New York University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Politics
Summer 2007
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS of THE MIDDLE EAST- V53.0760
Ayda Erbal
Politics Department
19 West 4th St, Suite 204
Office Hours: By appointment only, either Mondays 12:30 -1:30 or (T/R 5-5:30)
Email: ayda@nyu.edu
Course Description:
IPME is intended as an advanced level introductory course on selected issues related to the
modern history and politics of the region between Atlantic Ocean and Central Asia, commonly
known as the “Middle East”. The course will cover the period from the end of 19th century to the
present and will examine selected aspects of politics in the “Middle East”. These aspects include
but are not limited to state formation; state-society relations; ideologies and transnationalism;
“Islamist” politics; political economy; political liberalization and the persistence/evolution of
authoritarianism.
Requirements:
Students are required to attend each class and to read the syllabus selections assigned for each
class session on time since the lectures will serve merely as outlines for the readings. Students
are also responsible for all readings on the syllabus, regardless of whether or not we cover all of
the assigned readings. If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed,
including handouts, announcements, etc.
Students are encouraged to raise important issues in class and to make comments on the
readings. Students also should expect some random in class short exams which will count
towards their participation grade. Class participation will be worth 20 % of your overall
grade.
Students will also be given a mid-term and a final exam. The midterm will be in-class,
composed of identifications and essays. The final will most probably be a combination of inclass identifications and a take home essay due in 24 hours. The mid-term is worth 40% and
the final exam is worth 40%. The exams will require students to be able to assess and critique
the various arguments presented by the authors. As such, students are encouraged to take notes
on the readings since they are dense and long.
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Class Attendance and Participation
Our objective in this class is to create an open environment in which we can further and
challenge our knowledge through discussion. Consequently, your informed participation is
essential.
Because of the emphasis on participation, attendance is essential. You may miss only 1 class in
the semester and still receive an A for attendance and participation, if you miss more than 1 class
your attendance grade will decrease.
Readings
You will be asked to carefully read anywhere from 150-250 pages a week (occasionally more).
Reading is an integral element of this course and will constitute a regular basis of class
discussion. It complements and does not duplicate what we cover in class. If you are not
prepared to read the week’s assignments and discuss them in class, please do not take the
course.
REQUIRED READINGS
Textbooks:
Please purchase the latest editions of the following texts. They will be available at NYU
Bookstore, but used copied can be purchased for a good price on amazon.com, half.com or
abebooks.com. Students will be asked to bring texts to class during some lectures for analysis.
Textbooks for the class are as follows:
Kamrava, Mehran. 2005. The Modern Middle East: A Political History Since the First World
War, Los Angeles: University of California Press.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/nyulibrary/Doc?id=10074089
(Library has full electronic access to the title, you need to install a small program (Ebrary)
through library to view the book online, highlight and take notes, you need to be on an NYU
computer or change your proxy settings to be able to view the book)
Mamdani, Mahmood. Good Muslim Bad Muslim. Three Leaves –Doubleday.
Course pack:
Students must also purchase a course pack for the course, composed of a selection of chapters
from various texts. It will be available at New University Copy and Graphic- 11 Waverly Place.
(212) 473-7369.
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Course Objectives
By the end of the course, you should be able to
•
identify and critique common stereotypes about the nature of state and society in the
Middle East, and where necessary, replace these stereotypes with more nuanced
understandings
•
speak and write knowledgeably about different types of leaders, ideological orientations,
states and social relations in the Middle East
•
identify a variety of social groups that influence political processes in various ways, even
in non-democratic contexts
•
Posit and analyze several different theories about imperial involvement, core-periphery
relations and its implications for contemporary politics and policies.
Fair warning of various sorts
1- This class is not a general course on Middle East politics. Neither is it a course on Islam or a
general forum for policy debate (i.e. concerning the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq or the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict). Although we will touch on these topics, please do not take the class
if you expect to spend significant time on them.
2- This course will involve reading and discussion on topics many people may feel very strongly
about. While there will be multiple opportunities for you to express your ideas and defend your
views, it is expected that discussion will always be civil, respectful of the facts, and beliefs of
others, and pertinent to the day’s discussion. Our goal in this class is to create an open
environment in which we can learn from one another, extend our knowledge, and challenge
ourselves. In order for this to happen, everyone in the class needs to feel safe contributing his or
her views. Racist, sexist, and/or other generally degrading remarks towards religious groups,
ethnic/national groups, and anyone else will not be tolerated.
3- Other basics
* Try not to fall asleep in class (if you’re really in trouble, feel free to stand up and stretch).
* Please don’t read newspapers, books, or use headphones or other electronic devices in class.
You may use computers to take notes at my discretion; if they are being used (or seem to be
being used) for anything other than this, or if they become distracting, I will ask you to turn them
off.
* PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES!
* Eating and drinking is fine, but try not to bring anything too messy or too smelly.
* Make sure all your work is your own and that you properly cite all sources. Also make sure
you know the difference between paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting and when they are
necessary. If you do not know how to paraphrase somebody else’s argument properly and think
plagiarism is fair game, make sure you check several internet resources on the subject including
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but not limited to these sources http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html ;
http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/plagiarism.html Plagiarism is grounds for failure of a
given piece of work, the entire course; it could also result in expulsion.
* If you have a physical, perceptual, or learning disability, please contact the NYU Center for
Students with Disabilities @ http://www.nyu.edu/osl/csd/ and inform me as soon as possible so
we can provide appropriate accommodation.
Middle East News Sources:
Arabic News.com http://www.arabicnews.com Arab world news portal.
Al-Bab.com http://www.al-bab.com/ provides background information on the Arab world and
links to other sources.
Al-Jazeera News, http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage
BBC Online Middle East coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/default.stm
Haaretz, http://www.haaretz.com
Jerusalem Post, http://www.jpost.com/
The Independent Middle East coverage http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/
Middle East International http://meionline.com/front.html online edition
Middle East Report http://www.merip.org/mer/middle_east_report.html
New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/middleeast/index.html
Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
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International Politics of the Middle East
Course Schedule
Week One - Emergence of the “Middle East” –Boundaries, Narratives and
Politics
Introduction and Overview
Tuesday, June 26
Introduction to the course
CONTROL ROOM
Thursday, June 28
Roderic H. Davison, “Where is the Middle East?” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 38, p. 665 -675.
July 1960.
http://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/fora38&id=675&collection=journals
Lisa Anderson, “Scholarship, Policy, Debate and Conflict: Why We Study the Middle
East and Why It Matters,” Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Vol. 38, No. 1
(Summer 2004) http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/Bulletin/Pres%20Addresses/Anderson.htm
Lockman, Zachary. 2004. Contending visions of the Middle East: the history and politics of
Orientalism. New York: Cambridge University Press, selections
Gelvin, James L. 2005. The modern Middle East: A history. New York: Oxford University Press,
Introduction.
Katel, Peter. 2007. “Global Jihad” & “Middle East Tensions” in Global Issues: Selections from
CQ Researcher. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, p. 1-24, p. 91-113
Milton-Edwards, Beverly. 2006. Contemporary Politics in the Middle East (2nd ed). Cambridge,
UK: Polity Press. Selections.
Week Two – Ottoman Imperial Collapse and Legacies of Colonialism -I
From Empire to Republic
Tuesday, July 3
Kamrava, Mehran. 2005. The modern Middle East: a political history since the First World War.
Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 1-66.
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Akcam, Taner. 2006. A Shameful Act. New York: Metropolitan Books. Chapter 1 & 2.
Hinnebusch, Raymond. 2003. International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester, GBR:
Manchester University Press, pp. 1-54.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/nyulibrary/Doc?id=10075718
Optional: Gelvin, 2005, p. 100-110, but especially 139-169 (coursepack)
Pan-Arabism, Islamism
Thursday, July 5
Kamrava, Mehran. 2005, p. 67-106, skim 107-137.
Esposito, John L. 1998. Islam and politics. 4th ed. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, p.
62-78, 136-157.
Week Three – Legacies of Colonialism-II
Arab-Israeli Conflict & Regional Politics
Tuesday, July 10
Smith, Charles. Palestine and Arab Israeli Conflict. p.111-152, 170-210, p. 226-254, 264-295,
306-340
Arab-Israeli Conflict & Regional Politics -continued
Thursday, July 12
Smith, Charles. 406-441, 499-541.
Nimni, Ephraim (ed). 2003. The Challenge of Post Zionism. Chapters 4 & 5.
Usher, G. 2005. "The Palestinians After Arafat." Journal of Palestine Studies 34 (3): 42-56
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=860426231&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=6&VIn
st=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1150658438&clientId=9269
Gary Sussman, “The Challenge to the Two-State Solution” Middle East Report, No. 231
(Summer 2004): 8-15. http://www.merip.org/mer/mer231/sussman.html
John J. Mearsheimer, “The Impossible Partition,” New York Times, Jan. 11, 2001.
http://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=e85c42314ef81a73cdc76a782f309894&_docn
um=3&wchp=dGLbVlb-zSkVA&_md5=c5585beaf31d9cba877d5eb55ababf35
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Week Four -Cold War, Areas of Influence
Why do they hate us?
Tuesday, July 17
Gelvin, James. 2005. p. 257-267.
Kamrava, Mehran. 2005. p. 169-212.
Mamdani, Mahmood. 2004. Good Muslim, bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the roots of
terror. 1st ed. New York: Pantheon Books, p. 119-177.
Rosemary Hollis, “Europe in the Middle East” in Louise L'Estrange Fawcett. 2005. International
relations of the Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307-326.
Thursday, July 18
Midterm and Documentary Screening
PRIVATE WARRIORS or A CRUDE AWAKENING
Week Five – Oil Politics, Liberalization, Democratization(?)
Oil: Curse or Blessing?
Tuesday, July 24
Karl, Terry Lynn. 1997. The paradox of plenty: oil booms and petro-states. Berkeley: University
of California Press, chapters: 1, 9-10.
Mitchell, Timothy. 2002. "McJihad: Islam in the U.S. Global Order." Social Text 20 (4, [73]): 118 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/social_text/v020/20.4mitchell.pdf
Ross, M. L. 2001. "Does Oil Hinder Democracy?" World Politics 53 (3): 325,+
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/world_politics/v053/53.3ross.pdf
Herb, M. 2005. "No Representation without Taxation? Rents, Development, and Democracy."
Comparative Politics 37 (3): 297,+.
Identity, Democracy and Liberalization in the Middle East
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Political Culture versus Oil?
Thursday, July 26
Ibrahim, Saad Eddin, “Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World: An Overview,” in
Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany, and Paul Noble. 1995. Political liberalization and democratization
in the Arab world. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, p. 29-57.
Anderson, Lisa, “Democracy in the Arab World: A Critique of the Political Culture Approach,”
in Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany, and Paul Noble. 1995. Political liberalization and
democratization in the Arab world. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, p. 77-92.
Kamrava. 257-282, 331-358.
Mark Tessler, “Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations
on Attitudes Toward Democracy In Four Arab Countries,” Comparative Politics, 34, 3 (April
2002), at http://polisci.lsa.umich.edu/documents/islamAndDemocracy.pdf
Hinnebusch, Raymond, “The Politics of Identity in the Middle East International Relations,” in
Louise L'Estrange Fawcett. 2005. International relations of the Middle East. New York: Oxford
University Press, p. 151-171.
Ayubi, Nazih N. M. 1991. Political Islam: religion and politics in the Arab world. London; New
York: Routledge, skim 213-222, read 222-236.
Norton, Augustus, “The Puzzle of Political Reform in the Middle East,” in Louise L'Estrange
Fawcett. 2005. International relations of the Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press,
p. 131-148.
Week Six – Globalization & the Future of the Middle East
Political Islam, Globalization, Future Challenges in the Middle East
Tuesday, July 31st
Bin Laden, Osama. 2005. Messages to the World. Selections
Henry, Clement & Robert Springborg. 2001. Globalization and Politics of Development in the
Middle East. Chapters 2 & 7.
Kamrava 283-330 and 359-376.
Thursday, August 2nd
WRAP UP and FINAL
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