This course offers a comprehensive historical, social, and economic background for understanding the contemporary politics of the Middle East. While providing a historical framework and up-to-date analysis of contemporary events, the course also introduces key theories and concepts and applies them to a Middle Eastern context. Firstly, the course offers a historical and chronological overview of the principal developments in the politics of the Middle East within the broader context of an evolving international system. Secondly, the course considers region-specific conflicts and issues-the Arab-Israel crisis, wars in the Gulf, and U.S. and European policy-and examines them from a comparative and international perspective. Thirdly, the course provides a regionally sensitive perspective by looking at major themes, including the political economy of the oil, democratization, and Islamic political movements. Prerequisite: POSC 100 or permission of the instructor.
2016-2017 Course Catalog / Courses / Politics of the Middle East