Comparative Politics of the Middle East
POLS 3408
Dr. Nadine Sika
Fall 2016
MT 11:30- 12:45
Class venue: C145
Email: nadinesika@aucegypt.edu
Office: HUSS 2008, Extension 1953
Office Hours: Monday: 10:00-11:00; Thursday: 1:00– 2:30 p.m or by
appointment
Course Description
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of contemporary
politics of the Middle East. The course seeks to address and answer major
questions concerning state-society relations in the region. What is the historical
origin shaping the socio-political and economic structures of the region? What
are the major trends that shape politics in the region? What are the origins of
the Arab Israeli conflict, and how far does it affect Arab politics today? What is
the role of Political Islam in shaping politics of the Arab world? How does the
political economy in the region affect the dynamics of authoritarianism and
regime change? How do Arab states treat the problem of ethnic and religious
minorities? Through addressing these questions, the course seeks to introduce
students to the most important issues shaping the politics of the Arab world
today.
Grading
Attendance and Participation
15%
2 Midterm Examinations
25% (each)
In Class Presentation
10%
Country Report
25%
1
Midterm Dates
Midterm 1: October 20
Midterm 2: November 21
Letter
Grade
A
AB+
B
Percentage
93+
90-92
87-89
83-86
Letter
Grade
BC+
C
C-
Percentage
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
Letter
Grade
D+
D
F
Percentage
67-69
60-66
Below 60
Please refer to the University academic integrity policy concerning academic
dishonesty, which includes, but is not limited to: Plagiarism; receipt of
information during an examination; use of unauthorized material during an
examination; transferal of unauthorized information to another student; and
submission of the same paper or substantially the same paper for two different
courses. http://www.aucegypt.edu/resources/acadintegrity
Readings
All Readings will be posted on Blackboard
Attendance and Participation 15%
Students are expected to actively participate in class through reading the material
before class. More than six absences result in an “F”.
Midterm Examinations 25% each
The exams will be composed of short essays and one large essay question. You are
requested to have be very analytical in your essay questions
In-Class Presentation 10%
Each student is expected to be part of a group of three (or 4 depending on class size),
who conduct a joint 30-minute presentation on a Middle Eastern country, covering
three of the major themes which we discuss during the first half of the semester.
Country Report 25%
A 10 page report (12 Times New Roman/double spaced) about the country presented
in class should be handed in to the professor on the day of your presentation.
2
Course Outline
Week 1
September 1
Introduction to the course
Week 2
September 5 – 8 (September 5 Class cancelled)
The Emergence of the Modern Middle East
Roger Owen, State Power and Politics (London: Routledge, 1992), chapter 1 “The
End of Empires: The emergence of the modern Middle East.”
Roger Owen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Dictators (Boston: Harvard University Press,
2013), chapter 1 “the Search for Sovereignty in an insecure World.”
Week 3 September 12 – 15 ( September 15 Eid Adha Vacation)
State Building in Arab Republics
Owen, State Power and Politics Chapter 2 “The growth of state power in the Arab
world: The single party regimes”
Owen, Arab Presidents for Life Chapter 4 “Centralized State Systems”
Week 4 September 19-22
State Building in Arab Monarchies
Owen, State Power and Politics Chapter 3 “The growth of state power in the Arab
world under family rule”
Anderson, Lisa. “Absolutism and the Resilience of Monarchy in the Middle East.”
Political Science Quarterly. Spring 1991.
Lucas, Russel. “Monarchical Authoritarianism.” International Journal of Middle
East Studies 36 (2004): 103-119.
Week 5
September 26 – 29
3
State Building in Turkey, Iran and Israel
Owen, State Power and Politics chapter 5 “State and politics in Israel, Iran and
Turkey”
Mehran Kamrava, Political History of the Modern Middle East chapter 5 “The
Iranian Revolution”
Week 6 October 3 – 6 (Holiday Islamic New Year and Armed forces day)
Week 7 October 10 - 13
Political Economy
Richards et.al. A political Economy of the Middle East 3rd ed. (Westview Press,
2013), pp. 228-263.
Springborg “The precarious Economies of the Arab Springs” Survival 53 (December
2011), 85-104.
Week 8 October 17 – 20
Midterm 1 (October 20)
Political Islam
Quinn Mecham, “Islamist Movements,” in Marc Lynch ed, The Arab Uprisings
Explained,” (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014).
Assaad Ghanem and Mohanad Mustafa (2014). “Explaining Political Islam,” British
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 41 (4), pp. 335-354.
Week 9
October 24 - 27
Political Islam and Sectarianism
Camille Tawil, “Al-Qaeda in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia: Jihadists and
Franchises,” in Khaled Horoub Political Islam (London: Saqi, 2012), pp. 363 – 392.
Danial Byman, “Sectarianism Afflicts the New Middle East,” Survivial 56, no. 1
(2014), pp. 79-100
Julie Peteet, “Question: How Useful Has the Concept of Sectarianism been for
understanding the Hisotry, Society and Politics in the Middle East?” International
Journal of Middle East Studies 40, no. 4 (2008), pp. 550-552
Week 10
October 31 - November 3
4
Civil Society
Al-Sayyid, Mustapha. “The Concept of Civil Society in the Arab World.” In Rex
Brynen, Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble eds. Political Liberalization and
Democratization in the Arab World. Vol. 1. Theoretical Perspectives. Lynne Rienner,
1995: 131-147.
Eberhard Kienle, “Civil Society in the Middle East,” in Oxford Handbook of Civil
Society
Week 11 November 7 – 10
Regional and Civil Wars in the Region
Mehran Kamrava, Political History of the Modern Middle East Chapter 7 “The
Palestinian Israeli Conflict”
POMEPS studies, “The Political Science of Syria’s War,” pp. 8-18; 26-30; 54-65.
Week 12
November 14 – 17
Authoritarianism and the Arab Spring
Albrecht and Schlumberger, “Waiting for Godot: Regime Change without
Democratization in the Middle East,” International Political Science Review vol. 25,
no. 4 (2004), pp. 371-392.
Robert Springborg, “Arab Militaries,” in Marc Lynch ed. The Arab Uprisings
Explained
Joe Stork, “Three Decades of Human Rights Activism in the Middle East and North
Africa: An Ambiguous Balance Sheet,” in Joel Beinin and Frederic Vairel, Social
Movements, Mobilization, and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa
(Stanfod: Stanford Univrsity Press, 2013).
Week 13
November 21 – 24 (Thanksgiving holiday November 24)
Midterm Examination 2 (November 21)
Week 14 November 28 – December 1
Student Presentations
Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya
Week 15
December 5 - 8
Student Presentations
Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon
5
Week 16
December 12 – 15 ( El Mawled el Nabawi Holiday)
Student Presentations
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain and Turkey
6