POLITICS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

College of the Holy Cross

Political Science 272Prof. Vickie Langohr

Fall 2007 326 Fenwick

T/Th 2-3:15 p.m. 793-2763

The war in Iraq, the collapse of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, and the election of Hamas to lead the Palestinian government have made Middle East politics one of the most high-profile issues of this decade. The U.S. plays such a central role in Middle Eastern politics – from its strong support of Israel and of Arab leaders such as those in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to its current role in Iraq – that informed citizenship requires some understanding of the region. We will first study the historical roots of current Middle East politics in the Islamic empires and in Western colonial rule. We will then focus on contemporary Egypt,Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and internal Palestinian politics. While we will primarily study the domestic politics of these countries, not American policy towards them, the answers to the questions we will ask will strongly influence the outcome of American policy. These questions include: What are the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict? Why did the Oslo Accords, which promised a final resolution to the conflict, deteriorate into unprecedented violence? Have today’s divisions between Iraqi Sunnis, Shi’ites, and Kurds always existed, and if so, is there any way to overcome them? If not, when did these divisions begin and how did they develop? In your second paper assignment you will critically assess the evidence for two conflicting propositions: that Iraq’s current levels of sectarian division were inevitable given the inherent differences among Sunnis, Shi’ites, and Kurds since Iraq’s formation in 1920, or that this sectarianism is largely a response to the collapse of the Iraqi state since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Oneof the major themes of the course will be the role that elections have played in creating the current state of affairs in Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine. Iraq held three key elections in 2005 – the first for a transitional government to write a constitution, the second to approve or reject the constitution, and the third for members of Iraq’s first sovereign parliament. If there had been more time between these elections, might their outcomes have been different, and the chance of peaceful politics rather than the current violence higher? Many Iraqi Sunnis feel threatened by democracy, and most boycotted the January 2005 elections; might their attitude have been different if those elections had used the first-past-the-post election system used in the U.S. rather than the proportional representation system that was employed? While Hamas won many more seats in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections than did the rival Fatah party, Hamas’ share of the popular vote was only 44% to Fatah’s 41%. Did Hamas beat Fatah because most Palestinians don’t want peace with Israel, or was the result a rejection of Fatah’s corruption? If Fatah had only allowed one candidate from its party to run in each electoral district, as Hamas did, would it have won? In discussing these questions we will be considering both the larger issues of the conditions under which elections can stabilize or destabilize political systems, and the more “technical” but equally important issue of how different electoral systems privilege certain candidates and parties over others.

A second major theme of the course revolves around what we should expect from the Islamist political movements which are increasingly winning elections in the Arab world. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has been prevented by the government from forming a political party, but it regularly wins more seats in parliament than any other opposition party, and has recently come out with the first party platform in the organization’s almost 80-year history. In your first paper assignment, you will examine the writings and political activities of the Brotherhood in the last few years in order to assess whether or not the movement functions in a way which is compatible with democracy.

Course Requirements

The requirements for this course are a midterm (15%), an8-10 page paper assessing the prospects for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to be a democratic actor in Egyptian politics (25%), an 10-12 page paper on sectarianism in Iraq (25%), and a final (25%). In addition, you will be required to participate in a group presentation in class based on one of your papers, for which you will receive 10% of your grade.

In addition to the readings outlined below, you will be responsible for viewing two or three films which will be on reserve in the MediaResourceCenter. These films are considered course material just as assigned readings are and questions about them may be asked on exams.

  • Liam Anderson and Gareth Stansfield, The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division?Updated Edition (Palgrave, 2005)
  • Ian Bickerton and Carla Klausner, A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Fifth Edition,(Prentice-Hal, 2006)
  • Larry Diamond, Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq, (Owl Books, 2006)
  • Phebe Marr, The Modern History of Iraq, Second Edition, (Westview Press, 2003)
  • Anthony Shadid, Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War, (Picador Press, 2006)

In addition to these books there are also many reserve readings. All of these readings are available on electronic reserves (noted ER in the syllabus.) They can be accessed by going to the library’s website, and then clicking on “electronic reserves.” Choose either my name from the professor list or the course name from the course list, click on it, and then enter the password. Click on the title of the relevant article to read it.

Some of the ERes readings for this semester have been used in previous semesters and so any article or book chapter on the ERes page may have more pages than I have asked you to read from that article or chapter for this semester. (For example, on the ERes page a reading entitled “Peace in the Middle East” by George Smith may include pages 1-50 because that was the reading assignment for a previous semester, but on this semester’s syllabusyou may only be required to read pp. 1-25). So be sure to check this syllabus to see which specific pages of that reading you are being asked to do for this semester rather than automatically reading the entire ERes entry.

I EXPECT YOU TO HAVE DONE THE READING LISTED FOR EACH DATE ON THE SYLLABUS BEFORE CLASS MEETS ON THAT DATE.

How To Reach Me

My office hours will be Monday 10:30 – 11:30 a.mand 2-3:30 p.m., and Thursday 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.If you cannot make these hours let me know and we can set up other appointment times. The best way to reach me between classes is to e-mail me.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Th Aug 30: Introduction
T Sept 4: What is Democracy?
  • “What Democracy Is…….and Is Not,” Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, reprinted in Comparative Politics 98/99 (ER)
  • “Explanation of Freedom House Rankings of Political Rights and Civil Liberties,” pp. 6-19 (beginning with the section “Freedom in the World 2006 Checklist”)

Th Sept 6: Islam, Sunni and Shi’i

  • Global Islamic Politics, Second Edition, Mir Zohair Husain, (Longman Publishers, 2003), 1-27 (ER)
  • Roman Catholics and Shi’I Muslims: Prayer, Passion, and Politics, James Bill and John Williams, (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2002), 13-25, 47-74 (ER)

T Sept 11: the Islamic Empires, and the Ottoman Empire

  • A History of the Modern Middle East, William Cleveland, 40-58, 81-92, 146-166 (ER)

EGYPT

Th Sept 13: The Basics of Egyptian Politics

  • “Egypt,” Ann Mosely Lesch, Comparative Politics Today: A World View, Eighth Edition, eds. Gabriel Almond, Russell Dalton, G. Bingham Powell, Jr., Kaare Strom, (A.B. Longman, 2006), 577-604, 613-622 (ER)

T Sept 18:The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

  • No God But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam, Geneive Abdo, (Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 2000), 107-137 (ER)
  • “The Brotherhood Goes to Parliament: Samer Shehata and Joshua Stacher, Middle East Report 240,

Iraq

ThSept 20: A Snapshot of IraqToday

  • “Iraq’s Civil War,” James Fearon, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2007,sections titled “War Records” and “Learning to Share?” (ER)
  • “Deaths Across Iraq Show It Is A Nation of Many Wars, with U.S. in The Middle,” Solomon Moore and Louise Roug, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 2006 (ER)
  • “As Death Stalks Iraq, Middle Class Exodus Begins,” Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times, May 19, 2006 (ER)

TSept 25: British Colonial Rule & Post-Independence Attempts at Democracy

  • The Modern History of Iraq, Phebe Marr, (Westview Press, 2003), 3-36
  • The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division, Updated Edition, Liam Anderson and Gareth Stansfield, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 16-29, 32-40, 161-165

Th Sept 27: Ba’ath Rule, 1968-1991

  • Anderson and Stansfield, 49-61, 143-147
  • “Iraq Arms: Big Help From U.S. Technology,” Henry Weinstein and William Rempel, Los Angeles Times, February 13, 1991 (ER)
  • Marr, 200-209, 241-259

T Oct 2: 1991-2003: Sanctions, The Separation of the North, and the State of Iraqis at the Beginning of the War

  • Marr,260-277, 281-283
  • Anderson and Stansfield, 165-172
  • Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper: Background on Women’s Status in Iraq Prior to the Fall of Saddam Hussein’s Government in 2003 (ER)
  • Night Draws Near: Iraq’s People in the Shadow of America’s War, Anthony Shadid, (Picador Press, 2006), 43-52 in the paperback edition, 37-44 in the hardback
  • “Iraq’s Odious Debts,” Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2003 (ER)

------Th Oct 4: MIDTERM------

------T Oct 9: COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY------

Th Oct 11: Why War?

  • The George W. Bush Foreign Policy Reader: Presidential Speeches with Commentary, ed. John Dietrich, (New York: Armonk, New York, 2005), 67-84 (ER)
  • Andrew Bacevich, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced By War, (OxfordUniversity Press, 2005), 71-96, 175-203 (ER)

TOct 16:The Rise of the Shi’ite Political Groups

  • Anderson and Stansfield, 122-134
  • Juan Cole, “The Iraqi Shiites: On the History of America’s Would-Be Allies,” Boston Review, October/November 2003, pp. 6-14 (sections “The Iraqi Shiites” “The Shiites Under Occupation”) (ER)

Th Oct 18: U.S. Choices and Iraqi Responses: What Kind of Economy Should Iraq Have? How and When Should Iraqis Participate in the Transition to Democracy?

  • Iraq in Fragments: The Occupation and Its Legacy, Eric Herring and Glen Rangwala, (CornellUniversity Press, 2006), 222-236(ER)
  • Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq, Larry Diamond, (New York: Owl Books, 2006), 11-18,36-52 (paperback and hardback versions have the same pagination)
  • “Chafing at Authority in Iraq: Firing of Council in Basra Upsets Middle Class,” William Booth, Washington Post, May 30, 2003 (ER)
  • Squandered Victory, 181-187,193-201

TOct 23: The Beginnings of Violence: Looting, the Rise of Muqtada Sadr, and the Alienation of the Sunnis

  • Shadid, 153-160paperback, 129-135 in hardback
  • Diamond, 211-222, 226-236
  • Shadid, 186-190, 218-223, 313-316, 261-281paperback, 156-159, 182-187, 263-265, 219-235 hardback

------Th Oct 25 PAPER #1 DUE------

ThOct 25: The January 2005 Election: Why Electoral Systems Matter

  • “The Next Iraqi War? What Kirkuk’s Struggle to Reverse Saddam’s Ethnic Cleansing Signals for the Future of Iraq,” George Packer, New Yorker, October 4, 2004 (ER)
  • “How A Vote Could Derail Democracy,” Larry Diamond, New York Times, January 9, 2005 (ER)
  • “U.S. Officials Are Haunted by Initial Plan for Nationwide Candidate Lists for Iraqi Elections,” Steven Weisman, New York Times, January 9, 2005 (ER)
  • Iraq: Elections, Government, and Constitution, Congressional Research Service, June 15, 2006, 1-3 (description of Jan 2005 election and election results) (ER)
  • “Iraq’s Year of Voting Dangerously,” Adeed Dawisha and Larry Diamond, Journal of Democracy, Vol. 17, April 2006 (ER)

T Oct 30: The Constitution and Its Aftermath: An Iraq of Regions?

  • “Selected Parts of the Iraqi Constitution Relevant to The Role of Islam in the Iraqi Government and to Iraqi Federalism,”handout,(ER)
  • “A Draft Oil Bill Stirs Opposition from Iraqi Blocs,” Edward Wong and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, May 3, 2007 (ER)
  • “Iraqis Are Failing to Meet U.S. Benchmarks,”DamienCave, New York Times, June 13, 2007 (ER)

------Th Nov 1: IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS ON THE EGYPTIAN ------MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

Israel & Palestine

T Nov 6: The Rise of Zionism and Jewish Emigration to Palestine

  • “The Jewish State,” Theodor Herzl, in The Zionist Idea, 204-225 (ER)
  • War Without End: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Struggle for A Promised Land, Anton LaGuardia, (Thomas Dunne Books, 2003), 62-91 (ER)

Th Nov 8: The Creation of A Jewish State, and Palestinian and Arab Responses

  • A History of the Arab-Israel Conflict, Fifth Edition, Ian Bickerton and Carla Klausner, 48-54, 66-88
“Evidence Submitted to the Palestine Royal Commission (1937), Vladimir Jabotinsky, in The Zionist Idea, 557-565 (ER)
  • “Some Causes for the Rejection of the Partition Plan by the Palestinian Arabs,” Fawzi Asadi, in Triumph and Catastrophe (ER)
  • “In the Islamic Mideast, Scant Place for Jews,” John Burns, New York Times, July 25, 1999 (ER)

T Nov 13: The 1967 War and The Rise of Israeli Settlements

  • Bickerton and Clausner, 140-150
  • Ian Lustick, For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, (New York: Council on Foreign Relations), 29-41 (ER)
  • “How the Settler Suburbs Grew,” David Newman, New York Times, May 21, 2002 (ER)
  • “In West Bank, Water Is As Touchy As Land,” William Orme, New York Times, July 15, 2000 (ER)

Th Nov 15: Palestinian & Arab Responses to Israel, Camp David 1, and the First Intifada

a) The Rise and Development of the PLO

  • Bickerton and Clausner, 157-163, 171-173, 179-184, 190-193, 218-228

b) non-violent resistance in Intifada #1

  • Building A PalestinianState: The Incomplete Revolution, Glenn E. Robinson, (Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press),83-90 (ER)

c) the emergence of Hamas

  • Robinson, 141-154 (ER)
  • Hamas, Political Thought and Practice, Khaled Hroub, (Washington, D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), 69-86 (ER)

------T Nov 20 PAPER #2 DUE------

T Nov 20:The Oslo Accords, Intifada #2, And Israel Chooses Unilateralism

  • Bickerton and Clausner, 256-258, 273-274, 276-283, 291-292, 327-334
  • “Why Peace Failed: An Oslo Autopsy,” Current History, January 2002, Sara Roy (ER)
  • Bickerton and Clausner, 353 and 359-368
  • “Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank,” World Bank, May 9, 2007, 1-11(ER)

------Th Nov 22 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY------

T Nov 27: Hamasin Power

  • “Sweeping Victory: Uncertain Mandate,” Khalil Shikaki, Journal of Democracy, July 2006 (ER)
  • “After Gaza,” International Crisis Group Report, August 2, 2007, 1-21 (ER)
  • Nathan Brown, “The Peace Process Has No Clothes: The Decay of the Palestinian Authority and the International Response,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 15, 2007 (ER)
  • “Hamas’ Stand: An Official of the Movement Describes Its Goals for All of Palestine,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2007 (ER)
  • “Engage With Hamas: We Earned Our Support,” Ahmed Yousef, Washington Post, June 20, 2007 (ER)

------Th Nov 29: IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS ON IRAQ & SECTARIANISM---

T Dec 4: The U.S. – Israel Relationship

  • “Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance,” updated April 26,2005, Congressional Research Service (ER)
  • “U.S. to Increase Military Aid to Israel in Decade-Long Deal,” Aluf Benn and Shmuel Rosner, Ha’aretz, June 21, 2007 (ER)
  • “The Israel Factor: Ranking the Presidential Candidates,” (read this month’s listing – the first page that comes up, with the pictures of the presidential candidates, as well as the links “Introduction to the Israel Factor” and one or two of the “Survey Results: Week Ending xxx” (you can choose which weeks to read)

------F DEC 14 2:30 P.M. FINAL EXAM------

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