Spring 2013 Government and Politics of the Middle East (Pol S 363 Section01)
Meeting time and place
Professor
Office
Contact
Office Hours
9:30 am-10:45 am AH-3177
Farid Abdel-Nour
AH-4118
(619)594-6598, abdelnou@mail.sdsu.edu
Tuesdays 3:30 pm-4:30 pm and Thursday 2:30pm -3:30pm
and by appointment
Course Description
It is not possible to cover the entire Middle East in one semester and allow students to acquire a
feel for its diversity and complex politics. This course deals with the part of the region in which
the populations are largely Arabic-speaking, and does not include the study of the politics of
Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan or Pakistan.
However, the largely Arabic-speaking part of the region is itself very diverse and cannot be
covered in any detail in one semester. For this reason the course is conducted at two levels: a
macro-level that gives students a sweeping sense of the Arab world’s diversity and the shared
political challenges faced by its peoples, and a micro level that allows them to focus in some
detail on two specific emphases. These are: the Arab-Israeli conflict and political change largely
in Egypt. Any attempt to make sense of Arab politics needs to account for the central place that
the Arab-Israeli conflict occupies in it. Thus, we will examine the basic dynamics of that conflict
in some detail. This also allows us to engage larger theoretical questions about the modern state
and national identity.
Egypt, the most populous Arabic-speaking country, is widely recognized as a leader in the
politics and culture of the Arab world. Globally, one out of every four native speakers of Arabic
is an Egyptian. Furthermore, Egypt has taken on added significance since January 25, 2011 when
an eighteen-day-long popular uprising began that succeeded in toppling a President who had been
in office for three decades. The Egyptian uprising was not the first of its kind that year. It was
inspired by the success of the Tunisian uprising in the weeks prior. Yet, all eyes are on Egypt
today as its politics changes at a dizzying pace. Although the dynamics of political change in
Egypt are specific to its context, they help illuminate more broadly some of the possibilities and
obstacles for political change in other contexts in the region.
There can be no understanding of contemporary Arab politics without a study of Arab history.
Therefore this course has a historical focus. We begin in the first section by considering briefly
the history of the region from the rise of Islam through the late eighteenth century (when
Napoleon’s forces landed in Egypt). In the second section, we focus on the nineteenth century
and the first half of the twentieth century in more detail. During that period and under the
influence of European colonialism, the institutions and the vocabulary of modern Arab politics
took shape. Modern states were established at the time and national forms of political
identification began to take root. In these first two sections of the course our view is wide so that
we can get a sense of some of the political questions and challenges that are shared across the
Arab world.
The third section of the course focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The background learned in
the first two sections places that conflict in the context of the establishment of modern states and
the rise of the national form of political identification. Thus it illuminates the conflict as one that
is deeply tied to these two modern political forms. It becomes clear through detailed study that
contrary to popular belief, far from being ancient, this conflict is a quintessentially modern one
that has no meaning outside of modern political categories and structures.
In the fourth section of the course we direct our attention to the political changes taking place in
the Arabic speaking region today, with particular attention on Egypt. We begin by considering
the multifaceted phenomenon of political Islam, and pay particular attention to the Muslim
Brotherhood, one of the most influential political movements in the Arab world and the
intellectual and political home of Muhammad Morsy the recently elected President of Egypt. We
then proceed to gain a sense of the role of the military and the judiciary in the Egyptian state and
the role of neo-liberal economic policies before delving into a detailed analysis of the Egyptian
uprising of 2011, its causes and its consequences. The course ends with a quick glance at the
Syrian uprising and the obstacles that it faces, paying particular attention to the causes of the
trajectory that it took compared to the Egyptian uprising. Because the last section of the course
deals with matters that are in flux, some of the assigned readings will be very new. Therefore the
details of that part of the course will be made available in a revised syllabus to be posted later on
in the semester, as new published materials appear. Students are expected to follow the revised
syllabus once it is posted.
Class Requirements
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Students who miss four or
more classes during the entire semester risk failing the
course.
Punctuality
Our meetings begin at 9:30 AM sharp and do not end
until 10:45 PM. Students who walk in late cause serious
disruption as do students who leave early. As a result
every two late entrances or early
departures will be
counted as one absence.
Class participation
Unannounced reading Quizzes
Short Paper
In-class midterm exam
In-class final exam
10%
10%
15%
30%
35%
Exams
STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE BOOKS, NOTES, PHONES, OR ANY
OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH THEM DURING THE EXAMS. They are also
required to bring one or two blue books to each exam.
Submission of all Out-of-class Written Work
All homework assignments in this course must be submitted electronically via Blackboard’s
Turnitin as well as in hard copy. Assignments not submitted for plagiarism review will not be
accepted.
Blackboard
All students are expected to check Blackboard regularly and to make sure that the e-mail address
with which they are registered on Blackboard remains current. Students are expected to check
their e-mail at least once a day, as course related announcements will be sent via e-mail.
Academic Dishonesty
Cheating and plagiarism are serious crimes. Students who are caught engaging in these activities
will receive an automatic F for the course and will be reported to the appropriate university
authorities.
According to the SDSU Senate “Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas,
words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and
submitting same to the University as one’s own work to fulfill academic requirements without
giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a)
submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b) omitting footnotes for
ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting quotation marks when
quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and
lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another; (e) submitting another person’s artistic works,
such as musical compositions, photographs, paintings, drawings, or sculptures; and (f) submitting
as one’s own work papers purchased from research companies.”(Source:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/senate/policy/pfacademics.html#cheating)
Required Readings
The following books are required:
Eugene Rogan. The Arabs. 2011, New York. Basic Books.
Charles D. Smith. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Eighth Edition. 2012. New
York. Bedford St Martin’s.
There are additional required readings some of which are available on Blackboard at this time.
Others will be listed in the revised syllabus and may need to be purchased later on in the
semester. Students are required to bring either an electronic or hard copy of the day’s assigned
readings with them to class.
SCHEDULE
INTRODUCTION
Thursday January 17
I. Historical Perspectives
THE ARABO-ISLAMIC LEGACY
Tuesday January 22
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples pp. 5-12, 14-37, 46-50, 54-62
[Blackboard]
Thursday January 24
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples pp. 69-71, 75-79, 81-89, 96-97, 141-143
[Blackboard]
William Cleveland and Martin Bunton A History of the Modern Middle East 26-39
[Blackboard]
THE OTTOMAN LEGACY
Tuesday January 29
Rogan 13-32, 39-45 (to middle of page), 48 (from middle of page)-59
II. The Modern State and the Nation
COLONIAL INCURSIONS, THREAT, AND REFORM: BUILDING THE MODERN STATE
Thursday January 31
Rogan 61-76 (to middle of page), 79 (from last two lines of page)-101 (to middle of
page), 105-107
Tuesday February 5
Rogan 109-135, 136 (from bottom of the page)-145 (middle of the page), 147-150
NATIONALISIM
Thursday February 7
Ernest Renan, “What is a Nation?” Trans. M. Thom in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi
Bhabha. Routledge 1990, pp. 8-21. Ernest Gellner, excerpts from Nations and
Nationalism, pp.1-7, 53-58. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities. Verso 1991,
pp. 4-12, 36. [Blackboard]
Tuesday February 12
Smith pp. 1-4, 12-13, 19-33, 47-48, 33-39.
Short paper is due from students whose last name begins K-Z. Papers must be
submitted electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard before the beginning of class.
An Identical hard copy is due to the instructor at the very beginning of class.
WWI AND THE PEACE SETTLEMENT
Thursday February 14
Smith, pp.50-52, 54-56, 58-74, 76-83
Rogan, 163-169, 173-174.
MANDATES AND COLONIAL STATES
Tuesday February 19
Rogan, 175-178 (to middle of page), 183(from very top of page)-196
Smith, pp. 103-105, 107-109, 111-116, 119 (bottom of page)-129
Short paper is due from students whose last name begins A-K. Papers must be
submitted electronically via Turnitin on Blackboard before the beginning of class. An
Identical hard copy is due to the instructor at the very beginning of class.
Thursday February 21
Smith, 129-130, 135-140, 143-147, 163-178, 184-193.
Tuesday February 26
Rogan, 211-246
III. The Arab-Israeli Conflict
INDEPENDENCE AND CATASTROPHE
Thursday February 28
Smith 201-204.
Benny Morris, “The New Historiography: Israel and its Past.” In his 1948 and After:
Israel and the Palestinians. Clarendon Press 1990, 1-34. [Blackboard]
PEAK OF ARAB NATIONALISM
Tuesday March 5
Smith 219-225
Rogan 269-287 [all the way to bottom of page]
Smith 230-232 [up to top two lines only], 234-235, 240 [last three lines]-248
Thursday March 7
Catch-up and review
Tuesday March 12
IN-CLASS MIDTERM EXAM
THE TURNING POINT OF 1967
Thursday March 14
Smith 259-267, 270-274, 279-290, 301-310
WAR, PEACE, CIVIL WAR, AND MORE WAR
Tuesday March 19
Smith 314-331, 346-356, 370-378.
OCCUPATION AND RESISTANCE
Thursday March 21
Smith 359-365, 401-425.
HOPES OF PEACE SHATTERED
Tuesday March 26
Smith 438-460, 486-504.
Thursday March 28
Smith 504-506 (to bottom of page), 511-526, 543-546, 550-553
IV. Political Change in the Arab World
MAKING SENSE OF POLITICAL ISLAM
Tuesday April 9
Rogan 397-410, 423-429, 437-438, 483-495.
Thursday April 11
Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, “The Muslim Brotherhood and Democratic Transition in
Egypt” [Blackboard]
Consult revised syllabus
POPULAR PROTEST AND POLITICAL CHANGE
Tuesday April 16
Consult Revised Syllabus
Thursday April 18
Consult Revised Syllabus
Tuesday April 23
Consult Revised Syllabus
Thursday April 25
Consult Revised Syllabus
Tuesday April 30
Consult Revised Syllabus
Thursday May 2
Consult Revised Syllabus
Tuesday May 7
Catch up and Review
Thursday May 16
IN-CLASS FINAL EXAM 8:00 am
Suggested Sources (alphabetical within each category)
US/ European mainstream news sources
BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east/
The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com
US/European alternative news sources
The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk
The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk
News sources in English based in the Middle East
Alarabiya http://english.alarabiya.net/ (Saudi Arabia)
Aljazeera http://www.aljazeera.com/ (Qatar)
Ahramonline http://english.ahram.org.eg/ (Egypt)
Al-Masry al-Youm http://www.egyptindependent.com/ (Egypt)
Ha’aretz http://www.haaretzdaily.com (Israel)
The Daily Star http://www.dailystar.com.lb (Lebanon)
Human rights groups
Amnesty International http://www.amnestyusa.org/ (UK)
B’Tselem http://www.betselem.org (Israel)
Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/ (US)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/ (Palestine)
Sources with useful expert analysis
Jadaliyya http://www.jadaliyya.com/
Middle East Report http://www.merip.org/
International Crisis Group http://www.crisisgroup.org/
This syllabus will be revised and students are required to follow
the revised syllabus once it becomes available