POLS210: MIDDLE EAST POLITICS

Mount Lebanon

Prof. William Harris

Email: will.harris@otago.ac.nz

Phone: 479 8360

Lectures

Wednesday: 2.00 – 2.50pm

Thursday: 4.00 – 4.50pm

Tutorials

Wednesday: 3.00 – 3.50; 4.00 – 4.50pm

Friday: 10.00 – 10.50; 11.00 – 11.50am

Office hours – Monday: 2.00 – 3.50pm

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course explores the politics and international relations of Middle Eastern states,

principally in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. We shall survey state, nation,

ethnicity, sectarianism, pluralism, democracy, theocracy, and autocracy in the Middle

Eastern context. We shall consider the significance of territory, resources, demography,

culture/religion, and gender in political affairs. We shall give attention to the post-2010 wave

of uprisings in the Arab world, the ongoing crises of Syria and Iraq, and Israeli-Palestinian

developments. Can regional affairs be represented as ‘Tyranny and Terror’? The course has

cultural and historical components because of the need to interpret the present in terms of the

past, especially in a core region of world civilization like the Middle East.

OUTPUTS

By the end of this course you should have:

• Appreciation of the intricacy and instability of geopolitical relations and balances,

and their inseparability from their economic and cultural backgrounds

• An understanding of the characteristics and significance of Middle Eastern

countries and of the Middle East as a major region of the global "South"

• Enhanced but critical sensitivity towards non‑Western perspectives on

contemporary political issues

• Awareness of the complexities in interpreting such ideas as “state," “community,"

and "nation"

LECTURES AND TUTORIALS

There are two lecture sessions each week. On eight weeks, as specified in the course

timetable, there will be tutorials.

TERMS

You are required to attend at least six out of the eight tutorials. Failure to do so means

you will not be permitted to sit the final examination.

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ASSESSMENT

Assessment comprises tutorial group work (20%), an essay based on group work (30%), and

a two-hour examination based on the lecture programme (50%).

Tutorial group work (20%)

Each tutorial will divide into four groups of five-six students per group. Each group will be

responsible for becoming familiar with the features and issues of a particular country.

Groups will have two tasks:

Write a briefing memo on your allocated country (15 marks out of 20)

The briefing memo should be a short (four-page) document that summarizes and integrates

relevant information about your country and the challenges it faces today. Although it is short,

writing the briefing memo requires substantial research and critical thinking. You will need

to use academic sources as well as search for information on the Web. The memo is not

merely about presenting raw data. It is crucial that you explain how different factors account

for the current situation in your country. Here students can draw on lectures given in the first

half of the course (see Module One, pp. 7-9 in this course guide).

Because there is no single correct way to write a briefing memo, you will not be given

specific guidelines. You should look up examples of briefing memos or similar documents,

such as from think-tanks. Various combinations of text, tables and images may work, and this

will partly depend on the information you find most relevant. You should write the main text

using space and a half format.

Oral presentation of the briefing memo (5 marks)

Each group will give a six-minute oral presentation of their memo, followed by five minutes

Q & A (week of 3 September 2018). Your presentation will be assessed on structure and

clarity, raising of key issues, and response to questions. You will hand-in the briefing memo

itself by midday, Monday 10 September 2018 (200-level box, fourth floor foyer, Burns

building).

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Introductory literature:

Country surveys in Gasiorowski, Mark and Yom, Sean (eds), The Government and Politics of

the Middle East and North Africa Eighth Edition (Boulder, CO: Westview, 2017)

Gelvin, James, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford

University Press, 2018)

Essay (30%)

Proceeding from the group work, each student will a prepare a comparative evaluation of

two Middle Eastern countries in the early twenty-first century. Students should choose

cases from the list of countries for the group work. You may stay with your original assigned

country as one of the cases, but you are not required to do so. For the United Arab

Emirates/Qatar (combined for group purposes), you should make comparisons of one or the

other with third countries – not with each other.

Question: Compare the situations, politics, and prospects of any two Middle East

countries (out of the nine selected for the group activity).

Essays should include:

(a) An introduction briefly explaining your approach and major themes/arguments being

used to address the question (in other words, your ‘road map’);

(b) A main body of coherent interconnected themes exploring various possibilities

inherent in the essay topic, backed by concrete exemplification; and

(c) A conclusion presenting an integrated summary of your argument and evidence,

highlighting the two or three most important features of your answer.

Your arguments and exemplification should be supported by reference to relevant sources.

For referencing styles, consult the Otago library subject guide Referencing/Citation Styles.

At the end of the essay you must provide a bibliography of sources that you have used in

your essay. For notes and bibliography, you may use either the Chicago or APA or Harvard

referencing style, but not a mixture.

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Your composition must be your own original work. Copying or close paraphrasing from

the sources without acknowledgement, or copying from other student essays, is plagiarism,

and it will be penalized. Please consult the Politics Department website regarding “dishonest

practice” (http://www.otago.ac.nz/politicalstudies/degrees.html). Quotation in support of

arguments should be brief, with acknowledgement of the source.

Your essay word limit is 2,000 words

Readings

Academic journals that may contain useful articles include Arab Studies Quarterly, British

Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Current History, Foreign Affairs, International Journal of

Middle East Studies, Middle East Journal, Middle East Quarterly, Middle Eastern Studies,

Survival (all in Otago library e-journals), and Orient (library hard copy). To make

country/issue searches, visit the politics database guide on the library web site – you can use

academic journal article search engines such as Academic Search Complete (EBSCO host)

and Pro-Quest, and databases such as Factiva (Reuters and Dow-Jones).

On the Internet, the Foreign Affairs (Council on Foreign Relations), Royal Institute of

International Affairs (Chatham House), Foreign Policy, Brookings, Washington Institute for

Near East Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Open Democracy, AEI, and

MERIA sites feature good reports on contemporary Middle Eastern affairs. Middle Eastern

English language newspapers on the web include The Daily Star (Lebanon), The Jerusalem

Post (Israel), ynet (Israel), and The National (United Arab Emirates). Al-Monitor supplies

short, sharp commentaries that are well worth reading.

Hand‑ in date

All essays must be submitted by 12pm, Monday 24 September 2018. You should put your

hard copy essays into the 200-level box in the fourth-floor foyer, Burns Building. Late work

for which an extension or exemption has not been obtained will NOT be accepted. Marked

essays will be returned to you in class on Thursday 11 October 2018.

Criteria for assessment

• Identification and exploration of possibilities inherent in the essay

• Appropriate use of a range of sources

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• Ability to summarise evidence, arguments, and debates

• Ability to support argument with appropriate exemplification

• Logical organisation of material

• Evidence of care in preparation

• Clarity and correctness of writing

• Attention to conventions of referencing

If you wish clarification of your grade in addition to the commentary on your essay, you

should consult the lecturer. Revisiting of grades is not normal procedure.

Examination (50%)

The two-hour final examination will be based on the lecture programme, although the tutorial

component of the course will also provide useful material. You will answer two out of five-

six essay format questions.

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COURSE OUTLINE

Recommended readings:

Devlin, James. The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford (2018)

Fawcett, Louise (ed). The International Relations of the Middle East Fourth Edition, Oxford

(2016)

MacQueen, Benjamin. An Introduction to Middle East Politics Second Edition. Sage (2018)

Schwedler, Jillian (ed). Understanding the Contemporary Middle East Fourth Edition,

Rienner (2014)

Recommended for individual countries:

Gasiorowski, Mark, and Yom, Sean (eds). The Government and Politics of the Middle East

Eighth Edition, Westview (2017)

MODULE ONE: Cultural Context and General Issues

11 July General features of the Middle East

12 July Sunni and Shia Muslims

Schwedler, Chapters 2 and 10.

Harris, William. The Levant: A Fractured Mosaic Fourth Edition. Markus Wiener (2015)

Rogan, Eugene. The Arabs: A History. Allen Lane (2009)

Louer, Laurence. Shi’ism and Politics in the Middle East. Council on Foreign Affairs (2012)

Halm, Heinz. Shi’ism (2nd Edition). Columbia (2007)

18 July Christians and Jews

19 July Emergence of Modern Middle Eastern States

Tutorials Shi’ism film

Fawcett, Chapters 2 and 3.

MacQueen, Chapters 1 and 2.

Schwedler, Chapters 3 and 5.

Dorigo, L. and Milluzzi, A. Rifugio: Christians of the Middle East. Schilt Publishing (2015)

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Yapp, Malcolm. The Making of the Modern Middle East. Longman (1987).

25 July External intrusion – the case of the United States

26 July Tyranny and Terror: modern Middle Eastern Despotism

Tutorials Syria film

Fawcett, Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 16.

MacQueen, Chapters 5 and 8.

Schwedler, Chapter 4.

Rutherford, Bruce. “Egypt’s New Authoritarianism Under Sisi.” Middle East Journal 72:2

(2018): 185-208.

Haass, Richard. “The Irony of American Strategy: Putting the Middle East in Proper

Perspective.” Foreign Affairs 92:3 (2013): 57-67.

1 August Islamism and Jihadism

2 August The Arab Uprisings: Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya

Tutorials Group work

Gerges, Fawaz. ISIS: A History, Princeton (2016)

Gelvin, James. The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know Second Edition, Oxford

(2015)

MacQueen, Chapter 10.

Schwedler, Chapter 12.

Fawcett, Chapters 8 and 15.

Filiu, J-P. From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi

Legacy. Hurst (2015).

Dawisha, Adeed. Revolution, Democracy, and the Islamist Challenge from Tunis to

Damascus. Norton (2013).

Stepan A, and Linz J. “Democratization Theory and the Arab Spring.” Journal of Democracy,

24:2 (2013): 15-30.

8 August The Arab Uprisings: Yemen and the Arab East

9 August Women in the Arab World

Tutorials Group work

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Salisbury, Peter. Yemen: National Chaos, Local Order. Chatham House (2017)

(https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/yemen-national-chaos-local-order)

Dingli, S. “Is the Failed State Thesis Analytically Useful? The Case of Yemen.” Politics 33:2

(2013): 91-100.

Jones, S. “The Mirage of the Arab Spring: Deal with the Region you Have, Not the Region

you Want.” Foreign Affairs 92:1 (2013): 55-63.

Bermen, S. “The Promise of the Arab Spring: In Political Development, No Gain without

Pain.” Foreign Affairs 92:1 (2013): 64-74.

Schwedler, Chapter 11.

Eltahawy, Mona. Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution.

Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (2015).

Wills, Emily. “Democratic Paradoxes: Women’s Rights and Democratization in Kuwait.”

Middle East Journal. 67:2 (2013): 173-184.

15 August No lecture

16 August No lecture

Tutorials Group work

MODULE TWO: Regional Conflicts

22 August Israel and the Palestinians

23 August Discussion of tutorial group work with lecturer

Gasiorowski and Yom chapters on Israel and the Palestinians.

Shlaim, Avi. The Iron Wall – Israel and the Arab World Second Edition. Norton (2014) (pp.

585-814)

MacQueen, Chapter 9.

Fawcett, Chapters 12 and 13.

Peleg, Ilan and Paul Scham. “Historical Breakthroughs in Arab-Israeli Negotiations: Lessons

for the Future.” Middle East Journal 64:2 (2010): 215-233.

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5 September West Bank and Gaza issues

6 September Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian outlooks

Tutorials Group presentations

O’Malley, Padraig. The Two-State Delusion: Israel and Palestine – A Tale of Two Narratives.

Penguin (2015)

Scheindlin, Dahlia. “An Israeli-Palestinian Confederation Can Work.” Foreign Policy, 29

June, 2018 (//foreignpolicy.com/2018/06/29/an-israeli-palestinian-confederation-can-work/)

12 September Parameters of the Syria and Iraq crises, 2011-2018

13 September Tyranny and Terror in Syria

Tutorials Essay advice

Gasiorowski and Yom chapters on Syria and Iraq.

Harris, William. Quicksilver War: Syria, Iraq and the Spiral of Conflict Hurst and Oxford

(2018)

Abboud, Samer. Syria. Polity Press (2016)

Yassin-Kassab, Robin and Al-Shami, Leila. Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War

Second Edition. Pluto Press (2017)

Ziadeh, Radwan. Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and

Democracy in the Modern Middle East. I. B. Tauris (2012)

19 September Syrian situation and geopolitics looking ahead

24 September ESSAY DEADLINE

26 September Iraq since 2003

Tutorials Syria and Iraq plus exam revision

Gasiorowski and Yom chapter on Iraq.

Al-Ali, Zaid. The Struggle for Iraq’s Future: How Incompetence, Corruption, and

Sectarianism Have Undermined Iraq. Yale (2014).

Allawi, A. The Occupation of Iraq. Yale (2007).

Herring, E and Ranwala, G. Iraq in Fragments: The Occupation and its Legacy. Cornell

(2006).

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Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq Third Edition. Cambridge (2007).

Sky, Emma. “Mission Still Not Accomplished in Iraq: Why the United States Should Not

Leave.” Foreign Affairs 96:6 (2017) 9-15.

3 October The Kurds and the Syria-Iraq war zone

Natali, Denise. “The Kurdish Quasi-State: Leveraging Political Limbo.” The Washington

Quarterly 38:2 (2015) 145-164.

Stansfield, Gareth. “The Islamic State, the Kurdistan Region and the Future of Iraq.”

International Affairs 90:6 (2014) 1329-1350.

Gunter, Michael. Out of Nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in Peace and War. Hurst (2014)

Kirmanj, Sherko. Identity and Nation in Iraq. Lynne Rienner (2013).

Bengio, Ofra. The Kurds of Iraq. Lynne Rienner (2012).

SPECIAL NEEDS: Students with special or specific needs are encouraged to speak to the

lecturer and the University’s disability information and support office regarding alternative

arrangements required. All such matters are treated with the strictest confidence by all staff.

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