Fall 2009 (draft 07-30-09)

PLCP 3410

COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

AND NORTH AFRICA

Instructor: William B. Quandt

T. and Th. 3:00-4:15, Wilson 402

Office Hours: T. and Th., 1:30-2:30 pm

and by appointment, Cabell 255

Tel.: 924-7896

e-mail: wbq8f@virginia.edu

WBQ Home Page: www.people.virginia.edu/~wbq8f

Class Home Page: https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/portal

This course will introduce students to the contemporary political systems of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, the region stretching from Morocco to Iran. We will not be able to cover the politics of each country in depth, but we will study broad themes that are common throughout the region: the struggle for independence; the problems of forming nation-states; the persistence of strong social forces; the role of individual leaders; the weakness of institutions; the emergence and persistence of authoritarian regimes; the political reasons for economic underdevelopment; the importance of oil in the formation of rentier states; religion and politics; ethnicity and national identity, with emphasis on the Palestinians and Kurds; the pressures for expanded participation; the political role of women; and the prospects for civil society and democracy.

Students will be expected to do the basic reading for each week and to participate in class discussion as much as the size of the class permits. A mid-term worth 100 points will be given on October 8. You will be expected to read one additional book (a novel or a biography) from the list at the end of the syllabus, and a short (3-4 pages single-spaced) book essay, worth 50 points, will be due on November 19. There will be a final exam on December 17, 9:00-12:00, Wilson 402, worth 100 points. . Grading will be on a curve -- approximately the top 25% of the class will be in the A range; the next 50% of the class will be in the B range; the bottom 25% of the class will be in the C range, or below, in the event of truly unsatisfactory performance.

You should purchase the following books:

Cook, S., Ruling but Not Governing

Dawisha, A., Iraq

Freedman, F., ed., Contemporary Israel

Gelvin, J. L., The Modern Middle East, 2^nd edition

Kinzer, S., Crescent and Star, rev. ed.

Kurzman, C., The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran

Nasr, V., The Shia Revival

Reserve Materials

Articles and some book chapters listed under reading—e-reserve can be found in electronic form on the Class Home Page (UVaCollab) under the resources section.

COURSE OUTLINE--PLCP 341

Week I. August 25-27 Introduction to the Course; Collapse of the Imperial Order

Reading: Gelvin, Intro. and Part I.

Yavuz, Chs. 1-2, e-reserve.

Lindholm, pp. 1-14, e-reserve

Week II. September 1-3 Emergence of New States

Reading: Gelvin, Part II

Dawisha, chs. 1-2

Kinzer, pp. 3-49

Week III. September 8-10 Colonialism, Nationalism and State Formation

Reading: Gelvin, Part III, including documents pp. 215-220.

Dawisha, chs. 3-5

Freedman, ch. 1

B. Anderson, “The Origins of National Consciousness”, e-reserve

Quandt, Between Ballots and Bullets, chs. 1-2, e-reserve

I will show the award-winning film “The Battle of Algiers” this week.

You will be expected to have seen the film for the mid-term and will be

asked a question on it. I plan to show the film in class on Thursday and

it runs for 125 minutes. I have reserved the room until 5:30, so if you are

free you can stay beyond 4:15 to see the entire film, plus brief discussion.

Alternatively, the film is available in Clemons and you can see ending there.

Week IV. September 15-17 New States in the Fertile Crescent, Arabian Peninsula and North

Africa

Reading: Dawisha, chs. 6-8

R. Khalidi, "Palestinian Identity, 1-2", pp. 177-209, e-reserve

Bill-Springborg, ch. 3, parts 1-2, e-reserve

Week V. September 22-24 Political Leadership and Political Institutions: Authority,

Legitimacy, Power

Reading: Cook, chs. 1-3

Weber, parts 1 and 2, e-reserve

Quandt, ME leaders of 20^th Century, e-reserve

R. Hardin, “Group Identification”, e-reserve

Lindholm, pp. 49-62, e-reserve

Week VI. Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Modernizing Regimes: Turkey and Egypt

Reading: Gelvin, chs. 15-16

Kinzer, pp. 51-143

Cook, ch. 4

Nasser, e-reserve

Ataturk, parts 1-2, e-reserve

Week VII. October 6-8 In-class review of course material on October 6

Midterm on October 8

Week VIII. October 13-15 Dictators, Oil and Political Islam

Reading: Nasr, Intro., chs. 1-2.

Kinzer, pp. 145-163

Dawisha, ch. 9

Bellin “Coercive Institutions and Coercive Leaders”,

e-reserve

G. Luciani, “Oil Rent and Fiscal Crisis…”, e-reserve

M. Herb, "Theory of Rentier State…" e-reserve

Wedeen, “Ambiguities of Domination”, parts 1-2, e-reserve

O. Roy, “The Failure of Political Islam”, e-reserve

Week IX. October 20-22 The Iranian Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran

Reading: Gelvin, ch. 19-20, and documents pp. 317-322.

C. Kurzman, pp. 1-172

Nasr, ch. 4

E. Abrahamian, “Fundamentalism or Populism?”, e-reserve

Keddie, “Can Revolutions be Predicted?”, e-reserve

Week X. October 27-29 Problems of the Modern Arab States: Too Strong or Too

Weak? Issues of Legitimacy and Effectiveness

Reading: Dawisha, ch. 10

Nasr, ch. 3

Quandt, “Algeria’s Transition…”, e-reserve

“Waking from Its Sleep: A Special Report on the Arab World”,

Economist, July 25, 2006, e-reserve

Week XI. November 3-5 Israel: Political and Identity

Reading: Freedman, chs. 2-5

Gelvin, ch. 18

Week XII. November 10-12 Political and Economic Reform

Reading: Gelvin, Conclusion

Nasr, ch. 5-6

Freedman, ch. 8

Keshavarzian, e-reserve

Week XIII. November 17-19 Prospects for Democracy: Elections, Constitutions, the Rule of

Law, Civil Society, and Women’s Rights

In-class: Video entitled Four Women of Egypt

Reading: Cook, chs. 5-6

Kinzer, pp. 165-252

Freedman, chs. 6, 7, 9, 14

D. Waldner, “Institutional Origins and Economic Outcomes” e-reserve

Book Review Essay is due November 19

Week XIV. November 24 Regimes and Opposition: Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt

Reading: Nasr, chs. 7-9

Dawisha, chs. 11-12

Lust-Oker, e-reserve

Week XV. December 1-3 Conclusions, Review

December 17 Final Exam 9:00-12:00, Wilson 402

Extra Reading for Final Exam—Choose one.

(books should be available in library or from Amazon.com – plan ahead!)

Biographies:

P. Cockburn, Muqtada (al-Sadr)

S. Coll, The Bin Ladens

R. Dallas, King Hussein

U. Dan, Sharon

S. Hughes, Hassan II

D. Howarth, The Desert King (Ibn Saud)

E. Karsh and I. Rautsi, Saddam

Lord Kinross (or A. Mango), Ataturk

D. Kurzman, Rabin

B. Moin, Khomeini

A. Nutting, Nasser

P. Seale, Asad

E. Silver, Begin

T. Walker and A. Gowers, Arafat

M. Zonis, Majestic Failure (the Shah)

If you prefer to read a political novel, you may choose one of these:

M. Allouache, Bab el-Oued City (also a film)

An Algerian film maker examines the social and political realities of an urban lower-class

neighborhood to explain the rise of political Islam. The film is also available in Clemons, and is worth seeing as a complement to the book.

A. Al-Aswany, The Yacoubian Building (also a film)

A recent best-selling Egyptian novel that breaks many taboos – explicit sexuality, discussion of political corruption, and a certain nostalgia for the pre-revolutionary Egypt.

M. Satrapi, Persepolis I and II (also a film)

A largely biographical account of a young Iranian girl coming of age during the revolution,

going aboard to study, and then returning to Iran in the 1980s. Don’t be deceived – this looks like a comic book, but is very serious and has gotten rave reviews from Iranians who lived through these same events.

O. Pamuk, Snow

A Nobel-Prize winning Turkish novelist explores the poor northeast of Turkey and tries to explain the phenomenon of radical Islam.

A. Oz, A Perfect Peace

Set in Israel just before the Six-Day War, this novel describes life on a kibbutz, where

the founders of Israel and their children struggle to come to terms with their land and with each other.

E. Habibi, The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist

A Palestinian writes humorously but poignantly about the Arab minority in Israel, from which he comes.