POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Catalog description

This course is a comprehensive survey of historical and contemporary events in the region and focuses on the period starting from the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the present. We will examine processes of state building, struggles for self-determination and the domestic, regional, and international factors shaping the foreign policies of key states in the Middle East, the politics of religion, particularly the rise of various violent and non-violent forms of Islamic fundamentalism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the fate of ethnic and religious minorities in the wake of the region's upheavals. The ultimate purpose is to provide students with historical and substantive knowledge of the region and the analytical tools necessary to critically evaluate events and political trends.