Middle East Politics
Eastern Michigan University
Fall 2015
Political Science 371
T/Th 9:30-10:45 a.m., 419 Pray-Harrold
Professor Ebrahim K. Soltani
602E Pray-Harrold
ekhalife@emich.edu
Office Hours: T/Th 8:30-9:30 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Course Description
Few regions of the world approach the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) for the
richness of its past, the turmoil of its present, and the uncertainty of its future. This course
provides analytical tools to critically reflect on this turmoil/uncertainty and, accordingly,
examines some of the most important contemporary sociopolitical struggles in the Middle
East: The rise of political Islam, the Iranian Islamic Revolution, the Arab Spring, and the
Arab-Israeli Conflict. This course, also, explores the struggles of multiple social
movements and non-movements to shed light on the politics of change in the Middle
East. During the course of this semester, we will closely examine politics of several
MENA countries.
Course Requirements
Attendance: You are expected to attend each class and arrive on time. Attendance is
essential for success in this class and is mandatory. Lectures will critically reinforce and
supplement readings. I take attendance at the beginning of each class. If you miss a class
session, then your final grade will be penalized. However, this penalty will be waived, if
you write an adequate one page response to the assigned reading for the class session you
missed and submit this response by the next class session.
Please take note of these policies:
 Turn off your Cell Phones. The professor reserves the right to ask students whose
cell phones ring or who are texting to leave the class.
 Laptops may only be used in class for note taking.
 The professor reserves the right to not admit students coming late to the class.
Participation: You are expected to read all of the materials assigned for this course. I
intend to devote a significant portion of class time to discussing the assigned texts, and
expect active participation from all students. This includes listening carefully to other
students when they are speaking.
Quiz: You will be given blank maps of the Middle East and asked to identify countries,
capitals, and oceans/waterways. This quiz will be on September 10.
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Mid-term Exam: There will be an in-class midterm exam on October 20.
Group Presentation: In order to deepen your knowledge of specific countries, you will
work in groups of 3-4 students to prepare and deliver a short (20-25 minutes) presentation
that explores one of the course key concepts within the context of one specific country.
The subject of the presentation should be first cleared in discussion with the instructor.
The presentations will be given between November 10 and December 3.
Research Paper: You are expected to write a 5-7 pages (2000-2800 words) paper. The
choice of subject for the paper should be first cleared in individual discussions with the
instructor. You need to provide a one-page outline of your paper by November 10. The
outline should contain a title, the main argument/finding, and a preliminary bibliography.
The paper is due on December 10. Further guidelines on how to write the papers will be
provided in class.
Final Exam: You will have a final exam on December 17 (Time: 7:30-9:00 a.m.).

Late work will be reduced one letter grade per day, and missed exams or quizzes
will receive a zero, unless there is a legitimate documented excuse. It is your
responsibility to notify me before the assignment due date or scheduled date of
the exam.
Grading Criteria
Assignment
Attendance
Participation
Quiz
Midterm Exam
One Page Paper Outline
Group Presentation
Research Paper
Final Exam
When
All the time
All the time
September 10
October 20
November 10
Nov 10-Dec 3
December 10
December 17
Percentage
8%
10%
2%
20%
---10%
25%
25%
Required Texts
It is essential that you complete all assigned readings before the class period for which
they are assigned. The two required texts for the course are listed below and are available
at any of the bookstores that serve the EMU campus, or through online booksellers:
1. The Contemporary Middle East: A Westview Reader, Edited by Karl Yambert, Third
Edition, 2013, Westview Press.
FREE e-book version: http://portal.emich.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=1259004
2. The Middle East, Ellen Lust, Thirteenth Edition, 2014, CQ Press.
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All of the non-textbook readings listed under class assignments are available online and
have been uploaded to the course shell: https://canvas.emich.edu, which you can
download and print.
In addition to reading assignments, you will be expected to follow developments in the
Middle East. Thus, everyone is encouraged to visit the following dedicated Middle East
pages:
Al-Jazeera English: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/default.stm
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/middleeast/index.html
Foreign Policy: http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/
Academic Dishonesty
The EMU Code of Student Conduct forbids plagiarism. Students should be familiar with
the Code: http://www.emich.edu/policies/policy.php?id=124. Any assignment that is
plagiarized will receive a score of zero, and may be referred to the EMU Office of
Student Conduct. Similarly, cheating on exams is forbidden and will also result in a zero
score on the exam. For more detailed information on what plagiarism is and how to avoid
it, see: http://www.emich.edu/library/help/integratingsources.php
Topics and Assignments
Introduction
T Sep 8
 Syllabus Review
 Politics? The Middle East? Politics of the Middle East?
The Making of the Middle East: Drawing vs. Making States
Th Sep 10
 Map Quiz
 Yambert, chapter 1
 Lust, chapter 1
 Eric Davis, “10 Conceptual Sins in Analyzing Middle East Politics.”
http://new-middle-east.blogspot.com/2009/01/10-conceptual-sins-in-analyzingmiddle.html
Politics of Change in the Middle East
T Sep 15
 Lust, chapters 2, 6
Th Sep 17
 Bayat, chapters 1, 2
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/15229/A.+Bayat++Life+as+Politics.pdf?sequence=1
3
Political Economy of the Middle East
T Sep 22
 Lust, chapter 4
 Yambert, chapters 4, 5
 Ross, Michael. 2001. “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics 53, 3: 325361.
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/exed/sites/ldf/Academic/Ross%20%20Does%20Oil%20Hinder%20Democracy.pdf
International Relations of the Middle East
Th Sep 24
 Lust, chapters 8, 9
 Yambert, chapters 2,3
Islamism, Modernism, and Feminism: Politics of Gender
T Sep 29
 Bayat, Chapter 4
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/15229/A.+Bayat++Life+as+Politics.pdf?sequence=1
 Joseph, Suad. 1996. “Gender and Citizenship in Middle Eastern States”.
http://www.merip.org/mer/mer198/gender-citizenship-middle-eastern-states
 Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” American
Anthropologist: 783-790.
http://org.uib.no/smi/seminars/Pensum/Abu-Lughod.pdf
Islam and Democracy in the Middle East
Th Oct 1
 Lust, chapter 5
T Oct 6
 Moaddel, Mansoor. 2008. “Religious Regimes and Prospects for Liberal Politics:
Futures of Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.”
http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/pdf/rr08-641.pdf
 Moaddel, Mansoor and Julie De Jong. 2013. “Trends in Values among Saudi
Youth: Findings from Values Surveys.”
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_childhood_and_youth/v00
6/6.1.de-jong.pdf
 Tessler, Mark. 2002. "Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of
Religious Orientations on Attitudes toward Democracy in Four Arab Countries.”
http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~spath/351/Readings/Tessler%20%20Islam%20and%20Democracy%20in%20the%20Middle%20East.pdf
Politics of Iran
Th Oct 8
 Lust, chapter 12
4
Islamic Revolution of Iran
T Oct 13
 Yambert, chapters 20, 21, 22
 Kurzman, Charles. 1996. “Structural Opportunity and Perceived Opportunity in
Social-Movement Theory: The Iranian Revolution of 1979,” American
Sociological Review 61: 153-170.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096411
Th Oct 15
 Review Session
T Oct 20
 MID-TERM EXAM
Politics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Th Oct 22
 Lust, chapter 7
 Yambert, chapters 7, 9
T Oct 27
 Yambert, chapters 10, 11
 Said, Edward. 1999. “The One-State Solution: Why the only answer to Middle
East peace is Palestinians and Israelis living as equal citizens under one flag,” The
New York Times, 36-39. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/magazine/the-onestate-solution.html?src=pm&pagewanted=1
 Video: Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the IsraeliPalestinian Conflict, 2007, 80 minutes.
The Logic of Terrorism and Radical Islamism
Th Oct 29
 Yambert, Chapter 26
 Pape, Robert. 2005. “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism.”
https://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/APSRAug03Pape.pdf
 Gause, Gregory. 2005. “Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?” Foreign Affairs 84.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61021/f-gregory-gause-iii/can-democracystop-terrorism
 Video: Dying to Win, 28 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tEsWRXV_BM
The Arab Spring
T Nov3
 Yambert, chapters 27, 30
 Anderson, Lisa. 2011. "Demystifying the Arab Spring," Foreign Affairs 90, 3: pp.
2-7.
http://mist914.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+New+Arab+Revolt.pdf
Institutions and Governance in the MENA
5
Th Nov 5
 Lust, chapter 3
Politics of Egypt
T Nov 10
 Lust, chapter 11
 Yambert, chapters 25, 28
 ONE-PAGE PAPER OUTLINE IS DUE.
Politics of Iraq
Th Nov 12
 Lust, chapter 13
 Yambert, chapters, 16, 17, 18
Politics of Yemen
T Nov 17
 Lust, chapter 26
Politics of Saudi Arabia
Th Nov 19
 Lust, chapter 22
T Nov 24
 NO CLASS (Professor attends AMUN Conference)
Th Nov 26
 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Recess)
Politics of Syria
T Dec 1
 Lust, 23
 Yambert, chapters 13, 29
Politics of Turkey
Th Dec 3
 Lust, chapter 25
Post-Islamist Democracy?
T Dec 8
 Bayat, chapter 15
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/15229/A.+Bayat++Life+as+Politics.pdf?sequence=1
 Yambert, chapter 31
 Hawthorne, Amy. 2004. “Is Civil Society the Answer?”
http://carnegieendowment.org/files/CarnegiePaper44.pdf
Th Dec 10
 Review Session,
 RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE.
Th Dec 17
 FINAL EXAM 7:30-9:00 a.m.
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