HIST/POLS 2404-03 – fall 2014
Global Politics in the Twentieth Century
Dr. Tamim Al-Barghouti
Mondays &Thursdays
From 5:00pm to 6:15pm
Office Hours: by appointment
Introduction:
History is a record of your footsteps; at least it can be…at least for now. This can be true for the
students of this class, their families, their friends, their neighbors, their allies and their enemies. For the
past few years the ordinary people of this region have been experiencing a heightened degree of
empowerment; their battles, won or lost, are bigger and the stakes are higher. For better or for worse,
people with no official title, no military ranks, no economic empires, not kings, presidents, or party
leaders, were able to topple regimes, fight wars and conduct foreign policy, transcending, and in some
cases, even replacing the “State”. Wars were fought without armies, security was improvised without
police, social contracts were invented or reasserted without writing constitutions, moral norms
tantamount to laws were produced, unwritten, without parliaments…politics in general was being
practiced more outside the states’ institutions than within them. In some cases this development resulted
in glorious moments, in some other cases in catastrophes, and in most cases someone’s glory was
someone else’s catastrophe and visa-versa. The point is: you are living through a moment where history
is more vulnerable to your intervention than usual. You can find yourself forming events, in the streets, in
your house of worship, or behind your computer screen anytime; you can suddenly become a leader or a
detainee. History, as well as your own life and safety, might depend on your decisions, and your
decisions will depend on your knowledge. Therefore, you need to understand political history; you need
to study the experiences of others. Revolution, counter revolution, peace, war, civil war, stability,
development, religion, sectarianism, secularism, liberation, colonialism, imperialism, occupation, racism,
resistance, are all words you encounter every day in these turbulent times; unless you understand the
history behind these terms, their meaning will be distorted, and so will be the decisions you make about
the issues they bring up. Studying political history is therefore a step toward making it. And while it has
not always been the case that students can make history, this particular period in the history of the region
has shown that people like you are much more powerful than previously thought.
This course is three layered; first we shall be discussing theories of power and international relations,
providing you with a sample of theoretical lenses with which you can choose to study history. Then we
shall be telling the story of global politics in the twentieth century and beyond; the story of German
ascendance, and British and French decline during the first half of the century, the Cold War and the
independence of Third World countries in the second half, and the wars of the United States in the
Middle East during its last decade. Finally, and at the same time as you are studying global history, you
will be required to read a parallel story of the implications of such history on the Arab World, so that the
relevance of the subject to the challenges you might meet quite soon is highlighted.
Course Policy:
 Students are required to take notes and follow class discussions.
 Students are encouraged to discuss their views with their peers and with the instructor. Discussion
in class is as important as elaborating you view on paper.
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AUC’s regulations will apply to academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating.
Students are requested to come to class and hand their work on time. 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 miss fewer than three weeks of class
sessions may not be penalized on the grounds of attendance alone... Students are personally
responsible for making up any academic tasks and assignments missed due to their absence.
Mobiles should be switched off and kept away.
No sound recording or filming of the lectures.
Grading Policy:
Grades are final and non-negotiable and I do not give make-ups or incompletes.
Grades are distributed along the following lines:
 10% Class participation and attendance
 30% Midterm Exam/paper
 30% Assignment & Presentation
 30% Final Exam/paper
Marking Scheme
A
A-
94-100
90-93
B+ 87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
D+ 67-69
D 60-66
C- 70-73
F < 59
On a few occasions, we will need to make up for some classes I will be missing due to prior
commitments; we shall fix alternate times for those.
Reading Material
Students are required to read the assigned chapters and essays before each session and be ready to
critically engage in class discussion. Students are also encouraged to follow local, national and
international political events. BBC documentaries about World War I, World War II, BBC, PBS and AlJazeera documentaries about the Arab Israeli conflict and the wars in Lebanon and Iraq are
recommended. In addition, it is crucial that students understand that this class is meant to cultivate and
encourage free and critical thinking, and students should not be shy or apprehensive to share their views
and opinions in class.
You will find on reserve the text book by Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze. International
History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond. As well as John Keay’s: Sowing the Wind: the
Mismanagement of the Middle East. I have put at the photocopy-center under my name and/or
course number most of the assigned reading that are not covered by this book.
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Schedule and Readings
Lecture 1: Monday 8 Sept: Introduction to the Course.
Lecture 2: Thursday 11 Sept: The Concept of Power, The Concept of Empire.
Michel Foucault: “Pantomticism” from Discipline and Punish, New York: Vintage Books 1995, First
Copy 1977, pp.195-228
Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt. Empire. Cambridge, London: Harvard University Press. pp.1-42
Lecture 3: Monday 15 Sept.: Mainstream Theories of International Relations and World History
Kegley and Wittkopf: World politics chapter two, rival theoretical interpretations of world politics. pp.
21-43
Joshuwa S. Goldstein. International Relations. Chapter one: Understanding International Relations,
frompp. pp.3-55
Lecture 5 : Thursday 18 Sept : Islam and the West
Al-Barghouti, Tamim. The Umma and the Dawla, London: Pluto Press: pp. 32-108
Lewis, Bernard. What Went Wrong. The Atlantic Monthly, January 2002
Optional Reading:
Khomeini, Rohullah Moussawi. Governance of the Jurist. Translated by Hamid Algar.
Lecture 6: Monday 22 Sept: Background of Europe’s dominance:
Dougherty and Pfaltzgraff. Contending Theories of IR. pp. 40-4
Robert Ergang. Europe since Waterloo. Chapter II. pp. 27-39.
Lecture 7: Thursday 25 Sept : Causes of World War I/ & Peace at Versailles and disequilibrium.
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Ergang, pp. 352-397
Keylor, pp. 65-83
V.I. Lenin, Imperialism is the Highest Stage of Capitalism. pp. 82-124
Optional Reading: Keay, John. Sowing the Wind. Part 1: pp.11-97
Lecture 8 : Monday 29 Sept : Assignments & Presentations
Lecture 9 : Thursday 2 Oct: The League of Nations and Collective security
Keylor, “The Illusion of Continental security”. pp. 97-116.
Keay, Chapter 5, “Cairo Rose”. pp. 99-120
No Lecture : Monday 6 Sept: Holiday
Lecture 10 Thursday 9 Oct.: The Russian Revolution: the Rise of the Soviet Union
Ergang, pp.433-452
Keay, Chapter 6 “Uncharted territory”. pp.120-141
Lecture 11: Monday 13 Oct: European Colonial Empires
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze. pp. 81-105
Keay: chapter 7: three wee kings of Orient Are. pp.141-167,
Lecture 12: Thursday 16 Oct: The Path to European War & The Second World war
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze. pp. 155-212
Keay: Chapter 8 “Stifling Syria” pp. 167-192
Lecture 13: Monday 20 Oct : The West & The Middle East - Asian conflicts
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze. pp. 58-77.
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Keylor, 323-347
Keay: Chapter 9 “Stranger Than History”. pp. 192-227
Lecture 14: Thursday 23 Oct : Overview and revision for the exam .
Lecture 15 Monday 27 Oct : Midterm Exam
Lecture 16: Thursday 30 Oct: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze, pp.107-129
Keay, Chapter 10: “The Arab Reawakening”. pp. 243-263
Lecture 17: Monday 3 Nov : The United Nations: Another Attempt at Collective Security
Ergang, pp. 657-671
Keay Chapters 11-12 pp. 263-325
Lecture 18: Thursday 6 Nov: Cold War in Europe
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze, pp. 216-243
Keay Chapter’s 13-14. pp. 327-389
Lecture 19: Monday 10 Nov:The Colonial formation of the Middle East
Keay Chapters 14-16. pp. 389-451
Lecture 20: Thursday 13 Nov :From Cold War to Détente 1962-79
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze pp. 271-290
Lecture 21: Monday 17 Nov :Africa Decolonization and Independence
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze pp. 404-425
Lecture 22: Thursday 20 Nov :
The End of the Cold War
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Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze, pp. 480-498
Lecture 23: Monday 24 Nov : The Rise of New Europe 1945-2007
Best, Hanhimaki, Maiolo and Schulze pp.501-519
No Lecture : Thursday 27 Nov : Thanks Giving Holiday
Lecture 24 Monday 1 Dec: The New World Order I
Keylor, .pp.490-51
Lecture 25:Thursday 4 Dec :The New World Order II
Henry Kissinger. Diplomacy. The new world order. 804-26
Lecture 26: Monday 8 Dec :Free discussion on global politics based on course material.
Lecture 27: Thursday 11 Dec : Overview and revision for exam.
Thursday 18 Dec. Final Exam …
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