This module analyses different forms of political transition in the Middle East, analysing revolutions, civil wars, and processes of democratisation and change. Covering both key historical and more contemporary periods such as the ‘Arab Spring’, this module will help you understand the current state of a complex region.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
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A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Throughout the twentieth century, the Middle East has been a region marked by dramatic political change. Empires have dissolved, states have been created, and conflict has been a regular feature of the political landscape. The driving forces behind change and conflict have been varied. Ethnicity, ideology, religion, and a quest for power or economic gain have generated pressures, often exacerbated by external intervention, which reverberate beyond national boundaries. In a region well known for its complex political dynamics, analyses are seldom straightforward.
This module examines the different forms of political change which have been prevalent in the region during the 20th and 21st centuries – including coups, revolutions, and civil wars, for example. An understanding of these political processes requires an interdisciplinary approach incorporating aspects of history, economics, and sociology, which this course aims to provide. It offers you the chance to explore different modes of transition by analysing a number of case studies (including Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Tunisia) through a comparative analytical perspective, thereby providing an understanding of the idiosyncrasies of individual cases and a number of broader and recurring political trends. You will thus be able to better understand and explain the current changes affecting the region, the historical context which informs them, and the challenges which lay ahead for individual countries and the combustible region as a whole.
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
Likely structure to include:
Introduction - themes and ‘transition’
Histories of state making
Conflict - Israel-Palestine
Coups and revolutions - Iran
External interventions - Iraq & Libya
Civil war - Iraq
Civil war - Syria
Coups and revolutions - Egypt & Tunisia
Monarchical resilience - Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
Arab Spring reconsidered and revision
Task | % of module mark |
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Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Students will receive written timely feedback on their formative assessment. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's feedback and guidance hours.
Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment no later than 25 working days after submission; and the module tutor will hold a specific session to discuss feedback, which students can also opt to attend. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their feedback during the module tutor's regular feedback and guidance hours.
Ismail, Salwa. Rethinking Islamist Politics: Culture, the State and Islamism. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2003.
Bayat, Asef. Life as politics: How ordinary people change the Middle East. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013.
Allinson, Jamie. The Age of Counter-revolution: States and Revolutions in the Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022.