SPECIAL TOPICS IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE AND POLICY
MIDDLE EAST: OIL, PEACE, TERRORISM, AND U.S.
POLICY
ITRN 701 – X02
DR. YEHUDA LUKACS
703.993.2156
Office: JC 239D
This graduate seminar will focus on the political economy and international relations of the contemporary Middle East. Particular emphasis will be placed on examining strategies for economic development and growth pursued by the countries in the region since World War II. The impact of oil on development, impact of Islamism on politics, structural causes of violence and terrorism, Arab-Israeli relations, as well as American policy toward the region will also be analyzed. The seminar will explore four distinct but interrelated issue areas vital to our understanding the complexity of the region.
An analysis of the relationship between the political capacity of Middle East regimes (praetorian republics, monarchies and conditional democracies) and integration into the global capitalist system. Is there a correlation between economic performance and democratization? What has been the enduring legacy of oil since the 1973 oil embargo?
Despite concerted efforts during the last several decades, Islamist movements have failed to capture and retain political power in the Muslim world. Some argue that the attack on American on September 11 was an attempt to reverse the process of decline. We will examine the state of political Islam since the 1960’s. Special emphasis will be placed on examining the impact and legacy of the Iranian revolution as well as subsequent developments such as the civil war in Algeria, Islam in Egypt, and Osama bin Laden’s crusade against the West.
An analysis of the issues and themes that have characterized and defined the conflict over the past century. In particular, examination of contending historical narratives, water-shed events, role of territory, security, violence, and an assessment of the course of the peace process, as well as its unraveling.
United States’ interests in the Middle East have ranged from containment during the Cold War to guaranteeing the uninterrupted flow of oil and preserving the security of Israel. How have American interests shifted since the end of the Cold War? Can the United States maintain its “special relationship” with Israel and pursue its other interests in the region? Special attention will be given to examining the policies of the last three American presidents and their impact on the region: the Gulf War, the Madrid Conference, the Oslo process, dual containment, and the war on terrorism.
May 20 Introduction
May 22 Political Economy of the Middle East (Read: Henry and Springborg)
May 27 Economic Performance
May 29 Economic Performance
June 3 Case Study: 1973 Oil Embargo
June 5 Globalization and Democratization
June 10 Overview of Political Islam (Read: Kepel)
June 12 Petro-Islam versus Arab Nationalism
June 17 The Impact of the Iranian Revolution and the War in Afghanistan
June 19 Case Study: Algeria and the dilemma of democratization
June 24 Al Qaida, Islam and Transnational Terrorism
June 26 The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Causes and Consequences (Read: Bickerton and Klausner)
July 1 Israeli Perspectives: Primacy of Security and Biblical Nationalism
July 3 Palestinian Perspectives: Victimization, Revolutionism, and Suicide Bombers
July 8 Case Study: The Quest for Peace and Reconciliation
July 10 American Interests in the Middle East (Read: Quandt)
July 15 Case Study: From the Gulf War to Oslo and Back
July 17 The New Middle East? Economic Development, Islam, Democracy and Conflict Resolution
Clement M. Henry and Robert Springborg, Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East, (Cambridge University Press, 2001)
Gilles Kepel, Jihad: the Trail of Political Islam, (Harvard University Press, 2002)
Ian Bickerton and Carla Klausner, Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, (Prentice Hall, 2001)
William Quandt, Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict since 1967, University of California Press, 2001)
Research Paper (minimum 25 pages) 60 percent
Participation 20 percent
Group Project 20 percent