POLS 380 (Syllabus, Winter 2022) PDF

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Department of Political Science Political Science 380 Politics in the Middle East Winter 2022

Instructor: Dr. Mojtaba Mahdavi Office: Tory Building, 10-25 Phone: (780) 492-0736 Email: [email protected]

Tues. and Thurs.: 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM Lecture Online: Zoom via eClass Office hours: Appointment by email (virtual) TA: Reza Khodarahmi: [email protected]

v Course Description This course introduces students to the major themes of domestic and international politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Its objective is to portray the complex socio-political picture of the region and to challenge simplified generalizations exemplified in numerous political discourses and theoretical approaches to the Middle Eastern studies. The objectives of this course will be learned from a combination of formal virtual lectures, guest presentations, assigned readings and assignments. The course is divided into two major sections. The first section will problematize major approaches, themes, and theories in the Middle Eastern studies. We will look at opposing views on controversial concepts/themes such as Orientalism, Islamism, extremism, nationalism, democratization, politics of oil, US and China’s policies toward the Middle East, gender politics, and social movements in the Middle East. The second section will introduce contemporary political institutions, political culture, and political economy of several countries/case studies in this region. We will look at politics of war and peace, reform, resistance and revolution through a comparative case studies of the region. The major goal of this course is to introduce an alternative perspective on politics and societies of the Middle East. After completing this course, students will have developed their analytical skills and theoretical tools in a critical understanding of politics and societies of the Middle East.

v Course Requirements Book review Term paper Final Exam (Take-home exam to be turned in:)

30% 30% 40%

Thurs. Feb. 17 Thurs. Mar. 31 Mon. April 11

More information on the assignments are available on the last pages of the syllabus.

v Course Materials Required: • All required readings are available as e-books at the UofA liberty, or on eClass. If interested, the required books are also available at the UofA bookstore. 1. Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century (Oakland, California: California University Press, 2021) 2. James L. Gelvin, ed. The Contemporary Middle Eat in An Age of Upheaval (Stanford, Californian: California University Press, 2021) 3. Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East (Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2020) 4. U of Alberta eClass: https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/my/ Recommended: 1. Michele Penner Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, 2nd ed. (Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013).

v Course Topics and Schedule Part I: Major Approaches and Themes in Middle Eastern Studies

1. Introduction: Defining the Middle East (Thurs. Jan. 06) Required Readings: Michael Gasper, “Why Can’t You Find the Middle East on a Map?” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 15-34. Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, “Global Middle East,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, pp. 3-22. Joel Beinin, “Is There a New Middle East? What Has Changed, and What Hasn’t?” in James L. Gelvin, ed. The Contemporary Middle Eat in An Age of Upheaval, pp. 23-39.

Recommended Readings/Sources: Michele Penner Angrist, “The Making of Middle East,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 1-29. 40 Maps that Explain the Middle East http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-the-middle-east#top A Cartoon History of the Middle East http://mideastcartoonhistory.com/index.html

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2. Orientalism and its Critics (Tues. Jan. 11) Required Readings/Sources: Omnia El Shakry, “Controversy in the Classroom Lessons from the Modern Middle East,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 35-46. Edward Said On Orientalism (Videoclip): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g Edward W. Said, “Orientalism 25 Years Later: Worldly Humanism v. the Empire-builders” in Counterpunch, August 5, 2003. https://www.counterpunch.org/2003/08/05/orientalism Recommended Readings: Zachary Lockman, Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism in Mahdavi, ed. Contemporary Middle East, pp. 7-31. Fred Halliday, “Orientalism and its Critics,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2 (1993), 145-163 Bernard Lewis, Islam and the West (Oxford; Oxford University press, 1993), chapter 6. Jean Allain, “Orientalism and International Law: Middle East as the underclass of International Legal Order”, Leiden Journal of International Law, No. 17 (2004), 391-404. Mojtaba Mahdavi and Andy Knight, “Introduction: Towards ‘The Dignity of Difference? Neither ‘The End of History’ nor ‘The Clash of Civilizations.’” In Mojtaba Mahdavi and Andy Knight, eds. Towards ‘The Dignity of Difference’? Neither ‘End of History’ nor ‘Clash of Civilizations’ (Routledge, 2012), pp. 1-23.

3. Orientalism in the Literature; Now and Then Guest Lecture by Mr. Sajad Soleymani (Thurs. Jan. 13) Required Readings: Edward W. Said, Orientalism (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1978), 1-57. https://sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2014/12/Said_full.pdf

Recommended Readings: Edmund Burke III, “Orientalism and world history: Representing Middle Eastern nationalism and Islamism in the twentieth century” A.L. Macfie, Orientalism (London; New York; Toronto: Pearson, 2002). Mojtaba Mahdavi, “A Postcolonial Critique of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in the Middle East,” Perceptions: Journal of International Affairs, vol. XX, no. 1 (Spring): 7-36.

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4. Islamism: An Islamic Particularism or a Sociopolitical Phenomenon? (Tues. Jan. 18) Required Readings: Ovamir Anjum, “The Legacy of Islam in the Modern Middle East,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 49-67. Olivier Roy, “Islamizing Radicalism,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, pp. 282-292. Peter Mandaville, “Islamism at a Crossroads? The Diffusion of Political Islam in the Arab World,” in James L. Gelvin, ed. The Contemporary Middle Eat in An Age of Upheaval, pp. 106122. Recommended Readings: Sohel Rana, Sumit Ganguly, “Taliban's religious ideology – Deobandi Islam – has roots in colonial India,” The Conversation, August 25, 2021. https://theconversation.com/amp/talibans-religious-ideologydeobandi-islam-has-roots-in-colonial-india-166323 “Journalist Ahmed Rashid on the Taliban’s Return to Power & What Comes Next for Afghanistan,” Democracy Now, August 16, 2021. https://www.democracynow.org/2021/8/16/us_war_in_afghanistan_taliban_takeover “The Taliban's Ideology Has Surprising Roots In British-Ruled India,” NPR, September 8, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/09/08/1034754547/taliban-ideology-roots-deobandi-islam-india Ebrahim Moosa, “God,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, pp. 25-34. Jillian Schwedler, “Religion and Politics,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 121-143. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, ed., The Contemporary Arab Reader on Political Islam (Pluto Press & UoAPress, 2010) Nikki R. Keddie, “The New Religious Politics: Where, When, and Why Do ‘Fundamentalisms’ Appear?” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 40, No. 4 (Oct. 1998), 696-723 A. Bayat, “Islamism and Social Movement Theory,” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 6 (2005)891-908.

5. Democratization & Islamism: Tunisia at Crossroads; The Ennahda Party and the Future of Democracy (Thurs. Jan. 20) Guest lecture by Mr. Houssem Ben Lazreg Required Readings: Chuchu Zhang and Yahia H Zoubir, “Tunisia: A Failed Democratic Experiment?” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, November 12, 2021. https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/11/12/tunisia-a-failed-democratic-experiment/

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Nadia Marzouki, “Whatever Happened to Dignity? The Politics of Citizenship in Post-Revolution Tunisia,” Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), December 1, 2021. https://merip.org/2021/12/whatever-happened-to-dignity-the-politics-of-citizenship-in-post-revolution-tunisia/

Thierry Bresillon, “Ennahda or the Cost of Recognition,” Arab Reform Initiative, November 26, 2021. https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/ennahda-or-the-cost-of-recognition/ Recommended Readings: Gilbert Achcar, Morbid Symptoms: Relapse in the Arab Uprising (Stanford University Press, 2016). Asef Bayat, Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017). Thierry Bresillon, “Ennahda the ‘Sick Man’ of Tunisian Politics,” Orient XXI, February 13, 2020. https://orientxxi.info/magazine/ennahda-the-sick-man-of-tunisian-politics,3625 Robert P. Parks and tarek Kahlaoui, “Populist Passions or Democratic Aspirations? Tunisia’s Liberal Democracy in Crisis,” Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), October 26, 2021. https://merip.org/2021/10/populist-passions-or-democratic-aspirations-tunisias-liberal-democracy-in-crisis/

6. Nationalism and Politics of Identity in the Middle East (Tues. Jan. 25) Required Readings: Sara Pursley, “Colonialism, Empire, and Nationalist Movements,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 68-84. Hamid Dabashi, “On Nations without Borders,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, pp. 60-74. Recommended Readings: Lisa Anderson, “The State in the Middle East and North Africa,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Oct. 1987), 1-18. Don Peretz, The Middle East Today, 6th ed. (Westport: PRAEGER) pp. 134-158. David Siddhartha Patel, “Identity and Politics,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 145-165. Eugene L. Rogan, “The Emergence of the Middle East into the Modern State System”, in Louise Fawcett, ed., International relations of the Middle East (Oxford &New York: Oxford University Press, 2005)

7. Nationalism and Religion in the Middle East (Thurs. Jan. 27) Guest lecture by Mr. Ehsan Kashfi Required Readings: Brubaker, Rogers. "Religion and nationalism: Four Approaches." Nations and Nationalism 18.1 (2012): 2-20.

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Saleh, Alam, and James Worrall. "Between Darius and Khomeini: Exploring Iran's National Identity Problematique." National Identities 17.1 (2015): 73-97. Recommended Readings: John L. Esposito, “Nationalism,” in Islam and Politics, John L. Esposito, 4th ed. (New York: Syracuse University Press, 1998) in Mahdavi, ed. Contemporary Middle East, pp.96-118. Fred Halliday, Nation and Religion in the Middle East (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000) 31-54. James Clark, “Frequent Incompatibilities: Ethnic and Religious Diversity and the Nations of the Middle East,” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol. XXII, No. 1&2 (2002), 36-42.

8. Contemporary Social Movements in the Middle East and the Aftermath (Tues. Feb. 01) Required Readings: Asef Bayat, “Arab Uprisings in the Modern Middle East,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 201-216. Nathan J. Brown, “Islamists before and after 2011: Assuming, Overlooking, or Overthrowing the Administrative State?” in James L. Gelvin, ed. The Contemporary Middle Eat in An Age of Upheaval, pp. 123-136 Fred H. Lawson, “The Post-Uprising Transformation of International Relations in the Middle East and North Africa,” in James L. Gelvin, ed. The Contemporary Middle Eat in An Age of Upheaval, pp.221-237 Recommended Readings: Rami G. Khouri, The decade of defiance & resistance: Reflections on Arab Revolutionary Uprisings and Responses from 2010 – 2020. The Soufan Center, May 2021. https://thesoufancenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/TSC-Global-Perspectives-Series_The-Decade-ofDefiance-Resistance-MENA-Protest-Movements_May-2021_FINAL.pdf Arang Keshavarzian, S. Philbrick, A. Said, and P. Moore, eds. “Revolutionary Afterlives, “Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), Winter 2021. https://merip.org/magazine/301/ Lori Allen, “Human Rights, Indigenous and Imperial,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, 304-318. June Cole, The Arab millennials will be back: Thre e w a ys th e yout h re be l lio n s a re s ti ll s ha pin g t h e M i d dl e Ea s t, ” L e M o n de d i p l oma t i q u e, 29 JUNE 2014. HTTP://MONDEDIPLO.COM/OPENPAGE/THE-ARAB-MILLENNIALS-WILL-BE-BACK Asef Bayat, “Paradox of Arab Refo-lutions,” Jadaliyya, March 3, 2011 http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/786/paradoxes-of-arab-refo-lutions Victoria Tahmasbi-Birgani, “Green Women of Iran: The Role of the Women's Movement During and After Iran's Presidential Election of 2009,” Constellations Vol. 17, Issue 1, March 2010, 78-86;

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Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel, eds. The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran’s Future (Brooklyn: Melville House Publishing, 2010) Asef Bayat, "Social Movements, Activism and Social Development in the Middle East," United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Nov. 2000, 1-35 http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/9C2BEFD0EE1C73B380256B5E004CE4C3/$file/bayat.pdf

Joel Beinin, "Popular Social Movements and the Future of Egyptian Politics," Middle East Report Online, March 2005. http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031005.html H. El-Hamalawy, "Comrades and Brothers," Middle East Report

9. The Post-Arab Spring Developments: Morocco’s Politics and Energy Transition (Thurs. Feb. 03) Guest lecture by Mr. Anas Fassih Required Readings: Yasmina Abouzzohour, Progress and Missed Opportunities: Morocco Enters Its Third Decade Under King Mohammed VI – Policy Briefing, Brookings Doha Centre, 29 July 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/research/progress-and-missed-opportunities-morocco-enters-its- third -decade-under-king-mohammed-vi/

Roberto Cantonia, Karen Rignallb, “Kingdom of the Sun: a critical, Multiscalar analysis of Morocco’s solar energy strategy,” Energy Research & Social Science 51 (2019) 20–31. file:///Users/mahdavia/Downloads/Rignall-%20Kingdom%20of%20the%20Sun.pdf Recommended Readings: June Cole, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changed the Middle East (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014). Roger Owen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012). Graham Usher, “The Reawakening of Nahda in Tunisia,” Middle East Research and Information Project Vol. 258, Spring 2011 at: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero043011 Mona El-Ghobashy, “The Praxis of the Egyptian Revolution” Middle East Research and Information Project Vol. 258, Spring 2011: Mona El-Ghobashy, “Governments and Oppositions,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 33-51. Asef Bayat, “Revolutions in Bad Times,” New http://newleftreview.org/II/80/asef-bayat-revolution-in-bad-times

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10. Political Economy in Context: Politics of Oil and Water in the Middle East (Tues. Feb. 08) Required Readings: Toby Craig Jones, “America, Oil, and War in the Middle East,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 168-183.

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Jeannie Sowers, “Water of Vulnerability,” in Asef Bayat and Linda Herrera, eds. Global Middle East: Into the Twenty-first Century, pp. 177-185. Recommended Readings: Hossein Mahdavy, "Patterns and Problems of Economic Development in Rentier States: The Case of Iran". In M. A. Cook, ed. Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East (Routledge, 1970), 428–467. Peter W. Moore, “Political Economy,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 75-97. Beverley Milton-Edwards, Contemporary Politics in the Middle East, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: polity Press, 2006) in Mahdavi, ed. Contemporary Middle East, pp. 193-214. Alan Richards and John Waterbury, A Political Economy of the Middle East (Colorado: Westview, 2008)

11. Iran’s Oil Resources & American Petroaesthetics: The Making of the National Gallery of Art, DC (Thurs. Feb. 10) Guest lecture by Ms. Banafsheh Mohammadi Required Readings: Bart H. Welling, “Beyond Doom and Gloom in Petroaesthetics: Facing Oil, Making Energy Matter,” MediaTropes, Vol VII, No 2 (2020): 138–174. 139. Recommended Reading: Giacomo Luciani, “Oil and Political Economy in the International Relations of the Middle East,” in Louise Fawcett, ed. International Relations of the Middle East (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), in Mahdavi, ed. Contemporary Middle East, pp. 215-236. Stephen Kinzer, All the Shah’s Man: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror (Wiley & Sons Canada, 2008) Ervand Abrahamian, The Coup: 1953, The CIA, and the Roots of Modern US-Iranian Relations (The New Press, 2013)

12. The United States in/and the Middle East (Tues. Feb. 15) Required Readings: Nathan J. Citino, “US Foreign Policy in the Middle East,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 151-167. Darryl Li, “Teaching the Global War on Terror,” in Omina El Shakry, ed. Understanding and Teaching the Modern Middle East, pp. 184-200.

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Noam Chomsky & Gilbert Achcar, Perilous Power: The Middle East & U.S. Foreign Policy – Dialogue on Terror, Democracy, War, and Justice, Stephen R. Shalom, ed. (Boulder: Paradigm Publishers, 2007), chapters 1 &2. Vali Nasr, “All Against All: The Sectarian Resurgence in the Post-American Middle East,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2022. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middleeast/2021-12-02/iran-middle-east-all-against-all John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, “The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy,” Middle East Policy, Vol. XIII, No. 3, Fall 2006, 29-87. Recommended Readings: Fawaz A. Gerges, “The Taliban Can’t Control Afghanistan. That Should Worry the West,” Foreign Policy, August 31, 2021. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/31/taliban-afghanistan-islamic-state-khorasan-isis-west-securityterrorism-attacks/

Sarah Chayes, “Afghanistan’s Corruption Was Made in America: How Self-Dealing Elites Failed in Both Countries,” Foreign Affairs, September 3, 2021. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-09-03/afghanistans-corruption-was-made-inamerica?utm_medium=newsletters&utm_source=twofa&utm_campaign=Afghanistan%E2%80%99s%20Corruption%20Was%20Mad e%20in%20America&utm_content=20210910&utm_term=FA%20This%20Week%20-%20112017

Linda J Bilmes, “Where did the $5tn spent on Afghanistan and Iraq go? Here’s where,” The Guardian, September 11, 2021 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/11/us-afghanistan-iraqdefense-spending Muqtedar Khan, American Foreign Policy after 9|11 (15 minutes videoclip) https://youtu.be/_RqO55R9Dv8 Muqtedar Khan, 5 Consequences of US Military withdrawal from Afghanistan https://youtu.be/9Kir7GDH0yM U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, Congressional Research Service, November 16, 2020. https://sgp.fas.org/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf Raymond Hinnebusch, “The Middle East in the world hierarchy: imperialism and resistance,” Journal of International Relations and Development, Vol 14, 2011, pp. 213–246. F. Gregory Cause III, “The Impact of International Politics,” in Angrist, Ed. Politics & Society in the Contemporary Middle East, pp. 53-73. Michael C. Hudson, “The United Stets in the Middle East”, in Louise Fawcett, ed. International Relations of the Middle East (Oxford; new York: Oxford University Press, 2005) Gary Sick, “The Obama Doctrine,” Project on Middle East Political Science, March 24, 2014. http://pomeps.org/2014/03/24/the...