Political Science 177

Comparative Politics of the Middle East

Nathan J. Brown

Tuesday, Thursday, 12:45-2:00 pm

Monroe 113

Office Address: 1957 E Street
Room 502A

REQUIRED BOOKS: The following books are all available in the GW Bookstore for purchase:

§ Arthur Goldschmidt, Contemporary Middle East

§ L. Carl Brown, Religion and State

§ Carrie Wickham, Mobilizing Islam

§ Michael Herb, All in the Family

§ Charles Tripp, History of Iraq

§ Hamid Algar/Ayatollah Khomeini, Islam and Revolution

§ Sayyid Qutb, Milestones

BLACKBOARD: I will use Blackboard for two purposes.

First, I will post lecture outlines. Students are encouraged to consult (and print) these before each lecture to facilitate note taking.

Second, I will post some required readings—or links to required readings—on Blackboard.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM: Students should familiarize themselves with GW’s Code of Academic Integrity: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html. The issue that has proven most problematic in my past courses has been plagiarism. Students should therefore take particular note of the definition of plagiarism and the procedures for violation explicated in the Code.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: The course grade will be based on the following components:

o The paper (50%):

o Students will select one of three paper topics as the basis for a six-eight page essay. The first draft will be due during a class discussion, as indicated on the syllabus. Students will revise the paper in light of the class discussion and the instructor’s comments. The second draft will be due one week after the papers are returned. Both drafts will count equally toward the final grade. The second draft will be graded with the expectation of improvement. There will be a significant penalty for late papers.

o Students must sign up for one of the three paper topics in advance. No more than fourteen students may select any topic. Beginning September 10 (and not sooner), I will accept e-mail requests (to [email protected]) to sign up for paper topics. All students should indicate their preferences in order for the three topics. I will assign topics on a first-come, first-served basis.

o Please note: I expect the papers to be clearly written attempts to answer the assigned questions. No outside research is necessary. In fact, it is strongly discouraged.

o The final examination (50%):

o The final examination will have two components, which will be weighted equally.

o The first will be an essay (which may be offered on a take-home basis).

o The second will be an in-class examination, based primarily on the readings.

COURSE OUTLINE

September 4--Introduction to the Course

September 6--Political Economy and Change I
Required Reading: Goldschmidt, Chapters 1-3

September 11--Political Economy and Change II

September 13--class cancelled

September 18--Ideology in the Modern Era

September 20--Islam and Politics: Traditional Formulations
Required Reading: Brown, Religion and State, entire book

September 25--Islam and Politics: The Modern Era

September 27--Islam and Politics: Contemporary Issues
Required Readings:

Sayyid Qutb, Milestones
Nathan J. Brown and Clark Lombardi, “Translation: The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt on Islamic Law, Veiling and Civil Rights: An Annotated Translation of Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Case No. 8 of Judicial Year 17 (May 18, 1996)” American University International Law Review Volume 21 (2006). Available through Blackboard

October 2--Egypt 1
Required Reading:

Goldschmidt, Chapters 17 and 18
Wickham, Mobilizing Islam, entire book

October 4—Discussion
Students selecting the first paper must write an essay on one of the following questions. All students should consider these questions before class.

For Qutb, the appropriate relationship between Islam and Politics should have been obvious since the beginning of Islam. But Carl Brown claims that Qutb’s views are a departure from the past. To what extent are Qutb’s views new? And what explains the emergence of the new elements in the 20^th century
Has Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court has advanced a view of the Islamic shari‘a that is essentially different from Qutb’s?

October 9--Egypt II

October 11--Egypt III

October 16--Iran I
Required Reading

Goldschmidt, Chapters 11 and 12
Khomeini, “Islamic Government” in Islam and Revolution

October 18--Iran II

October 23--Iran III

October 25--Iraq I
Required Reading:

Tripp, History of Iraq, entire book
International Crisis Group, “A Constitutional Process Gone Awry,” link available through Blackboard

October 30--Discussion on Egypt and Iran

Discussion: Students selecting the second paper must write an essay on one of the following questions. All students should consider these questions before class:

Is Khomayni simply giving a Shi‘i form to Sunni radical ideas?
Why was there an Islamic revolution in Iran but not in Egypt?

November 1--Iraq II

November 6--Iraq III

November 8--The Arabian Peninsula I
Required readings:

Goldschmidt, Chapter 15
Michael Herb, All in the Family, entire Book
International Crisis Group, Can Saudi Arabia Reform Itself? Link through Blackboard
Nathan Brown, “Kuwait’s Islamic Constitutional Movement” Link through Blackboard

November 13--Arabian Peninsula II

November 15--Arabian Peninsula III

November 20--discussion
Discussion: Students selecting the third paper must write an essay on one of the following questions. All students should consider these questions before class:

Does the experience of Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula suggest that monarchy is the most liberal form of government in the region?
Does the experience of Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula suggest that oil is a political curse?

November 27--Palestine I
Required Readings:

Goldschmidt, Chapter 5
Nathan J. Brown, “Requiem for Palestinian Reform,” Link through Blackboard
International Crisis Group, “After Gaza,” Link through Blackboard

November 29--Palestine II

December 4--Israel
Required Readings:

Goldschmidt, Chapter 8
Charles Freilich, “National Security Decision Making in Israel” Link through Blackboard

December 6—Discussion: Declarations of Independence for the United States, Israel, and Palestine

All students should print out the file for the class available through Blackboard, read it, and bring it to class for discussion. It includes the declarations of independence for the United States (1776), Israel (1948), and Palestine (1988).