POL 375 - Politics of the Middle East

3 Credit(s) DIII V

This course critically analyzes the politics of the (greater) Middle East, a region of the world comprising North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia. Most of the states of this region are Arab, but the course will also cover the non-Arab states of Israel, Iran, and Turkey, and the predominantly Turkic states of Central Asia. A wide array of topics are covered in the course within the context of two theoretical propositions: (i) international politics influences domestic politics to a much greater extent here than in other regions, and (ii) interactions among this region’s states and actors are much more likely to be conflictual than cooperative. Three lecture hours per week.