POL12: The Politics of the Middle East

This paper, on the politics and international relations of the modern Middle East, is based around three sets of lectures. The first section explores states in the Middle East through the understanding of the Middle Eastern state, its configuration and its relations with society. The second section focuses on the politics of the environment in the Middle East, examining key issues and themes such as colonialism, nation-building, urbanisation, conflict, and social mobilisation through the lens of human-environment interactions. The third section is on the Middle East in global politics, understanding the role of Middle Eastern states, movements and diasporas within international political debates and their place within global political imaginaries. 

These series cover the Arab states (including those of North Africa), Iran, Israel and Turkey. In addition, there are a few special lectures or seminars focusing on the politics of specific themes of present-day relevance. Usually, three such themes are taught per year, with the choice depending on events of interest as the course starts. Recent and projected future themes include how the Gaza Strip becomes a flashpoint in the Israel-Palestine conflict, China’s role in the Middle East, and the politics of Lebanon’s economic crisis from 2019. These additional lectures and seminars give students the opportunity to engage in detailed knowledge of specific sets of contemporary issues alongside the broader themes and theories in the other parts of the paper. 

Selected readings: 

  • Eugene Rogan, The Arabs: A History (London: Penguin, 3rd edition, 2018) 
  • Steven Heydemann and Marc Lynch, eds., Making Sense of the Arab State (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2024)
  • Gökçe Günel, Spaceship in the Desert: Energy, Climate Change, and Urban Design in Abu Dhabi (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2019)

Jamie Allinson, The Age of Counter-Revolution: States and Revolutions in the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022)

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