRATIZATION PAPER DUE |
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| Dec 11 |
Presentations - semester evaluations/wrap-up |
MAP QUIZ – SEPT 4 - Please know the following countries and the listed places:
| Iran |
Iraq |
Turkey |
Azerbaijan |
Armenia |
Georgia |
| Uzbekistan |
Turkmenistan |
Kuwait |
Kazakhstan |
Syria |
Bahrain |
| Saudi Arabia |
Black Sea |
Oman |
Caspian Sea |
Qatar |
Egypt |
| Sudan |
Bosphorus Strait |
Israel |
Persian Gulf |
Lebanon |
Yemen |
| West Bank |
Strait of Hormuz |
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Shatt al-Arab |
United Arab Emirates |
| Kyrgyzstan |
Tajikistan |
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