Geopolitics of the Middle East - JPM426

• Title: Geopolitics of the Middle East
• Guaranteed by: Department of Political Science (23-KP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2012 to 2012
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:1/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: 25 / unknown (25)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Additional information: http://magisterský kurz
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: PhDr. Lucie Hindlsová, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): PhDr. Lucie Hindlsová, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses not for incoming students

Annotation

Last update: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš, Ph.D. (29.01.2018)

The course is focused on presenting the current challenges of the Middle East region. It will explain various factors that formed its political character, will present current geopolitical situation and will provide understanding on driving forces behind the major defining characteristics of the region.

Aim of the course

Last update: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš, Ph.D. (29.01.2018)

The course consists of 12 weekly sessions, mixing lectures and seminars on selected topics. Attendance is required.

Participants will choose from a list of topics and prepare a short presentation (maximum groups of 2) for discussion based on recommended reading materials as well as their own research. Active participation of all students during the classes and seminars is expected. Each participant will submit an essay at the end of the course on the same topic (3000 - 3500 words). 

Literature

Last update: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš, Ph.D. (29.01.2018)

Required and part of the suggested literature is available via Moodle for the students enrolled in the course. 

Required:

2) Slater, J. (2006). Lost Opportunities for Peace in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Israel and Syria, 1948-2001. International Security 27/1, pp. 79-106.

3) Aras, B., Yorulmazlar, E. (2017). Mideast Geopolitics: The Struggle For a New Order. Middle East Policy, 24/2.

Gause II, E. G. (2014). Beyond Sectarianism: The New Middle East Cold War. Brookings Doha Center Analysis Paper.

4) Lynch, M. (2016). The New Arab Wars: Uprisings and Anarchy in the Middle East. New York: Public Affairs.

5) Robinson, G. E. (2017). The Four Waves of Global Jihad: 1979-2017. Middle East Policy 24/3, pp. 70-88.

6) Hansen, S. J., Gaas, M. H., Bary, I. (2017). The Muslim Brotherhood Movement in the Arab Winter. International Security Programme Discussion Paper.

7) Talmadge, C. (2013). The Puzzle of Personalist Performance: Iraqi Battlefield Effectiveness in the Iran-Iraq War. Security Studies 22/2, pp. 180-221

Craven-Matthews, C., Englebert, P. (2017). A Potemkin state in the Sahel? The empirical and

the fictional in Malian state reconstruction. African Security.

8) Winckler, O. (2013). The “Arab Spring”: Socioeconomic Aspects. Middle East Policy 20/4, pp. 68-87.

9) https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/12/the-battle-for-iran/549446/?utm_source=twb

https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21734015-famine-yemen-could-be-avoided-if-men-chewed-less-qat-drug?fsrc=rss|mea&utm_content=bufferb3e8a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

10) Solomon, H. (2015). Terrorism and Counter-terrorism in Africa: Fighting Insurgency from Al-Shabaab, Ansar Dine and Boko Haram. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Chapter 4.  

Pashakhanlou, A. H. (2017). Decapitation in Libya: Winning the Conflict and Losing the Peace. The Washington Quarterly 40/4, pp. 135-149.

11) Estelle, E. (2017). The General´s Trap in Libya. The Critical Threats.

Lawson, F. H. (2017). Egypt versus Ethiopia: The Conflict over the Nile Metastasizes. The International Spectator

 

Suggested:

Freilich, C. D. (2017). Can Israel Survive Without America? Survival, 59/4, pp. 135-150.

Hokayem, E., Roberts, D. B. (2016). The War in Yemen. Survival 58/6, pp. 157-186.

Hopkinson, W. (2017). The new geopolitics of terror: demons and dragons. London: Routledge.

Lacher, W. (2017). Was Libya´s Collapse Predictable? Survival 59/2, pp. 139-152.

Lister, C. (2017). Al-Qaeda Versus ISIS: Competing Jihadist Brands in the Middle East. MEI Policy Paper.

Lister, C. (2015). The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

White, P. (2015). The PKK: Coming Down from the Mountains. London: Zed Books.

Teaching methods

Last update: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš, Ph.D. (29.01.2018)

Lecture / Seminar

Requirements to the exam

Last update: Mgr. Jana Krejčíková (29.03.2019)

Evaluation: seminar attendance (10%); presentation (20%); active participation (20%); final essay (50%).

To pass the course, students are required to attend all seminar sessions and submit the final essay.

 

Evaluation is performed in accordance to the Dean’s Provision.

Syllabus

Last update: Mgr. Bohumil Doboš, Ph.D. (15.03.2019)

No.	Topic	Lecture/seminar	Taught by	Presentation topics
1.	Opening – historical overview, ME in the 20th century // Current questions, problems and challenges	L	Both
2.	Israel and the Arab World, The Middle East Peace Process	L	SV
3.	Modern geopolitical conflict for regional supremacy	L	SV
4.	Seminar: Sunna-Shia	S	BD	1)    Competition in Yemen - Assmae, Violaine 2)    Competition in Iraq - Berk 3)    Iran, Saudi Arabia, and nuclear weapons - Binyu, Ziliang
5.	Demise of State in the ME in Intl Theory	L	BD
6.	The Role of Religion in the ME politics (Confession, Identity, and Ethnicity)	L	SV
7.	Seminar: role of religion	S	BD	1)    Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood after the Arab Spring - Estelle, Matěj 2)    Ennahda movement after the Arab Spring - Maria Fernanda, Carlos 3)    Role of Islam in contemporary Turkey - Sonia
8.	Social conflicts and other sources of tension	L	SV
9.	Seminar: Social Tension	S	BD	1)    Demography and social issues in Iran - Réka 2)    Social issues in oil/non-oil producing countries - Pierre, Markéta, Barbora 3)    Khaat in Yemen - Merle, Luca
10.	Specifics of Northern Africa	L	BD
11.	Seminar: North Africa after the Arab Spring	S	BD	1)    Tuareg movement and post-Arab Spring Northern Africa - Wynona  2)    Foreign intervention and proxy groups in Libya - Petr, Marco 3)    Importance of Nile river disputes for Egypt - Adam
12.	Guest	L	Both