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The American University in Cairo
Political Science 4605-02
International Relations in the Middle East
Fall 2015
Monday and Thursday 11:30-12:50
Dr. Gamal A. Gawad Soltan
Office Hours: Monday and Thursday 10:00-11:00
Wednesday 1:30-3:00
And By Appointment
Office: HUSS 2036
Email: gsoltan@aucegypt.edu
Course Description
This course is designed to cover major aspects of interstate relations of
the Middle East. These include the policies of major international actors
towards the region, the relations between Middle East countries
themselves and their policies towards the outside world. Different
theories and approaches will be applied and tested towards this purpose.
The rational behind this class is to develop an overall organizing
perspective that can help explain international politics in and regarding
the Middle East. The nature of this course requires continuous movement
back and forth between theory and reality, history and current affairs. As
both a political science and area study course, theories here are not
presented in isolation of the actual regional and international realities.
Textbook
One book is used as a textbook in this class.
Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle East, 2003
The full text of this book is available on line through the AUC library.
Additional readings will be placed on reserve or posted on blackboard.
Course Requirements and Student Evaluation
Attendance policy: attendance is integral part of the course. A student
who misses more than the equivalent of three weeks of class meetings
during a semester for any reason may be assigned a reduced grade for the
course — including the grade of “F” — solely on the basis of inadequate
attendance, regardless of excuse. Students who observe the attendance
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rules, including the additional Saturdays, will be rewarded a maximum of
10% of the total grade.
Participation: Students are expected and encouraged to participate in
class discussions. Ten percent (10%) of the total grade is assigned for
class participation and presentations.
Reaction paper: Each other week, each student should submit a reaction
paper to the assigned readings for that week. Reaction paper should be
submitted at the beginning of the respective class period. Late submission
of reaction papers is categorically NOT ACCEPTED. Students are to be
assigned to two lists, students of each list should submit their reaction
papers each other week. Each reaction paper worth 4% of the total grade.
20% of the total grade is assigned to this exercise. To win the full credit
allocated to this exercise, the student should submit 5 reaction papers.
Additional reaction papers submitted will be granted extra credit.
Final Exam: A comprehensive take-home exam of three questions.
Questions will be given to students in the last day of classes. Both hard
and soft copies of the answers should be submitted no later than noon
time on the scheduled final's day, whatever that is. The final exam is
worth 25% of the total grade.
Term paper: Students are expected to turn in one term paper of 4,000
words, including the literature review. Students should submit a proposal
for their term papers in due time. The paper proposal is worth 5% of the
total grade. Students will be required to present their proposals in class so
that they can receive feed-back from both the instructor and their
colleagues. Students are also required to submit a review of the literature
relevant to their topic. 5% of the total grade is allocated for this
assignment. Guidelines towards developing the term paper will be
provided in proper time. The final term paper is worth 10% of the total
grade.
Book Review: Each student is expected to submit a book review for a
relevant book. Below you find a tentative list of books to choose from.
Books that are not included in the list are welcomed after the approval of
the instructor. Guidelines towards developing the book review will be
provided in proper time. This exercise is worth 15% of the total grade.
List of the suggested books
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1. Bassam Tibi, Arab nationalism : between Islam and the
nation-state
2. Bassel F. Salloukh, Rex Brynen (eds.), Persistent
permeability? : regionalism, localism, and globalization in
the Middle East
3. Fawaz Gerges, Obama and the Middle East: The End of the America’s
Moment.
4. Carl Brown (ed.), Diplomacy in the Middle East : the
international relations of regional and outside powers
5. Curtis F. Jones, Divide and perish : the geopolitics of the
Middle East
6. Robert Bowker, Egypt and the politics of change in the
Arab Middle East
7. Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Globalization and geopolitics in
the Middle East : old games, new rules
8. M. Parvizi Amineh (ed.), The Greater Middle East in global
politics : social science perspectives on the changing
geography of the world politics
9. Jerome Donovan, The Iran-Iraq War : antecedents and
conflict escalation
10.Sami Zubaida, Islam, the people and the state : essays on
political ideas and movements in the Middle East
11.Katerina Dalacoura, Islamist terrorism and democracy in
the Middle East
12.Nader Entessar, Kurdish politics in the Middle East
13.Gwynne Dyer, The mess they made : the Middle East after
Iraq
14.Stephan Stetter, World society and the Middle East :
reconstructions in regional politics
15.Malcolm H. Kerr, The Arab cold war : Gamal ʼAbd al-Nasir
and his rivals, 1958-1970
16.Youssef M. Choueiri, Arab nationalism-- a history : nation
and state in the Arab world
17.Adeed Dawisha, Arab nationalism in the twentieth century
: from triumph to despair
Points in this class are distributed as the following
Attendance
10%
Class participation and presentations
10%
Reaction papers
20%
Term paper proposal
5%
Literature review
5%
Final Term paper
10%
Book Review
15%
Final Exam
25%
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The following is the grading scheme in this class
D
50-59%
C
60-74%
B
75-89%
A
90-100%
Topics and Readings
Week 1 (Week of September 6th)
Introduction
Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle East, Ch.
1.
Week 2 (week of September 13th)
The emergence of modern states in the Middle East
Readings:
1. William C. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, Ch. 4:
"Forging a new synthesis: The pattern of reforms, 1789-1849", pp. 57-80
(Reserve)
2. Eugene L. Rogan, The emergence of the Middle East into the modern State
System, in Louise Fawcett (ed.), International Relations of the Middle East
(Reserve)
Week 3 (week of September 20st)
The Ideological Landscape of the Middle East
1. Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939, Ch. 4: The
first generation, pp. 67-102 (Reserve)
2. Raymond Hinnebusch, The politics of identity in the Middle East international
relations, in Louise Fawcett, International Relations of the Middle East
(Reserve)
3. Peter Mandaville, Islam and International Relations in the Middle East, Ch. 8
in Louise Fawcett International Relations of the Middle East (Reserve)
4. Anna Seleny, Tradition, Modernity, and Democracy: The Many Promises of Islam,
Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Sep., 2006), pp. 481-494. (Blackboard)
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Week 4 (week of September 27th)
The Regional System of the Middle East I
1. Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle
East, Ch. 3.
2. Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle
East, Ch.4.
3. Michael N. Barnett, Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Regional Order in the
Arab States System, International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3. (Summer,
1995), pp. 479-510. (Blackboard)
Week 5 (week of October 4th)
The Regional System of the Middle East II
1. Paul Nobel, From Arab System to Middle Eastern System? Regional
pressures and constraints, in Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hilal Dessouki
(eds.), The Foreign Policy of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization,
pp. 67-165 (Reserve)
2. Marina Ottaway, The New Middle East, Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, 2008. (Blackboard)
3. Elizabeth Monier, The Arabness of Middle East regionalism: the Arab
Spring and competition for discursive hegemony between Egypt, Iran and
Turkey. Contemporary Politics, 2014 Vol. 20, No. 4, 421–434.
(Blackboard)
Week 6 (week of October 11th)
Thursday October 15 is the deadline for turning in term paper proposal
The Impact of the International System on the Middle East
Readings:
1. Raymond Hinnebusch, The Middle East regional system, Ch. 2 in
Hinnebusch and Ehteshami (ed.), The Foreign Policy of Middle East
States pp. 29-53. (Reserve)
2. Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle East,
Ch. 2.
3. Peter Sluglett, The Cold War in the Middle East,Ch. 2 in Louise Fawcett
(Reserve),
4. Raymond Hinnebusch, Globalization, democratization, and the Arab
uprising: the international factor in MENA’s failed democratization.
Democratization 2015, pp. 335-357.
Week 7 (week of October 18th)
The Arab Israeli Conflict I
1. Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle East,
Ch. 5.
2. Charles Smith, The Arab-Israeli conflict, Ch. 11 in Fawcett (Reserve)
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3. Avi Shlaim, The rise and fall of the Oslo peace process, Ch. 12. in Fawcett
(Reserve)
4. Clive Jones, The foreign policy of Israel, Ch. 6 in Hinnebusch and
Ehteshami (ed.) The Foreign Policy of Middle East States (pp. 115-140)
(Reserve)
5. Meir Litvak, The Islamization of the Arab Israeli Conflict: The case of
Hamas, Middle Eastern Studies, vol 34 (1998) , pp. 148-163 (Blackboard)
Week 8 (week of October 25th)
The Arab Israeli Conflict II
1. Janice Gross Stein, War and Security in the Middle East, Ch. 10. in
Fawcett (Reserve)
2. Basel S. Sallough, The Foreign policy of the impossible: The Foregin
Policy of Lebanon, in Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hilal Dessouki (eds.),
The Foreign Policy of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization, pp.
283-318 (Reserve)
3. Hazem Kandil, The Challenge of Restructuring: Syrian Foreign Policy, in
Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hilal Dessouki (eds.), The Foreign Policy of
Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization, pp. 421-456. (Reserve)
4. Raymond Hinnebusch, The foreign policy of Syria, Ch. 7 in Hinnebusch
and Ehteshami (ed.) (pp. 141-166) (Reserve)
Week 9 (week of November 1st)
Thursday November 5 is the deadline for turning in the book review
Oil and The Gulf I
1. Giacomo Luciani, Oil and political economy in the international relations of
the Middle East, Ch. 4 in Fawcett (Reserve)
2. Charles Tripp, The foreigh policy of Iraq, Ch. 8 in Hinnebusch and
Ehteshami (ed.) (Reserve)
3. F. Gregory Cause III, The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia, Ch. 9 in
Hinnebusch and Ehteshami (ed.), (Reserve)
4. Anoushiravn Ehteshami, The foreign policy of Iran, Ch. 13 in Hinnebusch
and Ehteshami (ed.) (pp. 283-310) (Reserve)
5. Kayhan Barzegar, Iran's Foreign Policy in Post-Invasion Iraq, Middle East
Policy, 2008. (Blackboard)
Week 10 (week of November 8th)
Oil and The Gulf II
1. F. Gregory Cause, III, The International Politics of the Gulf, Ch. 13 in
Fawcett (Reserve)
2. Juan Cole, A "Shiite Crescent"? The regional impact of the Iraq war,
Current History, vol. 105, no. 687 (2006) pp. 20-26 (Blackboard)
3. Abdul-Monem al-Mashat, Politics of Constructive Engagement: The
Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates, in Bahgat Korany and Ali E.
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Hilal Dessouki (eds.), The Foreign Policy of Arab States: The Challenge
of Globalization, pp. 457-480 (Reserve)
4. Raymond Hinnebusch, International Relations of the Middle East, Ch. 7.
5. Benedetta Berti and Yoel Guzansky, Gulf Monarchies in a Changing
Middle East: Is Spring Far Behind? Orbis, November 1014.
Week 11 (week of November 15th)
Thursday November 19 is the deadline for turning in the literature review
The US Policy in the Middle East I
1. Michael C. Hudson. The United States in the Middle East, Ch. 15 in Fawcett
(ed.)
2. Bruce R. Kuniholm, Retrospect and Prospects: Forty Years of US Middle East
Policy, Middle East Journal, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Winter, 1987), pp. 7-25. (Blackboard)
3. John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt, The Israel Lobby And U.S. Foreign
Policy, Middle East Policy, VOL. XIII, NO. 3, FALL 2006 (Blackboard)
4. Raymond Hinnebusch, The US invasion of Iraq: Explanations and
implications, Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 16, no. 3 (2007)
pp. 209-228 (Blackboard)
Week 12 (week of November 22nd)
The US Policy in the Middle East II
1. Philip Robins, The War of Regime Change in Iraq, Ch. 14 in Fawcett (ed.)
2. Augustus Richard Norton, The Puzzle of Political Reform in the Middle East,
3.
4.
5.
6.
Ch. 6 in Fawcett (ed.)
Katerina Dalacoura, US Democracy promotion in the Arab Middle East
since 9/11: A Critique, International Affairs, 2005. (Blackboard)
Thomas Carothers, U.S. Democracy Promotion During and After Bush,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2007. (Blackboard)
Robert J. Pranger, The Arab Spring: America's Search for Relevancy,
Mediterranean Quarterly, Volume 22, Number 4, Fall 2011, pp. 20-35
(Blackboard)
Daniel S. Morey et. al., Leader, Follower, or Spectator? The Role of
President Obama in the Arab Spring Uprisings, SOCIAL SCIENCE
QUARTERLY, Volume 93, Number 5, December 2012 (Blackboard)
Week 13 (week of November 29th)
The EU Policy in the Middle East and North Africa
1. Rosemary Hollis, Europe in the Middle East, Ch. 16 in Fawcett (ed.)
2. Volker Perthes, Points of Differences, Cases for Cooperation: European
Critiques of US Middle East Policy, Middle East Report, No. 208 (Autumn
1998), pp. 30-32. (Blackboard)
3. Volker Perthes, Europe and the Arab Spring, Survival | vol. 53 no. 6 |
December 2011–January 2012, pp. 73–84 (Blackboard)
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4. Roland Freudenstein, The Arab Spring: what’s in it for us? European View
(2011) 10:67–72 (Blackboard)
5. Jennifer Ruzenblum and William Zartman, The far West of the Near East:
The foreign policy of Morocco, in Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hilal Dessouki
(eds.), The Foreign Policy of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization, pp.
319-342 (Reserve)
6. Emma C. Murphy, The foreign policy of Tunisia, Ch. 11 in Hinnebusch and
Ehteshami (ed.) (pp. 235-256) (Reserve)
Week 14 (week of December 6th)
Thursday December 10 is the deadline for turning in the term paper
Turkey and the Way Ahead
Readings:
1. Philip Robins, The foreign policy of Turkey, Ch. 14 in Hinnebusch and
Ehteshami (ed.) (pp. 311-334) (Reserve)
2. Stephen Larrabee, Turkey Rediscovers the Middle East, Foreign Affairs,
Jul/Aug2007. (Blackboard)
3. Tarik Oguzlu, Turkey and Europeanization of Foreign Policy?, Political Science
Quarterly Volume 125 Number 4 2010-11 (Blackboard)
4. Tarik Oğuzlu, Middle Easternization of Turkey’s Foreign Policy: Does
Turkey Dissociate from the West? Turkish Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1, 3–20, March
2008 (Blackboard)
5. Yasar Yakis, Turkey after the Arab Spring: Policy Dilemma, 2014
(Blackboard)
Week 15 (week of December 13th)
Summing-up and the Way Ahead
1. Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki, Conclusion: Foreign Policy,
Globalization and the Arab Dilemama of Change, in Bahgat Korany and Ali E.
Hilal Dessouki (eds.), The Foreign Policy of Arab States: The Challenge of
Globalization, pp. 481-492 (Reserve)
2. Clement Henry, The Clash of Globalization in the Middle East, Ch. 5 in
Fawcett (ed.)
3. Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Conclusion: Patterns
of policy, Ch. 15 in Hinnebusch and Ehteshami (ed.) (pp. 335-350)
(Reserve)
4. F. Gregory Gause, III, and Ian S. Lustick, America and the Regional Powers
in a Transforming Middle East, Middle East Policy, 2012 (Blackboard)