Comparative Politics of the Middle East
POLS 3408
Spring 2019
Class time: MT 11:30- 12:45
Class venue: WALEED C145
Instructor
Dr. Nadine Sika
Email: nadinesika@aucegypt.edu
Office: HUSS 2022, Extension 1906
Office Hours: Mondays 2:00 p.m – 4:00 p.m or by appointment
Course Description
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of contemporary politics
of the Middle East. It seeks to address and answer major questions concerning statesociety 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 Middle East
today.
Grading
In Class Participation
1 Midterm Examination
Quizzes
In Class Presentation
In-Class Simulation
Extended Essay
10%
30%
10%
10%
15 %
25%
Important Dates
Midterm 1: March 4
In-Class Simulation: May 13 - 16
Final Essay: On the day of your presentation
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
In-Class Participation 10%
Students are expected to actively participate in class through reading the material
before class. More than six absences result in an “F”.
Quizzes 10%
Pop-quizzes will be held during the semester. These will be based on the week
readings. Depending on the number of Quizzes (either 4 or five) I will grade the best
3 out of four, or four out of five.
Midterm Examination 30%
The exam will be composed of short essays. It is based on the course readings in
addition to the class discussions. You are requested to 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 major issues which we discuss during the semester.
Extended Essay 25%
An extended essay of 10 pages (12 Times New Roman/double spaced, 2000-2500
words) is required for this course. The essay will be on the topic and country that
each student presents during their in-class presentation. The extended essay has to be
handed in on the second class after the student’s presentation.
In-Class Simulation 15% (position paper 5% of the grade)
In an effort to help students understand the causes of ethnic conflicts, civil wars and
the difficulties of building consensus in ethnically divided and conflict ridden
societies in the region, students will work together as delegates at a peace-talks
conference for ending the Syrian civil war. On the first day of the simulation each
student will present a position paper (3-5 pages) on what their political position is
regarding the peace process.
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Course Outline
Week 1
January 31
Introduction to the course
Week 2
February 4 - 7
State Building
Owen, State Power and Politics Chapter 2 “The growth of state power in the Arab
world: The single party regimes”
Michael Gasper, “The Making of the Modern Middle East: States, Nations and
Debates about the Way Forward,” in Ellen Lust ed. The Middle East 14th ed.
(Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2017), p. 256 – 309.
Week 3 February 11 – 14
State-building and Regime types
Ellen Lust, “Institutions and Governance” in in Ellen Lust ed. The Middle East 14th
ed. (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2017), p. 669 – 783.
Mehran Kamrava, Political History of the Modern Middle East chapter 5 “The Iranian
Revolution”
Week 4 February 18 - 21
Institutions and Governance
Ellen Lust, “Institutions and Governance,” in Ellen Lust ed. The Middle East 14th ed.
(Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2017), p. 784 – 827.
Week 5
February 25 - 28
Political Economy
Robert Springborg, “Globalization and its Discontents in the MENA region” Middle
East Policy vol. 23, no. 2 (Summer 2016), p. 146-160.
Koenraad Bogaert, “Contextualizing the Arab Revolts: The Politics behind three
decades of Neoliberalism in the Arab World,” Middle East Critique vol. 22, no. 3
(2013): 213-234.
Week 6 March 4 - 7
Midterm 1 (March 4)
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Political Islam
Quinn Mecham, “Islamist Movements,” in Marc Lynch ed, The Arab Uprisings
Explained,” (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014).
Nathan Brown, “Islamist Parties and Arab Political Systems as they Are,” in When
Victory is not an Option (Cornell University Press, 2012).
Week 7 March 11 – 14
Sectarianism
Danial Byman, “Sectarianism Afflicts the New Middle East,” Survival 56, no. 1
(2014), pp. 79-100
Tareq Ismail, “Unravelling of the uncivil state: Iraq and the imposition of sectarian
governance,” International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies vol. 9, no. 2
(2015), pp. 121-137.
Week 8 March 18 - 21
Student Presentations:
• Saudi Arabia (Political Economy; Political Islam; Minorities)
• Lebanon (Political Economy; Political Islam; Minorities)
• Iran (Political Economy; Political Islam; Minorities)
Week 9
March 25 – 28
Civil Society
Anders Härdig, “Beyond the Arab Revolts: Conceptualizing Civil Society in the
Middle East and North Africa,” Democratization vol. 22, no. 6 (2015): 1131-1153.
Jessica Doyle, “Civil Society as Ideology in the Middle East: A Critical Perspective,”
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies vol. 43, no. 3 (2016), p. 403-422.
Week 10
April 1 – 4
Civil-Military Relations
Mohamed Abdel Salam, “The Military and the developments in its role in the Arab
World,” in ,” in Developments in Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East, eds.
Carsten Jensen (Copenhagen, Royal Danish Defence College, 2008) p. 65-73.
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Sertif Demir & Oktay Bingöl, “From military tutelage to civilian control: an analysis
of the evolution of Turkish civil–military relations,” British Journal of Middle
Eastern Studies (2018) DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2018.1491291
Week 11 April 8 - 11
Wars
Michael Gasper, “The Making of the Modern Middle East: The June 1967 War and
the End of Nasserism” in Ellen Lust ed. The Middle East 14th ed. (Thousand Oaks:
Sage, 2017), p. 311- 344.
Student Presentations
• Tunisia (civil-military relations, civil society)
• Turkey (civil-military relations, Political Islam)
Week 12
April 15 – 18
Student Presentations:
• Israel (Wars, civil-military relations)
• Palestine (Intifada, civil society)
• Iraq (Wars, sectarianism)
• Yemen (Political Economy, wars)
Spring Break April 21 – May 1
Week 13
May 2
Gender Politics in the Region
Kristin Monroe, “Space, Society, and Self: New Generations and Urban Life in the
Middle east,” Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies vol. 12, no. 3 (2016), pp. 411415
Week 14
May 6 - 9
The Arab “Spring”
Muriel Asseburg and Haiko Wimmen, “Dynamics of transformation, elite change and
new social mobilization in the Arab World,” Mediterranean Politics vol. 21, no. 1
(2015): 1-22
Steven Heydemann, “Explaining the Arab Uprisings: transformations in Comparative
Perspective,” Mediterranean Politics vol. 21, no. 1 (2015): 192-204.
Student Presentations
• Morocco (civil society; gender politics)
• Libya (state building; civil war)
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Week 15
Mary 13 – 16
In-class simulation
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