Comparative Politics of the Middle East
POLS 3408
Dr. Nadine Sika
Spring 2015
MT10:00-11:15
Email: nadinesika@aucegypt.edu
Office: HUSS 2008, Extension 1953
Office Hours: Monday and Thursday: 12-1:00 p.m
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? How do
Arab states treat the problem of ethnic and religious minorities? What is the role
of civil society and the media in the conduct of Arab Politics? How do youth
shape politics today? 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
10%
2 Midterm Examinations
30% (each)
In Class Presentation
10%
Country Report
20%
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
Attendance and Participation 10%
Students are expected to actively participate in class through reading the material
before class. More than six absences result in an “F”.
Midterm Examinations 30% 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), who conduct a joint 15minute presentation on a Middle Eastern country, covering the major themes which
we discuss during the first half of the semester.
Country Report 20%
A 10 page report (12 Times New Roman/double spaced) should be handed in to the
professor on the day of your presentation.
Readings
All Readings will be posted as soft copies on Blackboard
Course Outline
Week 1
February 2 -5
Introduction to the course
The Emergence of the Modern Middle East
Roger Owen, Chapter 1 “the Search for Sovereignty in an insecure World,” The Rise
and Fall of Arab Dictators (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2012).
Week 2 February 9-12
State Building in Arab Republics
Owen, Chapter 4 “Centralized State Systems in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Algeria,”
Owen, Chapter 5 “Presidents as Managers in Libya, Sudan and Yemen,”
Week 3
February 16-19
State Building in Arab Monarchies and Turkey
Owen Chapter 7 “The Monarchical Security States”
Lucas, Russel. “Monarchical Authoritarianism.” International Journal of Middle
East Studies 36 (2004): 103-119.
Anderson, Lisa. “Absolutism and the Resilience of Monarchy in the Middle East.”
Political Science Quarterly. Spring 1991.
Week 4
February 23-26
Arab Nationalism
Mehran Kemrava, The Modern Middle East, “The Age of Nationalism” p. 67-106
Week 5
March 2 – 5
Midterm I – March 2
Political Islam
Beverly-Milton Edwards, Contemporary Politics in the Middle East Chapter 5
Quinn Mecham, “Islamist Movements,” in Marc Lynch ed, The Arab Uprisings
Explained,” (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014),
Week 6
March 9-12
Political Economy
Beverly Milton Edwards Chapter 3
Springborg “The precarious Economies of the Arab Springs” Survival 53 (December
2011), 85-104. (Blackboard)
Springborg, “ GCC Countries as “Rentier States” Revisited,” The Middle East
Journal vol. 67, no. 2 Spring 2013, pp. 301-309.
Week 6
March 16-19
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
Paola Rivetti and Francesco Cavatorta. “ The Importance of being Civil Society:
Student Politics and the Reformist Movement in Khatami’s Iran,” Middle Eastern
Studies 49, no. 4 (2013): 645-660.
Week 7
March 23-26
Conflicts and Civil Wars in the Middle East
Beverly Milton Edwards Chapter 4 “War and Lack of Peace”
Week 8
March 30-April 2
Midterm 2 March 30
Arab Spring:
Dima Khatib and Ellen Lust, “Introduction: Reconsidering Activism” in eds. Dima
Khatib and Ellen Lust, taking to the Streets (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University
Press, 2014).
Week 9 Spring Vacation April 5-13
Week 10
April 16
Arab Spring Continued
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 11
April 20-23
Beyond the Arab Spring
Steven Heydemann and Reinoud Leenders, “Authoritarian Learning and
Counterrevolution,” in Marc Lynch ed. The Arab Uprisings Explained
Robert Springborg, “Arab Militaries,” in Marc Lynch ed. The Arab Uprisings
Explained
Christopher Phillips, “Syria’s Torment,” Survival vol. 54, no. 3 (2012), 67-82.
Week 12
April 27-30
Student Presentations: North Arica
Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt
Week 13
May 4-7
Student Presentations: The Levant
Jordan, Palestine, Israel
Week 14
May 11-14
Student Presentations: GCC and Iraq
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain
Week 15 May 15
Student Presentations: Non-Arab Countries in the ME
Iran and Turkey