POLI 2405 Comparative Politics of the Middle East

The course explores origins of Muslim majority societies and political systems in the Middle East. It covers the formative era of Islamic civilization, and traces the diffusion of the Middle Eastern Islamic paradigm, culminating in the Ottoman system, and explores the social and political disruptions caused by the breakup of Muslim empires and establishment of European economic, political and cultural domination. It addresses how these forces led to the creation of national states and changes in class structure, and explores how the failure of Western forms of modernization and political organization led to demands for the formation of new political communities based on the revival of Islamic principles. Discussions will center Islam's compatibility with liberalism, secularization, modernity, democracy, and terrorism. Recent developments surrounding the "Arab Spring" and its aftermath will be explored. The course includes a crisis simulation exercise.