Comparative Pol: Middle East

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

Is there something ‘different’ about the politics of the Middle East? If so, what sets the region apart? How do its regimes and political movements differ from one another? This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to questions such as: What is political legitimacy and how has it shaped the region’s politics? What is it like to be a citizen in a modern Middle East state? Why are there so few democracies in the Middle East? How do regimes that govern poorly survive for so long? How does the legacy of Islam affect Middle East politics? What do extremist groups want, and why would anyone support them? Does oil wealth encourage authoritarianism? Why is there no Palestinian state? What is the Sunni-Shia conflict really about? The themes of political legitimacy, human security, and ‘stuckness’ between a traditional past and a modern present are central to this course. We will learn to see the region through the eyes of its regimes, terrorist groups, political movements, and ordinary citizens. Lectures, readings, discussions, and assignments will incorporate current affairs.