ARAB POLITICS: STILL SEARCHING FOR LEGITIMACY
“Bridges to the World” with Dr. Michael Hudson
January 22nd, 10:00 am
SPEAKER
BIOGRAPHY
Professor Michael C. Hudson was appointed Director of the Middle East Institute and Professor of
Political Science at National University of Singapore in 2010. Before being appointed Professor
Emeritus at Georgetown University he was Director of Georgetown’s Center for Contemporary Arab
Studies and Professor of International Relations and Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies. He did his
undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College and holds the M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from
Yale University.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Dr. Hudson’s website: http://michaelchudson.com/
List of articles by Dr. Hudson on Al Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/profile/michael-hudson.html
Interview with Dr. Hudson by the BBC on Egypt, July 1, 2013: http://vimeo.com/69458103
TOPIC
OVERVIEW
The popular uprisings across the Arab world that began in 2011 have not yet produced democracy or
stability. Instead, the region is in chaos: in Egypt, the democratically elected government was
overthrown; Tunisia, Yemen, and Libya are in crisis; there are ongoing protest movements in Bahrain;
and the civil war in Syria is getting worse and worse. In addition to internal upheaval, these countries are
also subject to regional and international political currents, specifically the rivalry between Iran and
Saudi Arabia.
LESSON PLAN IDEA
Kavanagh, Sarah and Holly Epstein Ojalvo, The Learning Network, The New York Times, Feb. 2011,
Web, 12 December 2013, http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/the-basics-understanding-theupheaval-in-the-middle-east/?_r=0
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Readings
o “Middle East Institute” homepage, http://www.mei.nus.edu.sg/
o Baker, Aryn, “Saudi Arabia Considers Nuclear Weapons After Iran’s Geneva Deal,” The
Times, 26 November 2013, Web, 12 December 2013,
http://world.time.com/2013/11/26/saudi-arabia-considers-nuclear-weapons-after-iransgeneva-deal/
o Cagaptay, Soner and Parag Khanna, “Middle East reconfigured: Turkey vs. Iran vs. Saudi
Arabia,” CNN.com, 13 September 2013, Web, 12 December 2013,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/13/opinion/khanna-cagaptay-turkey-iran-saudi-arabia/
o Margo, Giavana, Brittany Bonning, and Tese Wintz Neighbor, “Understanding the Arab
Spring from the Inside,” World Affairs Council, 29 Feb. 2012, Website, 5 Oct. 2013,
http://www.world-affairs.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Libya-cover-and-packet-finalfor-web-4.2.12.pdf
o Soltani, Khosrow, “Iran-Saudi Arabia: a troubled affair,” Al Jazeera, 20 November 2013,
Web, 12 December 2013, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/11/iran-saudiarabia-troubled-affair-2013111961213978211.html
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Visual/Interactive
o “Arab Uprising: Country by Country,” BBC.com, 31 August 2012, Web, 12 December
2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12482291
o “Photo Essays: Arab Spring,” Time Magazine, Website, 5 Oct. 2013,
http://topics.time.com/arab-spring/photoessays/
o Blight, Garry, Shelia Pulham, and Paul Torpey, “Arab Spring: An Interactive Timeline,”
TheGuardian.com, 5 Jan. 2012, Website, 5 Oct. 2013,
http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protestinteractive-timeline
o Haddad, Mohammad and Basma Atassi, “Interactive: The youth of the Arab Spring,” Al
Jazeera, 29 July 2013, Website, 5 Oct. 2013,
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/12/2011125132335754716.html