9795260 - THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST: A HISTORICAL AND LEGAL APPROACH

AIMS AND SCOPE 

This course provides a comparative perspective to the analysis of politics in the Middle East, broadly defined to include Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. We will pursue the double objective of using comparative politics to understand the Middle East, while also seeking to start from the analysis of MENA countries to address broader questions in comparative politics and international relations. These are some of the specific questions we ask in the course:

•        Why and how did the Arab uprisings occur and what explains the varied trajectories in their wake?

•        Why does authoritarianism persist in most of the region – in some cases even after longtime dictators were ousted – while Tunisia bucked this trend by embarking a democratic transition?

•        Why has democracy eroded in Turkey, which had one of the developed democracies in the region?

•        Why have Islamists gained prominence in many Middle Eastern countries while secular movements seem to be declining?

•        Why are people killing each other in the name of religion at this moment in history, and how can we understand the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State?

•        What does all of this mean for the future of the Middle East?

These are instead some of the broader question we seek to address meanwhile:

•        Why do revolutions occur and can we predict them in advance?

•        Why are some countries governed democratically while dictators seem to have a firm grasp on power in others?

•        Why have religious movements emerged and gained support in recent decades?

The course assumes no background knowledge. However, a general background of political science (comparative politics and international relations) is certainly useful. Feel free to approach me and I will be happy to recommend some background readings.

Block 1. Political systems

Day 1. Background to political systems.

Read: Lust, ch.1 The Making of the Modern Middle East

Day 2. States and actors

Read: Melani Cammett, Ishac Diwan, Alan Richards, and John Waterbury. A Political Economy of the Middle East, 4th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2015, ch. 2, Political regimes (skim pp. 73-88, read pp. 88-122).

Student 1. State and state building

Core reading for presentation:

Blaydes, Lisa. “State Building in the Middle East.” Annual Review of Political Science 20 (2017): 487-504.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Jacob Gerner Hariri. “A Contribution to the Study of Middle Eastern and Muslim Exceptionalism.” Journal of Politics 77, no. 2 (2015): 477-490.

Blaydes, Lisa and Eric Chaney. “The Feudal Revolution and Europe’s Rise: Political Divergence of the Christian West and the Muslim World before 1500 CE.” American Political Science Review 107, no. 1 (2013): 16-34.

Anderson, Lisa. “The State in the Middle East and North Africa.” Comparative Politics 20, no. 1 (1987): 1-18.

Student 2. Political actors and political institutions

Core reading for presentation:

Hinnebusch, Raymond A. “Political Parties in MENA: Their Functions and Development.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 44, no. 2 (2017): 159-175.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Cavatorta, Francesco and Lise Storm. “Do Arabs Not Do Parties? An Exploration and Introduction.” In Political Parties in the Arab World, edited by Francesco Cavatorta and Lise Storm, eds. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 2018, ch. 1.

Corstange, Daniel. “Clientelism in Competitive and Uncompetitive Elections.” Comparative Political Studies 51, no. 1 (2018): 76-104.

Student 3. Opinions and political values (Alessandra Strano)

Core reading for presentation:

Cammett, Melani, Ishac Diwan, and Irina Vartanova. “Insecurity and Political Values in the Arab World.” Democratization 27, no. 5 (2020): 699-716.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Benstead, Lindsay J. “Why Do Some Arab Citizens See Democracy as Unsuitable for Their Country?” Democratization 22, no. 7 (2015): 1183-1208.

Nyhan, Brendan and Thomas Zeitzoff. “Conspiracy and Misperception Belief in the Middle East and North Africa.” The Journal of Politics 80, no. 4 (2018): 1400-1404.

Ciftci, Sabri. “Modernization, Islam, or Social Capital: What Explains Attitudes toward Democracy in the Muslim World?” Comparative Political Studies 43, no. 11 (2010): 1442–1470.

Spierings, Niels. “Trust and Tolerance across the Middle East and North Africa: A Comparative Perspective on the Impact of the Arab Uprisings.” Politics and Governance 5, no. 2 (2017): 4–15.

Mazaheri, Nimah and Steve L. Monroe. “No Arab Bourgeoisie, No Democracy? The Entrepreneurial Middle Class and Democratic Attitudes since the Arab Spring.” Comparative Politics 50, no. 4 (2018): 523–550.

Shockley, Bethany and Justin J. Gengler. “Social Identity and Coethnic Voting in the Middle East: Experimental Evidence from Qatar.” Electoral Studies 67 (2020): 1-13.

Day 3. Authoritarianism

Read: Cammett and Diwan (2020) “The Political Economy of Development in the Middle East”, in Lust, E. (2019). The Middle East. CQ Press, 269-306

Student 4. Social media in (and about) the Middle East (Farzaneh Nami)

Core reading for presentation:

Jamal, Amaney A., Robert Keohane, David Romney, Dustin Tingley. “Anti-Americanism and Anti- Interventionism in Arabic Twitter Discourses.” Perspectives on Politics 13, no. 1 (2015): 55-73.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Pan, Jennifer and Alexandra A. Siegel “How Saudi Crackdowns Fail to Silence Online Dissent.” American Political Science Review 114, no. 1 (2020): 109-125.

Siegel, Alexandra, Joshua A Tucker, Jonathan Nagler, and Richard Bonneau. “Tweeting Beyond Tahrir: Ideological Diversity and Political Intolerance in Egyptian Twitter Networks.” World Politics (2021)

Freelon Deen, Marc Lynch, and Sean Aday. “Online Fragmentation in Wartime: A Longitudinal Analysis of Tweets about Syria, 2011–2013.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 659, no. 1 (2014):166-179.

Student 5. Political economy of development and the resource curse

Core reading for presentation:

Ross, Michael. “What Have We Learned about the Resource Curse?” Annual Review of Political Science 18 (2015): 239-259.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Mazaheri Nimah. “Oil, Dissent, and Distribution.” World Development 99 (2017): 186-202.

Michael Herb. “No Representation without Taxation? Rents, Development and Democracy.” Comparative Politics 37, no. 3 (2005).

Hertog, Steffan. “Defying the Resource Curse: Explaining Successful State-Owned Enterprises in Rentier States.” World Politics 62, no. 2 (2010): 261-301.

Sachs, Jeffrey D., and Andrew M. Warner. “The Curse of Natural Resources.” European Economic Review 45, no. 4 (2001): 827-838.

Jones Luong, Pauline and Erika Weinthal. “Rethinking the Resource Curse: Ownership Structure, Institutional Capacity, and Domestic Constraints.” Annual Review of Political Science 9 (2006): 241-263.

Student 6. Authoritarianism

Core reading for presentation:

Bellin, Eva. “Reconsidering the Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Lessons from the Arab Spring.” Comparative Politics 44, no. 2 (2011): 127-149.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up two from the following:

Snider, Erin A. “US Democracy Aid and the Authoritarian State: Evidence from Egypt and Morocco.” International Studies Quarterly 62, no. 4 (2018): 795–808.

Hariri, J. G., & Wingender, A. M. (2023). Jumping the Gun: How Dictators Got Ahead of Their Subjects. The Economic Journal, 133(650), 728–760.

Ahmed, Faisal Z. and Eric D. Werker. “Aid and the Rise and Fall of Conflict in the Muslim World.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 10, no. 2 (2015): 155-186.

Victor Menaldo. “The Middle East and North Africa’s Resilient Monarchs.” In Journal of Politics 74, no. 3 (2012): 707-722.

Kuru, Ahmet. Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019, ch. 3.

Marc Lynch. “Does Arab Monarchy Matter?” In Foreign Policy, August 31, 2012.

Yom, Sean L. and F. Gregory Gause. “Resilient Royals: How Arab Monarchies Hang On.” Journal of Democracy 23, no. 4 (2012): 74-88.

Block 2. Political violence

Day 1. Background to political violence

Everybody read: TBC

Day 2. Political violence, sectarian conflicts, and rebellion

Everybody read:

Ashutosh Varshney. “Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict.” In The Oxford Handbook on Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009: ch. 12 (pp. 274-294).

Student 1. Why sectarian conflict? (Jinoo Vahedi)

               Core reading for presentation:

Introduction chapter of Hashemi, N., & Postel, D. (2017). Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East. Oxford Univ Pr.

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up one or two from the following:

Paulo Gabriel Hilu Pinto. “The Shattered Nation: The Sectarianization of the Syrian Conflict.” In Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East, edited by Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017, ch. 7 (pp. 123-142).

One country chapter from: Hashemi, N., & Postel, D. (2017). Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East. Oxford Univ Pr. [suggested: Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon]

Corstange, D., & York, E. A. (2018). Sectarian Framing in the Syrian Civil War. American Journal of Political Science, 62(2), 441–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12348

            Student 2. Political violence, rebellion, and rationality (Graziana Giuffrida)

               Core reading for presentation:

Tezcür, Güneş Murat. “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Risks: Participation in an Ethnic Rebellion.” American Political Science Review 110, no. 2 (2016): 247-264.      

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up one or two from the following:

Benmelech, Efraim and Claude Berrebi. “Economic Conditions and the Quality of Suicide Terrorism.” The Journal of Politics 74, no. 1 (2012): 113-128. [suicide terrorism, rationality]   

Hegghammer, Thomas. “Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Variation in Western Jihadists’ Choice between Domestic and Foreign Fighting.” American Political Science Review 107, no. 1 (2013): 1-15.         

Kalyvas, Stathis. “Wanton and Senseless: The Logic of Massacres in Algeria.” Rationality and Society 11, no. 3 (1999): 243-285.            

Stewart, Megan A. and Yu-Ming Liou. “Do Good Borders Make Good Rebels? Territorial Control and Civilian Casualties.” The Journal of Politics 79, no. 1 (2016): 284-301.         

Hagerdal, Nils. “Ethnic Cleansing and the Politics of Restraint: Violence and Coexistence in the Lebanese Civil War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 63, no. 1 (2019): 59-84.  

Parkinson, Sarah. “Practical Ideology in Militant Organizations.” World Politics (2020): 1-30.

Ahmad, Aisha. “The Security Bazaar: Business Interests and Islamist Power in Civil War Somalia.” International Security 39, no. 3 (2015): 89-117.            

Parkinson, Sarah. “Organizing Rebellion: Rethinking High-Risk Mobilization and Social Networks in War.” American Political Science Review 107, no. 3 (2013): 418-432.

Biddle Stephen, Jeffrey Friedman, and Jacob Shapiro. “Testing the Surge: Why Violence Declined in Iraq in 2007.” International Security 37, no. 1 (2012): 7-40.

Student 3. Effects of political violence on public attitudes (Giulia Bizzini)

Core reading for presentation:

Hirsch-Hoefler, Sivan, Daphna Canetti, Carmit Rapaport and Stevan E. Hobfoll. “Conflict will Harden your Heart: Exposure to Violence, Psychological Distress, and Peace Barriers in Israel and Palestine.” British Journal of Political Science 64, no. 4 (2016): 845-859. [psycho-social effect of violence]            

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up one or two from the following:

Hatz, Sophia. “Israeli Demolition Orders and Palestinian Preferences for Dissent.” The Journal of Politics 81, no. 3 (2019).

Longo, Matthew and Daphna Canetti. “A Checkpoint Effect? Evidence from a Natural Experiment on Travel Restrictions in the West Bank.” American Journal of Political Science 58, no. 4 (2014): 1006-1023.   

Berrebi, Claude and Esteban Klor. “Are Voters Sensitive to Terrorism? Direct Evidence from the Israeli Electorate.” American Political Science Review 102, no. 3 (2008): 279-301.  

Condra, Luke N. and Jacob N. Shapiro. “Who Takes the Blame? The Strategic Effects of Collateral Damage.” American Journal of Political Science 56, no. 1 (2012): 167-187.             [Iraq, collateral damage]

Zeira, Yael. “From the Schools to the Streets: Education and Anti-Regime Resistance in the West Bank.” Comparative Political Studies 52, no. 8 (2019): 1131-1168.       

Peffley, Mark, Marc L. Hutchison and Michal Shamir. “The Impact of Persistent Terrorism on Political Tolerance: Israel, 1980 to 2011.” American Political Science Review 109, no. 4 (2015): 817-832.        

Day 3. Addressing sectarian conflict via institutions or social interactions

Student 4. Taming sectarian conflict: Designing institutions for “divided” societies (Giona Panarello)

Core reading for presentation:

Lijphart, A. (2004). Constitutional Design for Divided Societies. Journal of Democracy, 15(2), 96–109. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2004.0029

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up one or two from the following:

Lijphart, A. (2002). The Wave of Power-Sharing Democracy. In A. Reynolds (Ed.), The Architecture Of Democracy: Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, and Democracy (pp. 37–54). Oxford University Press, U.S.A.

Seaver, B. M. (2000). The Regional Sources of Power-Sharing Failure: The Case of Lebanon. Political Science Quarterly, 115(2), 247–271. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657902

Ben Reilly. “Electoral Systems for Divided Societies.” Journal of Democracy 13, no. 2 (April 2002): 156-170.

Student 5. Reducing sectarian conflict via social interactions (Leandra Pulvirenti)

Core reading for presentation:

Alrababa’h, Ala’, Will Marble, Salma Mousa, and Alexandra Siegel. “Can Celebrities Reduce Prejudice? Estimating the Effect of Mohamed Salah on Islamophobic Attitudes and Behaviors.” American Political Science Review (2021).              

Additional readings for presentation. Pick up one or two from the following:

Siegel, Alexandra A. and Vivienne Badaan. “#No2Sectarianism: Experimental Approaches to Reducing Sectarian Hate Speech Online.” American Political Science Review 114, no. 3 (2020): 837-855.            

Mousa, Salma (2020). Building social cohesion between Christians and Muslims through soccer in post-ISIS Iraq. Science, 369(6505), 866–870. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb3153

Corstange, Daniel. “Ethnicity on the Sleeve and Class in the Heart: When do People Respond to Identity and Material Interests?” British Journal of Political Science 43, no. 4 (2013): 889-914.         

Zalloua, Pierre A., et al. “Y-Chromosomal Diversity in Lebanon is Structured by Recent Historical Events.” American Journal of Human Genetics 82, no. 4 (2008): 873-882. [not for reading, but feel free to skim through: this is really cool!]

Alternative topic. Mobilisation and revolution           

Mobilisation via social media and social networks

Jost, John T. et al. “How Social Media Facilitates Political Protest: Information, Motivation, and Social Networks.” Political Psychology 39 (2018): 85-118.

Beissinger, Mark. R. “‘Conventional’ and ‘Virtual’ Civil Societies in Autocratic Regimes.” Comparative Politics 49, no. 3 (2017): 351-371. [a less optimistic view on social media effects on civil society in authoritarian regimes]  

Steinert-Threlkeld, Zachary C. “Spontaneous Collective Action: Peripheral Mobilization During the Arab Spring.” American Political Science Review 111, no. 2 (2017): 379-403.        

Doherty, David and Peter Schraeder. “Social Signals and Participation in the Tunisian Revolution.” The Journal of Politics 80, no. 2 (2018): 675-691.          

Mobilisation effects of emotions, religious and moral identity

Hoffman, Michael and Amaney Jamal. “Religion in the Arab Spring: Between Two Competing Narratives.” Journal of Politics 76, no. 3 (2014): 596-606.          

Pearlman, Wendy. “Moral Identity and Protest Cascades in Syria.” British Journal of Political Science 48, no. 4 (2018): 877-901.      

Pearlman, Wendy. “Emotions and the Microfoundations of the Arab Uprisings.” Perspectives on Politics 11, no. 2 (2013): 387-409.            

Block 3. Religion and politics in the Middle East

Day 1. Background

Everyone read:

Lust, E. (2019). The Middle East (15° edizione). CQ Press. Chapter 4: Religion, society and politics in the Middle East

Optional. If you have some time, browse through this super interesting book! Fish, M. S. (2011). Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence. Oxford University Press

Day 2. Islam and politics/I

Presentation 1. Islamist parties

Durac, V., & Cavatorta, F. (2015). Politics and Governance in the Middle East. Bloomsbury USA Academic. Chapter 6: Religion and politics

Optional. One among:

Grewal, S. (2020). From Islamists to Muslim Democrats: The Case of Tunisia’s Ennahda. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 519–535. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055419000819

Grewal, S., Jamal, A. A., Masoud, T., & Nugent, E. R. (2019). Poverty and Divine Rewards: The Electoral Advantage of Islamist Political Parties. American Journal of Political Science, 63(4), 859–874. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12447

Presentation 2. An Islamist political advantage?

Cammett, M., & Luong, P. J. (2014). Is There an Islamist Political Advantage? Annual Review of Political Science, 17(1), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-071112-221207

Optional. One among:

Brooke, S. (2019). Winning Hearts and Votes: Social Services and the Islamist Political Advantage. Cornell University Press. ch 1 (pp. 1-20), ch. 5 (pp. 78-101) and ch. 6 (pp. 102-120).

Brooke, S., & Ketchley, N. (2018). Social and Institutional Origins of Political Islam. American Political Science Review, 112(2), 376–394. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055417000636

Day 2. Islam and politics/II

Presentation 3. Islamists, inclusion, and moderation

For presentation: Either Schwedler or Al-Anani. Optional: another one from this section

Jillian Schwedler. “Can Islamists Become Moderates? Rethinking the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis.” In World Politics 63, no. 2 (2011): 347-376.

Al-Anani, K. (2012). Islamist Parties Post-Arab Spring. Mediterranean Politics, 17(3), 466–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2012.725309

Mecham, R. Q. (2004). From the ashes of virtue, a promise of light: The transformation of political Islam in Turkey. Third World Quarterly, 25(2), 339–358. https://doi.org/10.1080/0143659042000174842

Day 3. Islam and democracy

Presentation 4. Islam and democracy

For presentation: Either Stepan 2003 or Fish 2011. Optional: another one from this section

Stepan, A. C., & Robertson, G. B. (2003). An ‘Arab’ More Than a ‘Muslim’ Democracy Gap. Journal of Democracy, 14(3), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2003.0064

Fish, M. S. (2011). Are Muslims Distinctive?: A Look at the Evidence. OUP USA. Chapter 7

Stepan, A. C. (2000). Religion, Democracy, and the ‘Twin Tolerations’. Journal of Democracy, 11(4), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2000.0088

5. Politics and gender

Durac, V., & Cavatorta, F. (2015). Politics and Governance in the Middle East. Bloomsbury USA Academic. Ch 8: gender and politics

Optional. One among:

Ross, M. L. (2008). Oil, Islam, and Women. American Political Science Review, 102(1), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055408080040

Blaydes, L., & Linzer, D. A. (2008). The Political Economy of Women’s Support for Fundamentalist Islam. World Politics, 60(4), 576–609. https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.0.0023

Inglehart, Ronald. F. and Pippa Norris. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Ch. 1 + one of choice

Optional topic. Religion and development

Goldstone, Jack. “Is Islam Bad for Business?” Perspectives on Politics 10, no. 1 (2012): 97-102. chs. 2 and 3.

Campante, F., & Yanagizawa-Drott, D. (2015). Does Religion Affect Economic Growth and Happiness? Evidence from Ramadan *. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 615–658. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjv002

Block 4. What future for the Middle East

Day 1 (2 May 2023). Background

Everyone:

Lust, E. (2019). The Middle East (15° edizione). CQ Press. Chapter 6: Social Change in the Middle East

Day 2 (9 May 2023). Reassessing Arab Uprisings

Presentation 1. Post-uprisings politics in the Middle East/I

Melani Cammett and Ishac Diwan. “Epilogue: A Political Economy of the Arab Uprisings.” In A Political Economy of the Middle East. Third ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2013, pp. 407-437

Optional:

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey "Regional Uprisings Confront Gulf-Backed Counterrevolution," Middle East Report 292/3 (Fall/Winter 2019). https://merip.org/2019/12/regional-uprisings-confront-gulf-backed-counterrevolution/

Presentation 2. Post-uprisings politics in the Middle East/II

Jillian Schwedler "Thinking Critically About Regional Uprisings," Middle East Report 292/3 (Fall/Winter 2019). Available at https://merip.org/2019/12/thinking-critically-about-regional-uprisings/

Optional. One among:

Byman, D. (2021). The Social Media War in the Middle East. The Middle East Journal, 75(3), 449–468.

Yezid Sayigh. “The Arab Region at Tipping point: Why Sectarianism Fails to Explain the Turmoil.” In Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East, edited by Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel. New York: Oxford University Press, ch. 3 (pp. 53-59).

Presentation 3. Democracy and democratic backsliding

Masoud, T. (2015). Has the Door Closed on Arab Democracy? Journal of Democracy, 26(1), 74–87.

Optional. One among:

Larry Diamond. “Facing Up To the Democratic Recession.” Journal of Democracy, 26, no. 1 (2015): 141-155.

Abouzzohour, Y. (2021). How Do Liberalized Autocracies Repress Dissent? Evidence from Morocco. The Middle East Journal, 75(2), 264–284.

Monshipouri, M., & Dorraj, M. (2021). The Resilience of Populism in Iranian Politics: A Closer Look at the Nexus between Internal and External Factors. The Middle East Journal, 75(2), 201–221.

Day 3 (10 May 2023). Reassessing democracy and authoritarianism in the Middle East

Presentations 4 and 6. Post-revolution in Egypt and Tunisia

Choose one or (optional) two among:

Sarah Yerkes and Zeineb Ben Yahmed. “Tunisia’s Revolutionary Goals Remain Unfulfilled.” Dec., 6, 2018. Available at https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/12/06/tunisians-revolutionary-goals-remain-unfulfilled-pub-77894

Laryssa Chomiak "Cracks in Tunisia’s Democratic Miracle," Middle East Report 292/3 (Fall/Winter 2019). https://merip.org/2019/12/cracks-in-tunisias-democratic-miracle/

Bruce Rutherford. “Egypt’s New Authoritarianism Under Sisi.” Middle East Journal 72, no. 2 (2018): 185-208.

Mazen Hassan, Jasmin Lorch & Annette Ranko. “Explaining Divergent Transformation Paths in Tunisia and Egypt: The Role of Inter-Elite Trust.” Mediterranean Politics 25, no. 5 (2020): 553-578.

Presentation 5. Turkey: A textbook case of democratic backsliding?

Berk Esen and Sebnem Gumuscu. “Rising Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey.” Third World Quarterly 37, no. 9 (2016): 1581-1606

Or

Castaldo, A. (2018). Populism and competitive authoritarianism in Turkey. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 18(4), 467–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2018.1550948 [scaricato da me]

Optional. One among:

Yeşim Arat and Şevket Pamuk. Turkey Between Democracy and Authoritarianism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019 [conclusions chapter]

Esen, B., & Gumuscu, S. (2019). Killing Competitive Authoritarianism Softly: The 2019 Local Elections in Turkey. South European Society and Politics, 24(3), 317–342.

Şahan Savaş Karataşlı "The Political Economy of Erdoğan’s Syria Gamble," Middle East Report 292/3 (Fall/Winter 2019). https://merip.org/2019/12/the-political-economy-of-erdogans-syria-gamble/

CORE REFERENCE TEXTS

• Durac, V., & Cavatorta, F. (2015). Politics and Governance in the Middle East. New York: Bloomsbury Academic
• Lust, E. (2019). The Middle East (15^th edition). London: CQ Press

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS

See below in the detailed contents of the course. We will discuss around 70 papers in class, that students will select from a pool of around 200 readings I listed.

NB: Do not be intimidated by the amount of readings. Before each seminar, you will normally be expected to read one book chapter or article on the ‘general’ topic under discussion, see below. The remaining readings will normally be done by the students responsible for presentations each day. Of course you are welcome to read those too, but you are not required not expected to.

Assessment is based on class participation (25%), presentations (25%), final paper to be discussed at the exam (50%). 

Here are some details and advice on the final paper.

I envisaged two options for your papers. In both cases, you should of course pick up a topic of your interest. You are quite free in the choice of your topic, provided of course that it is falls within the scope of our course. To be on the safe side, you can choose your topic from within one of the broad themes that we focused on. You will find these themes in the reading lists I provided for each block of seminars (blocks 1-4). If you enjoyed the theme of your class presentation, it is totally fine if you choose your topic from within that theme. Compared to the theme, I would expect your topic to be a bit more focused. For example, block 1 included the theme of authoritarianism and the resource curse. A topic for an assignment could then focus on how the resource curse operates in a country of interest to you, or compare two countries, or instead review and contrast literatures that make different arguments, and so on.

This applies in particular to the first possible type of paper, that is, a ‘standard’ term paper. In case you choose this option, having selected your topic you should then present the findings of previous studies and synthesise them in order to effectively present an argument about what is known. You may also discuss the methods and processes used in the research. Of course, you can also analyse some empirical evidence and produce an original study.

In this type of paper, having a clear research question is quite useful, both to you and to the reader. Indeed already when thinking about your possible topic, I would recommend you reflect in terms of ‘research question’, which you will then include in the introduction of your paper. This will help you to keep you paper focused and organised around a core objective.

The policy brief also addresses a question, of course. But it differs in several ways. It is meant to a different audience (mainly policy makers) and has a different objective, that is, to help readers take a policy decision. As such, it tends to relate findings to policy debates, with an emphasis on applying the research outcomes rather than assessing the research procedures. The writing center of the University of North Carolina a Chapel Hill has a wonderful set of resources for academic writing (see tips and tools). There you will also find a very concise, but really excellent, guide to writing policy briefs. That guide also includes suggestions on how to identify a problem for your policy brief. In our case, you have plenty of options, considering the range of problems afflicting Middle Eastern countries, and the related potential scope for policy interventions.

In both cases, I would recommend to keep your paper within the range of 4000-6000 words. Policy briefs are normally shorter, so if you go for that option try to stay closer to the lower limit.

I really do not have preferences for either option. Both can be very interesting, and also useful for me to assess your competence in the subjects of our course, and your capacity to apply what you learnt.

Within these boundaries, I would like to leave you all freedom to choose your topic. However, if you prefers to run it through me, feel free to send me an email presenting your topic, title or question, and I will be glad to advise.