A historical and political perspective on the modern history of the Middle East region. The course starts with a historical brief introduction of the evolution of the modern Arab states. It will then focus on Arab-Israeli wars and on the major events, turning points which shaped the politics of the region. The impacts of the Cold War and great power rivalry will always be part of the discussions. Also as an emerging power in the region Turkey’s Middle East policy, the evolution of its paradigm will be discussed. The course will have a special focus on issues which have consequences to date. The future of the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process”, the question of Iran, Israel’s security policies and their consequences to the security and to the political culture of the whole region are the main issues.
Recognize the basis of Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East
Explain the difficulties of a possible peace in the region especially between Israelis and Palestinians
Identify the aims, basis and perception of Turkish policy makers in the Middle East.
Describe the origins of radical movements and their hostility to the Western civilization.
Analyze the current developments in the Middle East
Method of presentation:
Lectures, seminar discussions.
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation (20%); class discussion (10%); midterm (30%); final exam (40%).
content:
Week 1 Brief history of the region
- Introducing the course and the lecturer
- The historic difference between the East and the West even before Islam
- The European involvement in the politics of the Middle East
- How the current modern state system is established
Reading:
A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991, p.265-299
D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books:New York, , 2001, p.119-156
Week 2 End of Colonial Era and the Arab-Israeli Wars(1948s-1956)
- The Mandate era and how it ended.
- Established frontiers, developing sense of sovereignty and anti-Western political culture
- Start of Arab-Israeli wars
Reading:
A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991, p.353-401
D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books: New York, 2001, p.493-569
Week 3 Pan-Arabism and the Baath Party (1950s-1960s)
- Nasser and Arab nationalism
- Growth of Arab state power and one party regimes
- Arab unity and inter-Arab affairs
Readings:
- R. Owen, State power and politics in the making of Modern Middle East, Routledge: London, 1992, p.23-73
- John F. Devlin, “The Baath Party: Rise and Metamorphosis”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 5 (Dec., 1991), pp. 1396-1407
- Michael N. Barnett, “Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Regional Order in the Arab States System” International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer, 1995), pp. 479-510
Week 4 The Arab-Israeli Wars and the Camp David Treaty (1967-1973)
- Six Days War
- Yom Kippur War
- How these wars shaped the current Middle East problem
Readings
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, 217-320
Week 5 Question of Palestine
- Brief history of the problem. Birth of Zionist movement, immigration to Palestine
- The Balfour Declaration, Arab uprisings, end of British Mandate, UN Partition Plan
- State of Israel and evolution of the problem, PLO, 1987 intifada, until 1990’s
Readings
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, p. 105-196
Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity, 2007, Cambridge, p. 21-65
Week 6 The Israeli Palestinian Peace Process in 1990’s
- Madrid talks and Oslo Peace talks
- The main issues of negotiations and reasons of failure
Readings:
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, p. 437-517
Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity, 2007, Cambridge, p. 137-160
Week 7 The Lebanese Civil War 1970s
- The road the civil strife in Lebanon
- Israeli, Syrian, Palestinian connections to the conflict.
- International stakes, big power involvement. How it led the birth of Hezbollah
Readings:
- Fawaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon, Pluto Press: Londan, 2007, p. 75-187
Week 8 The Revolution in Iran
- The fall of Reza Pahlavi
- The return of Khomeini and Iran’s shift from the Western camp to anti-Americanism
Readings:
- Baqer Moin, Life of Ayatollah, St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1999, p.160-245
- Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran, Yale University: New Haven-London, p. 105-132
Week 9 The rise of Islamist movements (1960s-1970s)
- The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its impact on the region (Hamas)
- Iran revolution and its impact (Hezbollah)
- Afghan war and jihad
Readings:
- Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge Massachusetts, 2002, p. 23-61 / 106-159
- Beverley Milton Edwards, Contemporary politics in the Middle East, Polity Press: Cambridge , 2006, p.134-149
Week 10 The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
- The Iran-Iraq war, reasons and consequences
- Foreign policy making of Iran and Iraq
Readings:
- Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East States, Rienner: London, 2002, p.167-193/ 283-311
- Said K. Aburish, Saddam Hussein, Politics of Revenge, Bloomsbery: London, 2001, p.190-283
- Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001, p. 84-95
Week 11 The Gulf War 1991
- The reasons of war, the invasion
- International military intervention and its outcomes
Readings:
- Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001, p. 95-106
- Steven Right, The United States and Persian Gulf Security, Ithaca Press, 2007, p. 123-163
Week 12 Arab-Israeli talks (1990s)
- Madrid Peace Conference, start of dialogue between Israel-Syria and Israel Jordan
- Peace treaty with Jordan 1994
- Failure of talks with Syria
Readings:
Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2004, 137-188
Roland Dallas, King Hussein, From International: New York, 1999, p. 225-237
Week 13 Turkey and the Middle East
- Principles of young Turkish republic in 1920s and its impact on the Middle East policy
- Changes after 1960’s, impact of Cyprus and oil crisis
- Justice and Development Party government 2002 and Strategic Depth
Readings:
- Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East States Rienner: London, 2002, 311-335
- Ahmet Davutoglu, Strategic Depth, Küre Yayınları, 2003
- Alexander Murinson, “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy”, Middle Eastern Studies,
Vol. 42, No. 6, 945 – 964, November 2006
Week 14 Turkish-Israeli relations (1948-2000s)
- The history of Turkish-Israeli relations
- First contacts, ups and downs
- Close alliance in 1990’s and crisis after the Second Palestinian intifada
Readings:
Alon Liel, Can Yirik, Turkish-Israeli Relations 1949-2010, GPOT: Istanbul, 2012,
Required readings:
1) A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991
2) D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books: New York, 2001
3) R. Owen, State power and politics in the making of Modern Middle East, Routledge: London, 1992
4) John F. Devlin, “The Baath Party: Rise and Metamorphosis”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 5 (Dec., 1991)
5) Michael N. Barnett, “Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Regional Order in the Arab States System” International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer, 1995)
6) Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, Boston-New York, 2004
7) Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity: Cambridge, 2007
8) Fawaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon, Pluto Press: London, 2007
9) Baqer Moin, Life of Ayatollah, St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1999
10) Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran, Yale University: New Haven-London, 2003
11) Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: cambridge Massachusetts, 2002
12)Beverley Milton Edwards, Contemporary politics in the Middle East, Polity Press:Cambridge , 2006
13)Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East StatesRienner: London, 2002
14) Said K. Aburish, Saddam Hussein, Politics of Revenge, Bloomsbery:London, 2001
15) Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001
16) Steven Right, The United States and Persian Gulf Security, Ithaca Press, 2007
17) Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, Farrar, Straus and Giroux:New York, 2004
18) Roland Dallas, King Hussein, From International: New York, 1999
19) Ahmet Davutoglu, Stratejik Derinlik, Küre Yayınları, 2003
20) Alexander Murinson, “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy”, Middle Eastern Studies,
22) Bates D- Rassam A, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East, Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 1983
23) R.Hinnebusch R., The International Politics of the Middle East, Manchester University Press: Glasgow, 2003,
24) F. Halliday The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2006
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Bora Bayraktar (Ph.D) is a journalist, an analyst and an academician. He is focused on the Turkish Foreign Policy and on the Middle East Affairs. He earned his Ph.D. degree from Marmara University Institute of the Middle East Studies with his research on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. He is the author of A’RAF The Middle East from Oslo Peace to the Al Aqsa Uprising, Aykırı Publications(2003), and Hamas, Karakutu Publications(2007). As a journalist he has been to many war zones including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, West Bank and Gaza; travelled in the Middle East, Balkans and the Caucassus countries, worked as field correspondent in more than 25 countries. Bayraktar interviewed many world leaders including Benazir Butto, Ibrahim Rugova, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Lech Walessa, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Nawaz Sharif, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Tzipi Livni, etc. Bayraktar attended to one of the most prestigious journalism fellowship in the USA, University of Michigan, the Knight Wallace Fellowship(2005), to CNN IPP program in Atlanta(2002) and to the Reuters TV News Workshop in Istanbul. He is lecturer at Istanbul Kültür University.
Contemporary Issues in International Affairs in the Middle East
A historical and political perspective on the modern history of the Middle East region. The course starts with a historical brief introduction of the evolution of the modern Arab states. It will then focus on Arab-Israeli wars and on the major events, turning points which shaped the politics of the region. The impacts of the Cold War and great power rivalry will always be part of the discussions. Also as an emerging power in the region Turkey’s Middle East policy, the evolution of its paradigm will be discussed. The course will have a special focus on issues which have consequences to date. The future of the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process”, the question of Iran, Israel’s security policies and their consequences to the security and to the political culture of the whole region are the main issues.
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Lectures, seminar discussions.
Class participation (20%); class discussion (10%); midterm (30%); final exam (40%).
Week 1 Brief history of the region
- Introducing the course and the lecturer
- The historic difference between the East and the West even before Islam
- The European involvement in the politics of the Middle East
- How the current modern state system is established
Reading:
A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991, p.265-299
D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books:New York, , 2001, p.119-156
Week 2 End of Colonial Era and the Arab-Israeli Wars(1948s-1956)
- The Mandate era and how it ended.
- Established frontiers, developing sense of sovereignty and anti-Western political culture
- Start of Arab-Israeli wars
Reading:
A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991, p.353-401
D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books: New York, 2001, p.493-569
Week 3 Pan-Arabism and the Baath Party (1950s-1960s)
- Nasser and Arab nationalism
- Growth of Arab state power and one party regimes
- Arab unity and inter-Arab affairs
Readings:
- R. Owen, State power and politics in the making of Modern Middle East, Routledge: London, 1992, p.23-73
- John F. Devlin, “The Baath Party: Rise and Metamorphosis”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 5 (Dec., 1991), pp. 1396-1407
- Michael N. Barnett, “Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Regional Order in the Arab States System” International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer, 1995), pp. 479-510
Week 4 The Arab-Israeli Wars and the Camp David Treaty (1967-1973)
- Six Days War
- Yom Kippur War
- How these wars shaped the current Middle East problem
Readings
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, 217-320
Week 5 Question of Palestine
- Brief history of the problem. Birth of Zionist movement, immigration to Palestine
- The Balfour Declaration, Arab uprisings, end of British Mandate, UN Partition Plan
- State of Israel and evolution of the problem, PLO, 1987 intifada, until 1990’s
Readings
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, p. 105-196
Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity, 2007, Cambridge, p. 21-65
Week 6 The Israeli Palestinian Peace Process in 1990’s
- Madrid talks and Oslo Peace talks
- The main issues of negotiations and reasons of failure
Readings:
Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, 2004, Boston-New York, p. 437-517
Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity, 2007, Cambridge, p. 137-160
Week 7 The Lebanese Civil War 1970s
- The road the civil strife in Lebanon
- Israeli, Syrian, Palestinian connections to the conflict.
- International stakes, big power involvement. How it led the birth of Hezbollah
Readings:
- Fawaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon, Pluto Press: Londan, 2007, p. 75-187
Week 8 The Revolution in Iran
- The fall of Reza Pahlavi
- The return of Khomeini and Iran’s shift from the Western camp to anti-Americanism
Readings:
- Baqer Moin, Life of Ayatollah, St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1999, p.160-245
- Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran, Yale University: New Haven-London, p. 105-132
Week 9 The rise of Islamist movements (1960s-1970s)
- The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its impact on the region (Hamas)
- Iran revolution and its impact (Hezbollah)
- Afghan war and jihad
Readings:
- Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge Massachusetts, 2002, p. 23-61 / 106-159
- Beverley Milton Edwards, Contemporary politics in the Middle East, Polity Press: Cambridge , 2006, p.134-149
Week 10 The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
- The Iran-Iraq war, reasons and consequences
- Foreign policy making of Iran and Iraq
Readings:
- Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East States, Rienner: London, 2002, p.167-193/ 283-311
- Said K. Aburish, Saddam Hussein, Politics of Revenge, Bloomsbery: London, 2001, p.190-283
- Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001, p. 84-95
Week 11 The Gulf War 1991
- The reasons of war, the invasion
- International military intervention and its outcomes
Readings:
- Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001, p. 95-106
- Steven Right, The United States and Persian Gulf Security, Ithaca Press, 2007, p. 123-163
Week 12 Arab-Israeli talks (1990s)
- Madrid Peace Conference, start of dialogue between Israel-Syria and Israel Jordan
- Peace treaty with Jordan 1994
- Failure of talks with Syria
Readings:
Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2004, 137-188
Roland Dallas, King Hussein, From International: New York, 1999, p. 225-237
Week 13 Turkey and the Middle East
- Principles of young Turkish republic in 1920s and its impact on the Middle East policy
- Changes after 1960’s, impact of Cyprus and oil crisis
- Justice and Development Party government 2002 and Strategic Depth
Readings:
- Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East States Rienner: London, 2002, 311-335
- Ahmet Davutoglu, Strategic Depth, Küre Yayınları, 2003
- Alexander Murinson, “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy”, Middle Eastern Studies,
Vol. 42, No. 6, 945 – 964, November 2006
Week 14 Turkish-Israeli relations (1948-2000s)
- The history of Turkish-Israeli relations
- First contacts, ups and downs
- Close alliance in 1990’s and crisis after the Second Palestinian intifada
Readings:
Alon Liel, Can Yirik, Turkish-Israeli Relations 1949-2010, GPOT: Istanbul, 2012,
1) A. Hourani, History of the Arab Peoples, Belknap-Harvard, 1991
2) D. Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, First Owl Books: New York, 2001
3) R. Owen, State power and politics in the making of Modern Middle East, Routledge: London, 1992
4) John F. Devlin, “The Baath Party: Rise and Metamorphosis”, The American Historical Review, Vol. 96, No. 5 (Dec., 1991)
5) Michael N. Barnett, “Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Regional Order in the Arab States System” International Organization, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Summer, 1995)
6) Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford St. Martin’s, 5th Edition, Boston-New York, 2004
7) Alan Dowty, Israel/Palestine, Polity: Cambridge, 2007
8) Fawaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon, Pluto Press: London, 2007
9) Baqer Moin, Life of Ayatollah, St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1999
10) Nikki R. Keddie, Modern Iran, Yale University: New Haven-London, 2003
11) Gilles Kepel, Jihad, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: cambridge Massachusetts, 2002
12)Beverley Milton Edwards, Contemporary politics in the Middle East, Polity Press:Cambridge , 2006
13)Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, The Foreign Policies of Middle East StatesRienner: London, 2002
14) Said K. Aburish, Saddam Hussein, Politics of Revenge, Bloomsbery:London, 2001
15) Beverly Milton Edwards and Peter Hinchchliffe, Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge: London and New York, 2001
16) Steven Right, The United States and Persian Gulf Security, Ithaca Press, 2007
17) Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, Farrar, Straus and Giroux:New York, 2004
18) Roland Dallas, King Hussein, From International: New York, 1999
19) Ahmet Davutoglu, Stratejik Derinlik, Küre Yayınları, 2003
20) Alexander Murinson, “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy”, Middle Eastern Studies,
Vol. 42, No. 6, 945 – 964, November 2006
21) Alon Liel, Can Yirik, Turkish-Israeli Relations 1949-2010, GPOT: Istanbul, 2012,
22) Bates D- Rassam A, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East, Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 1983
23) R.Hinnebusch R., The International Politics of the Middle East, Manchester University Press: Glasgow, 2003,
24) F. Halliday The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2006
Bora Bayraktar (Ph.D) is a journalist, an analyst and an academician. He is focused on the Turkish Foreign Policy and on the Middle East Affairs. He earned his Ph.D. degree from Marmara University Institute of the Middle East Studies with his research on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. He is the author of A’RAF The Middle East from Oslo Peace to the Al Aqsa Uprising, Aykırı Publications(2003), and Hamas, Karakutu Publications(2007). As a journalist he has been to many war zones including Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, West Bank and Gaza; travelled in the Middle East, Balkans and the Caucassus countries, worked as field correspondent in more than 25 countries. Bayraktar interviewed many world leaders including Benazir Butto, Ibrahim Rugova, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Lech Walessa, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Nawaz Sharif, Ahmet Davutoğlu, Tzipi Livni, etc. Bayraktar attended to one of the most prestigious journalism fellowship in the USA, University of Michigan, the Knight Wallace Fellowship(2005), to CNN IPP program in Atlanta(2002) and to the Reuters TV News Workshop in Istanbul. He is lecturer at Istanbul Kültür University.