Political Science 6377
Comparative Politics of the
Middle East
Fall 2013 Nathan
Brown
Monday, 5:10-7:00 pm 1957
E Street, Suite 512
This course will concentrate on three aspects of the comparative
politics of the Middle East: Islam
and politics; regime type and change; and ideology. These aspects will be woven together
rather than addressed as separate topics.
There are three requirements for the course:
Regular attendance in class;
Completion of the assigned reading by the
date indicated; and
Completion of eight short papers (no more
than three pages in length) critically evaluating the reading for the
week. I have indicated discussion
questions that may serve as guides for those students writing the paper. Papers are to be submitted by e-mail 10
am the day of class. Late submissions
will be penalized one half grade if submitted between 10 am and class time and
one full grade if submitted after class begins.
Please note that the readings and
questions for November 18 will be announced later. I will try to develop
readings that are current on political developments in the Arab world.
Grades will be calculated on the basis of the short papers. Failure to attend class regularly or to
complete the assigned readings will be penalized.
As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:
Analyze
political economy, political regimes, and political ideology in the modern
Middle East; and
Assess
academic writings by political scientists on these subjects.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Students
should familiarize themselves with GWs Code of Academic Integrity: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html. The
issue that has proven most problematic in my past courses has been
plagiarism. Students should therefore take particular note of the
definition of plagiarism and the procedures for violation explicated in the
Code.
Readings
The following texts are available for
purchase at the GW Bookstore. Other supplementary readings will be assigned.
They will be made available through Blackboard.
August 26 Introductory meeting
September 9 Understanding
Authoritarianism—Structure and History
Readings: (All links on Blackboard)
Owen, The
Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life
Comparative Politics, special
issue, January 2004 on authoritarianism in the Middle East (articles by Lust-Okar, Langhor)
Questions:
Is there such a thing as Arab
authoritarianism?
Are culture and religion given too little
attention?
September 16 Authoritarianism
and Political Economy
Readings:
Questions:
If Arab states were to democratize, would they have to go back to
the 1960s and start over?
Did Bellin and Hydemann
miss the boat?
Would Bellin have been surprised by the
Tunisian Revolution?
September 23 Authoritarianism
and Democratization
Readings: Brynen et al, Beyond Arab Spring
Questions:
Why did authoritarianism last so
long?
Is authoritarianism over?
September 30 Islam
and Politics: Sunni Approaches
Readings:
Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, posted on Blackboard. You
need to read only the work itself (in this edition, pp. 23-177)
Nathan J. Brown and Clark Lombardi, The
Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt on Islamic Law, Veiling and Civil
Rights: An Annotated Translation of
Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Case No. 8 of Judicial Year 17, American
University International Law Review, 2006, Vol. 21 Issue 3, pp. 437-460
(posted on Blackboard)
Questions:
Qutbs argument presents itself as
timeless. But why did it only
appear in the recent past?
To whom is Qutbs
argument most likely to appeal?
Does the view of the Constitutional Court on the Islamic shari`a differ with that of Qutb in any fundamental way?
October 7 Islamism
in Egypt
Readings:
Carrie Rosefsky Wickham, The Muslim Brotherhood
Questions:
Are
Islamists movements products of the modern world or
reactions against it?
Is
the organization of Islamist movements related to their ideologies?
How
are the organizations of Islamist movements likely to be positioned for
post-2011 politics?
October 14 Islamism
and Authoritarianism in the Arabian Peninsula
Readings:
Hertog, Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats
International
Crisis Group, Can
Saudi Arabia Reform Itself?
(link on Blackboard)
Michael Herb, A Nation of
Bureaucrats, International Journal
of Middle East Studies," 41, no. 3 (August 2009),
375-395 (on Blackboard)
Questions:
Does authoritarianism work differently in
the Arabian peninsula?
Does Islamism work differently in the
Arabian peninsula?
October 21 Sunni
Islamist Movements
Readings:
Questions:
October 28 Islam
and Politics: Shi`i Approaches
Readings:
Ayatollah Khomeini, Islamic Government
(Blackboard)
Look over the Q and A section on www.sistani.org (using the search function if necessary)
to find instructions to followers on various topics.
Questions:
Is Khomeini simply giving Shi`i form to Qutbs arguments?
Is Shi`ism inherently revolutionary?
Does Sistanis view of the role of the
jurist differ from that of Khomeini?
November 4 Radical
Shi`ism in Iran
Readings
Arjomand,
After
Khomeini
United
States Institute of Peace, Iran Primer, link on Blackboard. Read selections from "Politics"(8 entries),
"Opposition" (4 entries), and "Military" (4 entries) on the
left hand of the page.
Questions
Is wilayat al-faqih possible in practice?
Is the Islamic revolution sustainable?
November 11 Democracy
Readings: Articles by Fish, Donno
and Russett, Diamond, Yom, Ross, Jamal and Tessler, and Cifty (Blackboard)
Questions:
Is the Arab world simply hostile territory
for democracy?
Is explaining the absence of democracy an
unpromising approach?
November 18 Arab
Spring I
Readings: tba
Questions: tba
November 25 Nationalism
Reading: Nadav Shelef, Evolving
Nationalism
Questions:
Is Shelef
persuasive in explaining ideological change?
How transferrable is Shelefs
analysis of ideological change to the Arab world?
December 2 Political
Economy
Reading: Alan
Richards and John Waterbury, Political
Economy of the Middle East
Questions:
What explains the poor economic
performance of Middle Eastern states in recent years?
Is economic liberalization impossible in
the Middle East?