HISTORY OF ASIA

The course on the Middle East and its international relations aims to explore Middle Eastern Politics and particularly the relationship between the MENA region and Europe. We start by analyzing major political trends and key themes that characterize the international relations between these two neighbors: the legacies of empire and colonialism, issues of governance (authoritarianism versus democratization), the development of political ideologies such as nationalism, supranationalism, and Political Islam, the Middle East conflict and roadmaps for peace, ethnic, sectarian and gender divides in the region, the Arab Spring revolts and the refugee crisis of 2015, as well as foreign intervention and European Foreign Policy towards the MENA neighborhood.

Goals: Upon the successful completion of this class, students will:
- Have a deeper understanding of major trends in Middle East politics and the relationship between the MENA region and Europe.
- Be able to put forward a consistent argument by weighing different views and coming to their own conclusions.
- Apply IR theories to the Middle East and select country case studies from the region.

Requirements:

Active Participation during classes. Please do at least the “essential readings” to be able to discuss the questions with your peers.

Please select a Middle Eastern country that interests you, use it as a “case study” for the session’s topic, and present it to us in a 5-minute presentation in class.

At the end of the term, you will do an oral exam.

The course on the Middle East and its international relations aims to explore Middle Eastern Politics and particularly the relationship between the MENA region and Europe. We start by analyzing major political trends and key themes that characterize the international relations between these two neighbors: the legacies of empire and colonialism, issues of governance (authoritarianism versus democratization), the development of political ideologies such as nationalism, supranationalism, and Political Islam, the Middle East conflict and roadmaps for peace, ethnic, sectarian and gender divides in the region, the Arab Spring revolts and the refugee crisis of 2015, as well as foreign intervention and European Foreign Policy towards the MENA neighborhood.

Oral Exam

Goals: Upon the successful completion of this class, students will:
- Have a deeper understanding of major trends in Middle East politics and the relationship between the MENA region and Europe.
- Be able to put forward a consistent argument by weighing different views and coming to their own conclusions.
- Apply IR theories to the Middle East and select country case studies from the region.

Active Participation during classes. Please do at least the “essential readings” to be able to discuss the questions with your peers.

Please select a Middle Eastern country that interests you, use it as a “case study” for the session’s topic, and present it to us in a 5-minute presentation in class.

At the end of the term, you will do an oral exam.

English

oral