Middle Eastern Revolutions Political Science 450/Middle Eastern Studies 495 Meeting time: T, TH 9:30-10:45am 793 SWKT

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1 Middle Eastern Revolutions Political Science 450/Middle Eastern Studies 495 Meeting time: T, TH 9:30-10:45am 793 SWKT Instructor: Quinn Mecham Office: 770 SWKT, 203 HRCB Office Phone: address: Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 1pm-3pm (203 HRCB) Tuesday, Thursday 1pm-3pm (770 SWKT) Please me to set up an appointment during these office hours. Introduction: This course serves as an advanced research seminar (capstone) in both Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. The course focuses on the study of revolutionary political moments in the modern history of the Middle East using broader theories of collective action and revolutionary mobilization. During the course students will construct social science explanations for successful and unsuccessful revolutions, using empirical evidence from a number of cases in the Middle East and North Africa. The course involves substantial focus on academic reading and writing and will culminate in a major research paper that addresses a social science puzzle of the student s interest. Discussion will center on the following core questions: What is a revolution? How do revolutions differ from one another? How do revolutions unfold over time? What are the principal causes of revolutions? What do the major revolutions of modern history have in common? When do revolutions succeed and when do they fail? Which are the most influential revolutions in the history of the Middle East? How did revolutions play a role in the independence of Middle Eastern countries? How do revolutionaries and regimes learn from each other and from history? How did the Arab Spring movements benefit from previous revolutionary acts? How do outside countries influence revolutionary trajectories? When do revolutions turn into civil wars or lead to state failure? How can we explain variations in outcome across countries that have experienced large-scale uprisings? 1

2 These questions will be addressed by examining multiple theories of revolution and by studying the revolutionary history of Middle Eastern cases in some detail. Case studies will focus on revolutionary moments in Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, among others. Required texts: The following texts are available at the college bookstore and are on reserve at the library. 1) Crane Brinton The Anatomy of Revolution. Vintage. 2) Steven A. Cook The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square. Oxford. 3) Alistair Horne A Savage War of Peace: Algeria New York Review of Books. 4) Rashid Khalidi The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. Beacon. 5) Charles Kurzman The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran. Harvard. 6) Marc Lynch The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East. Public Affairs. 7) Marc Lynch The New Arab Wars: Uprisings and Anarchy in the Middle East. Public Affairs. 8) Stephen K. Sanderson Revolutions: A Worldwide Introduction to Political and Social Change, 2 nd edition. Paradigm. Additional readings for the course are available under Electronic Reserves in Learning Suite (content tab). Requirements: Regular attendance at class, active participation, and the reading of assigned materials is expected. Each student will take part in leading class discussions on the course readings. In addition, a theoretical essay, three formal responses to course readings, and a substantial final research paper are required. Grades will be calculated as follows: Revolution theory essay: 15% Formal responses to course readings (2 x 10%): 20% Revolution empirical essay 15% Course participation and discussion leadership: 15% Final paper: 35% (including detailed outline, complete draft, and oral presentation) 2

3 Revolution theory essay: A theoretical essay that addresses comparative theories of revolutions will be completed during the fourth week of class. This essay is limited to five double-spaced pages. It is due Tuesday January 30 at 5pm on Learning Suite. Revolution empirical essay: An essay that assesses the comparative experience of Middle Eastern revolutions, with reference to the theoretical causes of those revolutions, will be completed by the penultimate week of class. This essay is limited to five double-spaced pages. It is due Thursday April 12 prior to class on Learning Suite. Course reading responses: Each student will write a formal response to the course readings for two of the days on the syllabus. The schedule for reading responses will be determined between the student and the course instructor, and the two responses will be distributed throughout the semester, one in the first half and one in the second half. Responses should be between 3-4 double-spaced pages and rigorously assess the claims of at least one of our course readings on the day it is assigned. Each response should be focused around the student s own argument, offer an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the reading, and offer evidence from the selected reading to support the student s arguments. Each reading response will be due in hard copy the day that we complete discussion of that reading in class. A schedule of responses and their individual due dates will be completed for each member of the class within the first two weeks of the semester. Course participation and discussion leadership: Each member of class is expected to do all of the course readings (about 6-7 hours) each week and to actively participate in the course discussion. On two occasions (tied to a student s selected reading responses), each student will help facilitate course discussion by designing discussion questions on a portion of the reading and by co-leading the discussion in class. The portion of the readings for which you write discussion questions will be assigned in class. Submit five questions to the instructor to post on Learning Suite by either Monday or Wednesday at 1pm the day before your response paper is due. Final Paper: A final original research paper (25-30 double-spaced pages) is required. Participants will choose a topic of interest based on course readings and discussion, and in consultation with the instructor. The paper may be a case study of a key country, movement, concept, figure, or strategy in Middle Eastern revolutions, and it should make a social science argument that addresses a challenging theoretical or empirical puzzle. A detailed paper outline, an annotated bibliography, a complete rough draft, and an oral presentation on the paper topic are also required in advance of the final paper. For MESA students, the bibliography must also include at least three relevant Arabic language sources. The final paper is due on Learning Suite Thursday April 19 at 5pm. Late policy: All late papers will be assessed a three point late fee for each day that they are late. No late papers will be accepted after the end of university exams on April 25. 3

4 COURSE SCHEDULE: T Jan 9 Course Introduction: What is a Revolution? TH Jan 11 The Character and Evolution of Revolutions Sanderson, Chapters 1-2 Brinton, Chapters 1-3 T Jan 16 The Character and Evolution of Revolutions, part 2 Brinton, Chapters 4-9 Sanderson, Chapter 3 TH Jan 18 Major Theories of Revolutions Sanderson, Chapter 4 Jack A. Goldstone, ed Classic Approaches, The Debate on Modernization, A Structural Approach to Revolutions, The Origins of Revolutions, and Conclusion, Chapters 1-4 and Conclusion in Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, pp , (Reserve) T Jan 23 Major Theories of Revolutions, part 2 Sanderson, Chapter 5 Theda Skocpol Introduction and Chapter 4 in Social Revolutions in the Modern World. Cambridge, pp. 3-22, (Reserve) James DeFronzo Social Movements and Revolutions, and Conclusions, Chapters 1 and 10 in Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements, third edition. Westview, pp and (Reserve) TH Jan 25 Additional Theoretical Arguments James Davies, Toward a Theory of Revolution, American Sociological Review, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1962), pp (Reserve) 4

5 Timur Kuran, Now out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989, World Politics, Vol. 44. No. 1 (October 1991), pp (Reserve) Sanderson, Chapters 6-8, Epilogue T Jan 30 Revolution Theory Essay due on Learning Suite 5pm (no class) TH Feb 1 The Revolutionary Origins of the Turkish State Erik J. Zurcher The Struggle for Independence, The Emergence of the One- Party State, and The Kemalist One-Party State, Chapters 9-11 in Turkey: A Modern History. I.B. Tauris, pp (Reserve) T Feb 6 Early Revolts in Palestine Khalidi, Chapters 1-4 TH Feb 8 Revolutionary Arab Nationalism in Egypt Cook, Chapters 1-3 **Paper proposals (1-page) due in class** T Feb 13 The Beginnings of the Algerian Independence War Horne, Chapters 1-6 TH Feb 15 Evolution of the Algerian Independence War Horne, Chapters 7-12 T Feb 20 (No class Monday instruction) Read ahead in Horne for Thursday s class TH Feb 22 Legacies of the Algerian Independence War Horne, Chapters

6 T Feb 27 Qaddafi s Revolution of the Masses in Libya Alison Pargeter Chapters 2-4 in Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi. Yale, pp (Reserve) Muammar Qaddafi, The Green Book (Part One). People s Committee, pp (Reserve) TH Mar 1 Origins of the Iranian Revolution Nikki Keddie The Revolution, Chapter 9 in Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution. Yale, pp (Reserve) Kurzman Chapters 1-3 T Mar 6 Comparative Explanations of the Iranian Revolution Kurzman, Chapters 4-8 Theda Skocpol Rentier State and Shi a Islam in the Iranian Revolution, Chapter 10 in Social Revolutions in the Modern World. Cambridge, pp (Reserve) TH Mar 8 Detailed paper outline and annotated bibliography due on Learning Suite 5pm (no class) T Mar 13 The First Palestinian Intifada Khalidi, Chapters 5-6 PLO Executive Committee Statement on the Intifada (April), in Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, eds., The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict, 7 th ed. Penguin, 2008, pp (Reserve) Unified National Leadership of the Intifada: Calls No. 12, 16, and (April- May), in Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, eds., The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict, 7 th ed. Penguin, 2008, pp (Reserve) TH Mar 15 Political Development and Rebellion in Egypt and Algeria 6

7 Cook, Chapters 4-5 Mohammed Hafez Political Exclusion in the Muslim World and Repression and Rebellion (selections), in Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World. Lynne Rienner, pp , (Reserve) T Mar 20 State Failure and the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon Marwan Iskandar Immediate Consequences of Hariri s Assassination, Chapter 7 in Rafiq Hariri and the Fate of Lebanon. Saqi Books, pp. pp (Reserve) Are Knudsen and Michael Kerr, eds Lebanon: After the Cedar Revolution (selections). Oxford. (Reserve) TH Mar 22 The Green Revolution in Iran Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel, eds The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran s Future. New York: Melville House. Introduction, pp. 3-17, 41-70, , , , , and (Reserve) T Mar 27 The Origins of the Arab Uprisings of Lynch 2012, Chapters 1-3 TH Mar 29 The Evolution of the Arab Uprisings Lynch 2012, Chapters 4-5 Cook, Chapter 7 Alfred Stepan Tunisia s Transition and the Twin Tolerations. Journal of Democracy 23, no. 2: (Reserve) FR Mar 30 First Full Paper Draft Due on Learning Suite, 5pm T Apr 3 Repression and State Failure **Student Research Presentations Begin** 7

8 Lynch 2012, Chapters 6-8 Khaled Elgindy Egypt s Troubled Transition: Elections without Democracy. Journal of Democracy 35, no. 2: (Reserve) Lawrence Louer Activism in Bahrain: Between Sectarian and Issue Politics, Chapter 6 in Taking to the Streets: The Transformation of Arab Activism. Johns Hopkins, pp (Reserve) Abu Bakr al-baghdadi Declaration of the Caliphate. (Reserve) TH Apr 5 Civil War and International Intervention Lynch 2016, Chapters 1-4 FR Apr 6 *Research Presentation Session 10am-12pm* (additional class) T Apr 10 Recent Conflict Trajectories in the Arab World Lynch 2016, Chapters 5-8 James D. Fearon Syria s Civil War, in The Political Science of Syria s Civil War. Project on Middle East Political Science Briefings. March Lynch, ed., pp (Reserve) TH Apr 12 Conclusion: Legacies of Revolution *Empirical Essay due on Learning Suite before class* Jack A. Goldstone Understanding the Revolutions of 2011: Weakness and Resilience in Middle Eastern Autocracies. Foreign Affairs 90, no. 3: (Reserve) The Economist What s Gone Wrong with Democracy? (Reserve) Lynch 2016, Chapter 9 T Apr 17 Peer Coaching Sessions and Final Paper Edits TH Apr 19 Final Paper Due on Learning Suite, 5pm 8