COURSE SYLLABUS
International Summer University (ISU) Marburg 2014
Seminar 3: “The Economic Challenge: The Middle East and Europe beyond the Arab Spring”
Instructor:
Dipl.-Kfm. Christian Neugebauer
Affiliation:
Philipps-University Marburg
Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS)
Department of Middle East Economics
Contact:
Email neugebauer@staff.uni-marburg.de
Phone +49-6421-2824 961
Web www.uni-marburg.de/cnms/wirtschaft
Course information:
In 2011 the people of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region stood up against their
governments in the Arab Spring. Several long-standing regimes collapsed, making way for a difficult
period of societal and political transformation that still lasts until today. By now, the initial
enthusiasm of many observers has vanished, given the immense problems these countries face on
their way to building new political systems. On the other hand, societal change in all MENA countries
is obvious and cannot be reversed by whoever prevails in the struggle for political power.
What has been scarcely analyzed in relation to the Arab Spring is its economic dimension. Neither do
we find analytically sound examinations of its economic underpinnings, nor is there a well-informed
debate about its economic ramifications. To deal with these issues, we have to analyze the region in
a longer time frame, as structures and actors are historically grounded and do not appear overnight.
Moreover, we have to pay special attention to the diversity of the region, as sub-regional, national,
and local specificities have given the Arab Spring a context-dependent turn. Three overarching
questions will thus lead our discussion in the course: How did MENA economies historically evolve
until the Arab Spring, and which economic factors might have contributed to the uprisings? How has
the Arab Spring affected continuity and change in MENA economies? Which role has Europe played /
does it play in the historical transformation of MENA economies, before and beyond the Arab
Spring?
Seminar structure:
Day 1 (Monday): Introduction, seminar organization, group game: “Getting to know the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA) economies”
Day 2 (Tuesday): Instructor presentation Topic A: “MENA’s rent-based economies and the Arab
Spring”, discussion in class
Day 3 (Wednesday): Various small topics on MENA’s political economy: Group Puzzle Part 1
Day 4 (Thursday): Group Puzzle Part 2, mini presentations
Day 5 (Friday): Instructor presentation Topic B: “Development models of MENA economies in
historic perspective – with a special focus on the role of Europe”, discussion in class, feedback
round Week 1
Day 6 (Monday): Instructor presentation on “The process of scientific analysis”, support & advice for
the final group presentations, preparation time for group presentations (with possibility of feedback
from the instructor)
Day 7 (Tuesday): Group presentations (Topic 1: “Economic growth and socio-economic
development in MENA”, Topic 2: “The MENA region in the global economy: Trade and foreign
direct investment”), discussion in class
Day 8 (Wednesday): Group presentations (Topic 3: “Islam and development”, Topic 4: “The linkage
of economic and political transformation in MENA”), discussion in class
Day 9 (Thursday): Final discussion: “MENA economies before and beyond the Arab Spring”,
feedback round Week 2, evaluation of the course
Aims
The main aim of this course is to make students familiar with the basic features of MENA economies,
their position in global economic exchange (with a focus on Europe), and their historic
transformation. This newly acquired knowledge should enable students to critically evaluate possible
economic factors of the Arab Spring, and the challenges of MENA economies in the 21st century.
Methods
We will use several methods to get a better understanding of our subject. The first one is “classical”
input by the instructor, through presentations alternating with discussions in class. The second one is
the group puzzle, an “activating” teaching method where students take over the part of the
instructor, first teaching themselves in small groups, then briefing the whole class. And finally,
students will give a 30 minute (5-10 minutes per person) group presentation on a larger topic. This
presentation can be partly prepared in class, with the possibility to get feedback from the instructor.
Assessment (shares of final grade)
Group presentation: 40%
Individual presentation part: 40%
Contribution to class: 20%
Course Policy
Attendance is mandatory. I expect everybody to take over his/her equal share of workload for the
group presentation.
Suggested Readings
Richards, Alan, John Waterbury et al. 2013. A political economy of the Middle East. Boulder:
Westview Press.
Owen, Roger, and Sevket Pamuk. 1999. A history of Middle East economies in the twentieth century.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Instructor’s Resumé
Christian Neugebauer studied Business Administration, Political Science, and Arabic at the University
of Mannheim (Germany) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA). He earned his
Master’s Degree (Dipl.-Kfm.) in Business Administration with a focus on finance and industrial
management from the University of Mannheim in 2007. Afterwards, he spent one year as PhDstudent at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen/Nuremberg (Germany), affiliated with the
Chair of Economics and Contemporary Oriental Studies (Prof. Dr. Sefik Alp Bahadir). Since 2009, he
has been working as an assistant lecturer at Philipps-University Marburg (Germany), Center for Nearand Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS), for the Department of Middle East Economics (Prof. Dr.
Mohammad Reza Farzanegan). He has taught extensively in the institute’s Bachelor-program,
covering the contemporary political economy of the MENA region, the region’s global economic
embeddedness (trade, foreign direct investment, international rent flows), and the connection of
economic and political liberalization. His second field of expertise is theory of science and research
methodology, especially the interdependent usage of both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Concomitant with his teaching activities, he is writing his PhD-thesis on “Foreign direct investment
and authoritarian rule in the Middle East and North Africa – An investigation into the Moroccan
political economy” (supervised by Prof. Dr. Rachid Ouaissa – Chair of Middle East Politics – University
of Marburg/CNMS).