The Geopolitics of the Middle East

Catalog description

This course will focus on critical issues in the geopolitics of the Middle East region, broadly defined as extending from Libya to Iran. Students will be introduced to the forces structuring state relations in the post-Ottoman period, including pan-Arabism, Zionism, Baathism, nationalism, terrorism, democracy, and the Sunni-Shia divide. Critical junctures including Israeli independence, the Six-Day War, the Iran-Iraq War, The Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Arab Spring, and the rise of ISIS will be discussed.