Time Schedule:
Yuksel Sezgin
POL S 431
Seattle Campus
Study of domestic sources of foreign policy in the Middle East; politics of oil; the East-West rivalry in the arena; and conflict and collaboration among the local powers.
Class description
The purpose of this course is to provide a broad understanding of international and regional affairs of the Middle East. After a brief introduction of main schools of thought in International Relations theory such as realism, liberalism and social-constructivism, we will test these theories in the Middle Eastern context by specifically focusing on issues of war& peace-making, democratization, globalization, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, regional cooperation and Political Islam. Although the basic knowledge of Middle East politics, history and cultures as well as International Relations theories is not formally required, it will certainly help students understand the course material and perform better in exams. The course will require students to do a fair amount of reading on a weekly basis.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Required Texts:
There are two types of required materials for this class:
1) The required books, all of which are available at the University Book Store:
- Confronting the Costs of War by Michael N. Barnett, - International Relations of the Middle East by Louise Fawcett, - The Middle East in International Relations by Fred Halliday,
2) A number of required readings are available on electronic reserve through the UW Library (http://www.lib.washington.edu/services/course/).
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Midterm (30%), Final (35%), NYT Report (10%), Research Paper (25%)
