Politics of the Middle East Political Science 357 Fall 2014 Instructor: Quinn Mecham Office: Spencer W. Kimball Tower (SWKT) 770 E-mail address: qmecham@byu.edu Phone: 801-422-5317 Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday 3:00-4:30 pm or by appointment Introduction: This course is an introduction to important themes, concepts, and cases in the study of the Middle East and North Africa, with particular attention to the domestic and international politics of the region. The course examines social and political issues in the region from the early 20 th century to the present, focusing primarily on issues of contemporary relevance. For the purposes of this course, the region is defined as the countries of the Arab world, Israel, Turkey, and Iran. The first half of the course introduces major themes in Middle Eastern history and politics. These include state development, nationalism, revolution, authoritarian rule, the petro-state, the Arab-Israeli conflict, conflicts in the Persian Gulf, civil society, civil conflict, human rights, the rise of Islamism, and attempts at liberal reform. The second half of the course examines how these themes have affected political development in a number of key cases, and how the Middle East has changed since the Arab uprisings of 2011. Primary cases include Egypt, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Students will have the opportunity to individually assess other countries of personal interest in the region through a research-based case study. Required texts: 1) James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, Oxford, 2011. 2) Mark Gasiorowski, ed., The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, 7 th edition, Westview, 2014. 3) Marc Lynch, ed., The Arab Uprisings Explained: New Contentious Politics in the Middle East. Columbia University Press, 2014.
Recommended: 1) National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East, National Geographic Society (or comparable atlas). Required texts are available at the college bookstore and are on reserve in the Harold B. Lee Library (for two-hour checkout). Additional readings for the course are available to view or download on Learning Suite. These readings are indicated on the syllabus using the term reserve. Requirements: Regular attendance in class and the reading of all assigned materials is expected. In addition, a map quiz, weekly informal writing assignments, a mid-term exam, a mid-term essay, a research-based case study, and a final exam are required. Grades will be calculated as follows: Map quiz: 5% Informal writing and course participation: 20% Mid-term exam 15% Mid-term essay 15% Case study: 20% Final exam: 25% Map quiz: A map quiz is required in the second week of class. Informal writing: Each student will post a short response (1-2 paragraphs) to a discussion question on the course website each week. The discussion question is based on the course readings for the week, and may be further discussed in class. These postings should be thoughtful personal responses to the discussion question, which incorporate your learning from the weekly readings. Additionally, there are five opportunities to view and respond to films about the Middle East, and several other opportunities to respond to campus lectures on the Middle East. The films and designated screening times are included in the reading schedule below. Some campus lectures are included in the syllabus and others will be announced in class. To receive full credit, you are required to post 15 total responses (including reading, film, and campus lecture responses) to the course website. Weekly writing assignments should be posted to the course website by 10am Thursday of each week. Film and lecture responses should be posted by 10am before the next class period after the lecture or screening. If you do not already have an account at wordpress.com, you will need to register in order to use the course website. Connect to the course website at the web address: plsc357.wordpress.com. Writing assignments will be posted under the tab titled Weekly Responses. Each participant is assigned to a specific working group, and you should 2
post your response under the section designated for your working group. The course website also includes the syllabus, reading schedule, and course requirements for your reference. Case study: The case study is due by 5pm on Friday, December 12. The case study should be no more than 10 double-spaced pages in length. Select one of the political themes from the first half of the course, and apply it to a country case that is not directly addressed in the second half of the course. The case study should be oriented around an original argument and assess how the chosen theme has played out in your country case, using scholarly references and research materials. Further details on writing the case study will be provided in class. Themes (choose only one): a) Authoritarianism, b) Political Economy, c) Arab- Israeli conflict, d) Conflict in the Gulf, e) Civil Society, f) Civil Conflict, g) Human Rights, h) Islamism, i) Attempts at Liberal Reform, j) Arab Uprisings, k) Contemporary Political Transitions. Cases (choose only one): a) Algeria, b) Tunisia, c) Libya, d) Sudan, e) Lebanon, f) Palestinian Territories, g) Syria, h) Jordan, i) Yemen, j) Oman, k) United Arab Emirates, l) Qatar, m) Bahrain, n) Kuwait, o) Morocco. Exam dates: Mid-term exam: Wednesday September 24 (taken in the testing center) Mid-term essay: Wednesday Oct 29 (5 double-spaced pages, due at 770 SWKT by 5pm) Final exam: Monday December 15, 7am-10am (in class) Late policy: Your mid-term essay and case study paper must be submitted in hard copy. No papers will be accepted by e-mail. All late papers will be docked a portion of the grade (e.g., from B+ to B) for each day that they are late. Exams will not be given at any other time than those scheduled except in extraordinary circumstances. No late papers will be accepted after the final exam on December 15. 3
COURSE SCHEDULE PART I: FOUNDATIONS T Sept 2 Political Geography and Current Events Gelvin, pp. 1-11 TH Sept 4 Pre-Colonial Political Legacies Gelvin, Chapters 1-4, pp. 13-68 T Sept 9 Colonialism and Empire Gelvin, Chapters 5-7, pp. 69-109 **Map Quiz in Class** W Sept 10 Understanding the Crisis in Gaza (panel discussion), Kennedy Center 12pm TH Sept 11 Early 20 th Century Politics and Society Gelvin, Chapters 8-10, pp. 133-179 T Sept 16 Foundations of the Modern State Gelvin, Chapters 11-13, pp. 180-216 TH Sept 18 Emerging Sources of Conflict Gelvin, Chapters 14-16, pp. 217-265 T Sept 23 Revolt and Revolution Gelvin, Chapters 17-19, pp. 266-306 *Film Screening: Battle of Algiers (SWKT 270, 8pm) 4
W Sept 24 **MIDTERM EXAM** (in testing center) PART II: KEY THEMES TH Sept 25 Varieties of Authoritarianism Lisa Anderson, The State in the Middle East and North Africa, Comparative Politics, October 1987, pp. 1-18. (Reserve) Eva Bellin, The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East, Comparative Politics 36:2 (January 2004), pp. 139-157. (Reserve) Michael Herb, The Emergence of Dynastic Monarchy and the Causes of its Persistence, pp. 21-50 in All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies. SUNY, 1995. (Reserve) Lisa Wedeen, Killing Politics: Official Rhetoric and Permissible Speech, pp. 32-66 in Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria, University of Chicago Press, 1999. (Reserve) Joshua Stacher, Introduction: Changing to Stay the Same, pp. 1-27 in Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria. Stanford University Press, 2012. (Reserve) T Sept 30 Political Economy of the Petro-State Melanie Cammett, The Political Economy of Development in the Middle East, Chapter 3 in The Middle East, Ellen Lust, ed., CQ Press, 2011, pp. 99-142. (Reserve) John Waterbury and Alan Richards, A Political Economy of the Middle East, Westview: 1998. Chapter 3 Economic Growth and Structural Change, pp. 45-76. (Reserve) Jill Crystal, State Formation and Oil, pp. 1-14 in Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar. Cambridge,1990. (Reserve) Michael Ross, Does Oil Hinder Democracy? World Politics 53:3 (April 2001), pp. 325-361. (Reserve) TH Oct 2 The Arab-Israeli Conflict 5
Primary text selections from The Israel-Arab Reader, Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, eds. Penguin, 2001, pp, 81-87, 110-121, 143-163, 171-182, 206-218, 239-243, 323-326, 341-348, 403-407, 487-499, 549-560, 573-580 (Reserve). Nathan J. Brown. 2009. Prospects for Peace: Two State Solution Q&A, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 18. (Reserve) T Oct 7 Arab-Israeli Peace Talks (in class) TH Oct 9 Conflict in the Gulf John Keegan, Saddam s Wars, pp. 56-87 in The Iraq War. Knopf, 2004. (Reserve) Ray Takeyh, Iran s New Iraq, Middle East Journal 62:1 (Winter 2008). (Reserve) James D. Fearon, Iraq s Civil War, Foreign Affairs 86:2 (March-April 2007). (Reserve) Hareth Hassan al-qarawee, Iraq s Sectarian Crisis: A Legacy of Exclusion, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 23 2014. (Reserve) *Film Screening: Control Room (SWKT 270, 8pm) T Oct 14 Civil Conflict Fareed Zakaria, Islam, Democracy, and Constitutional Liberalism, Political Science Quarterly 119:1 (Spring 2004) (Reserve). Aliza Marcus, Turkey s PKK: Rise, Fall, Rise Again?, World Policy Journal 24:1 (Spring 2007) (Reserve). Christine Asmar, Maroun Kisirwani, and Robert Springborg, Clash of Politics or Civilizations? Sectarianism Among Youth in Lebanon, Arab Studies Quarterly 21:4 (Fall 1999) (Reserve). James D. Fearon. 2013. Syria s Civil War, in The Political Science of Syria s Civil War. Project on Middle East Political Science Briefings. March Lynch, ed., pp. 13-17. (Reserve) Adam Baczko, Gilles Dorronsoro, Arthur Quesnay, Building a Syrian State in a Time of Civil War, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 13 2013. (Reserve) Frederic Wehrey, What s Behind Libya s Spiraling Violence? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 28, 2014. (Reserve) 6
TH Oct 16 The Rise of Islamism Gelvin, Chapter 20, pp. 307-318 Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori, Protest and Bargaining in Muslim Politics, pp. 108-135, in Muslim Politics, Princeton, 1996. (Reserve) Mark Tessler, The Origins of Popular Support for Islamist Movements: A Political Economy Analysis, pp. 93-126 in Islam, Democracy, and the State in North Africa, John Entelis, ed., Indiana University Press, 1997. (Reserve) Gilles Kepel, Introduction, pp. 1-20 in Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Anthony Roberts, translator. Harvard University Press, 2002. (Reserve) T Oct 21 University Forum with Vali Nasr (11am-12pm) Optional Research session at the library (to start your case study papers) 12-1pm Vali Nasr talk at the Kennedy Center, 4pm *Film Screening at the International Cinema Oct 21-25: Wajda (see international cinema weekly schedule for show times) TH Oct 23 Civil Society and Human Rights Augustus Richard Norton, Introduction, pp. 1-25 in Civil Society in the Middle East, Norton, ed. E.J. Brill, 1995. (Reserve) Amaney Jamal, Actors, Public Opinion, and Participation, Chapter 5 in The Middle East, Ellen Lust, ed., CQ Press, 2011, pp. 193-237 (Reserve) Quintan Wicktorowicz, Civil Society as Social Control: State Power in Jordan, Comparative Politics 33/1 (October 2000) (Reserve) Amaney Jamal and Mark Tessler, Attitudes in the Arab World, Journal of Democracy 19:1 (January 2008), pp. 97-110. (Reserve) Sonia Cardenas and Andrew Flibbert, National Human Rights Institutions in the Middle East, Middle East Journal 59:3 (Summer 2005) (Reserve). Isobel Coleman, Are the Mideast Revolutions Bad for Women s Rights? pp. 242-246 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) 7
T Oct 28 Early Attempts at Liberal Reform Waterbury, John, Democracy Without Democrats?: The Potential for Political Liberalization in the Middle East, pp. 23-47 in Ghassan Salame, ed., Democracy Without Democrats. IB Tauris, 1994. (Reserve) Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World: An Overview, pp. 29-57 in Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, vol. 1. Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany, and Paul Noble, eds. Lynne Rienner, 1995. (Reserve) Mohamed Talbi, A Record of Failure, pp. 3-12, in Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, Larry Diamond, Marc. F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds., Johns Hopkins, 2003 (Reserve) Emmanuel Sivan, Illusions of Change, pp. 13-27 in Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, Larry Diamond, Marc. F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds., Johns Hopkins, 2003 (Reserve) Adrian Karatnycky, Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa, pp. 3-13 in Freedom in the Middle East and Africa. Freedom House, 2005. (Reserve) Review the latest reports from Freedom House at: http://www.freedomhouse.org/regions/middle-east-and-north-africa WED Oct 29 **MIDTERM ESSAYS DUE**, 770 SWKT, 5pm PART III: SELECTED CASES TH Oct 30 Egypt Joshua Stacher, Arab Republic of Egypt, Chapter 13 in Long, Reich, Gasiorowski. Bahgat Korany, Restricted Democratization from Above: Egypt, pp. 39-69 in Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, vol. 2., Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany, and Paul Noble, eds. Lynne Rienner, 1998. (Reserve) Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, Parties Without Participation, pp. 63-92 in Mobilizing Islam: Religion, Activism, and Political Change in Egypt. Columbia, 2002. (Reserve) 8
Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, The Muslim Brotherhood After Mubarak: What the Brotherhood is and How it Will Shape the Future, pp. 91-97 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) Joshua Stacher, Egypt s Democratic Mirage: How Cairo s Authoritarian Regime is Adapting to Preserve Itself, pp. 98-103 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) Nathan J. Brown, Egypt s Constitutional Ghosts: Deciding the Terms of Cairo s Democratic Transition, pp. 125-131 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) Clement M. Henry and Robert Springborg, A Tunisian Solution for Egypt s Military: Why Egypt s Military Will Not be Able to Govern, pp. 132-136 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) T Nov 4 Iraq Judith Yaphe, Republic of Iraq, Chapter 5 in Gasiorowski. Kanan Makiya, Chapters, 1, 3, 4, pp. 3-45, 73-109 in Republic of Fear: The Politics of Modern Iraq, University of California Press, 1998. (Reserve) Anthony Shadid, Chapters 10 & 16, pp. 197-218, 350-389 in Night Draws Near: Iraq s People in the Shadow of America s War, Henry Holt, 2005. (Reserve) Ned Parker, The Iraq We Left Behind: Welcome to the World s Next Failed State, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2012. (Reserve) Bernard Gwertzman and Ned Parker, Can Iraq Save Itself?, Council on Foreign Relations (interview), August 20, 2014. (Reserve) TH Nov 6 Israel David H. Goldberg, State of Israel, Chapter 11 in Gasiorowski. Myron Aronoff, The Origins of Israeli Political Culture, pp. 47-63 in Ehud Sprinzak and Larry Diamond, eds., Israeli Democracy Under Stress. Lynne Rienner, 1993. (Reserve) Charles Liebman, Religion and Democracy in Israel, pp. 273-292 in Ehud Sprinzak and Larry Diamond, eds., Israeli Democracy Under Stress. Lynne Rienner, 1993. (Reserve). Don Peretz and Gideon Doron, Chapter 3 Political Parties and Ideologies, pp. 71-117 in The Government and Politics of Israel, Westview, 1997. (Reserve). 9
Nadav Ayal, Tent Revolt in Tel Aviv: Will the Protests in Israel Bring Down Netanyahu? Foreign Affairs, 8 August 2011 (Reserve). Nathan J. Brown, Michele Dunne, Lina Khatib, Marwan Muasher, Maha Yahya, What the Gaza War Means for the Middle East, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 28, 2014. (Reserve) *Film Screening: Omar (SWKT 270, 8pm) T Nov 11 Saudi Arabia Sebastian Maisel, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chapter 4 in Gasiorowski. Mamoun Fandy, Context: Concepts, Parameters, and History, pp. 21-60 in Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent. Palgrave, 1999. (Reserve) Michael Herb, pp. 87-108 in All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies. SUNY, 1995. (Reserve) Jean-Francois Seznec, Stirrings in Saudi Arabia, pp. 76-83 in Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, Larry Diamond, Marc. F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds., Johns Hopkins, 2003 (Reserve) Stephane Lacroix and George Holoch (translator), Islamism in a Fragmented Society, Chapter 1 in Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Saudi Arabia, Cambridge University Press, 2011. (Reserve) F. Gregory Gause III, Rageless in Riyadh: Why the Al-Saud Dynasty Will Remain, pp. 205-209 in The New Arab Revolt. (Reserve) TH Nov 13 Iran Mark Gasiorowski, Islamic Republic of Iran, Chapter 3 in Gasiorowski. Daniel Brumberg, Chapters 4 & 5, pp. 80-119 in Reinventing Khomeini: The Struggle for Reform in Iran, University of Chicago Press, 2001. (Reserve) Shaul Bakhash, Iran s Remarkable Election, pp. 109-123 in Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, Larry Diamond, Marc. F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds., Johns Hopkins, 2003 (Reserve) Elaine Sciolino, Leaving the Islamic Republic at the Door, pp. 93-108 in Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran. New York: Free Press, 2000. (Reserve) 10
Jerry Guo, Letter from Tehran: Iran s New Hard-Liners, Foreign Affairs, 30 September 2009 (Reserve). Mohamad Javad Zarif, What Iran Really Wants, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2014 (Reserve). T Nov 18 Turkey Henri Barkey and Omer Taşpinar, Republic of Turkey, Chapter 2 in Gasiorowski. Ergun Ozbudun, Turkey: Crises, Interruptions, and Reequilibrations, pp. 175-217 in Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds. Politics in Developing Countries: Comparing Experiences with Democracy. Lynne Rienner, 1990. (Reserve) Hakan Yavuz, Turkey s Fault Lines and the Crisis of Kemalism, Current History 99:633, pp. 33-38. (Reserve) Marvine Howe, Chapters 1, 2, and 19, pp. 1-22, 243-263 in Turkey Today: a Nation Divided Over Islam s Revival. Westview, 2000. (Reserve) Ziya Onis and Fuat Keyman, Turkey at the Polls: A New Path Emerges, pp. 177-192 in Islam and Democracy in the Middle East, Larry Diamond, Marc. F. Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds., Johns Hopkins, 2003 (Reserve) Henri Barkey, Winners and Losers in Turkey s Election, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 13 June 2011 (Reserve). Quinn Mecham, The AKP s Accountability Problem, Foreign Policy, 7 June 2013 (Reserve). PART IV: TURMOIL AND TRANSITION IN TODAY S MIDDLE EAST TH Nov 20 Understanding the Arab Uprisings of 2011-2012 Lynch, Chapters 1 & 2 Karim Sadjadpour, The Cynical Dairy Farmer s Guide to the New Middle East, Foreign Policy, June 15, 2011 (Reserve). Michele Penner Angrist, Morning in Tunisia: The Frustrations of the Arab World Boil Over, pp. 75-80 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) 11
Dina Shehata, The Fall of the Pharaoh: How Hosni Mubarak s Reign Came to an End, pp. 137-148 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) Lisa Anderson, Demystifying the Arab Spring: Parsing the Differences Between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, pp. 320-328 in The New Arab Revolt (Reserve) T Nov 25 No Class (Friday instruction) T Dec 2 Regional and Cross-National Dimensions of the Arab Uprisings Lynch, Chapters 3-6 TH Dec 4 Key Actors and Themes in the Arab Uprisings Lynch, Chapters 7-12 T Dec 9 Contemporary Public Opinion and Constitutional Revolutions Lynch, Chapters 13-16 *Film Screening: The Square (SWKT 270, 8pm) TH Dec 11 Case Study Research Roundtables (in class) F Dec 12 CASE STUDY DUE at 770 SWKT, 5 pm M Dec 15 **FINAL EXAM** 7-10am (in class) 12