Academic Year 2018/2019
- Docente: Francesca Biancani
- Credits: 8
- SSD: SPS/14
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Forli
-
Corso:
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs (cod. 9247)
Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 8783)
Learning outcomes
The course aims at providing students with an overview of the system of international relations in of the Middle East. At the end of the course students will be knowledgeble about the main issues and problems of MENA Internatioanal Relations Studies: main factors in State and Nation building processes in the area (identity, religion, natural resources); the main regional conflicts and their interaction with global conflicts such as the Cold War, or the global war on terror; roots of domestic political instability in the region, in both Middle Eastern secular republics and theocratic Gulf States, and their impact on regional confictuality and international relations.
Course contents
Week 1- I R Theory and the Middle East
Week 2- Foreign Policy in the Making: States and Society
Week 3- State and Nation Building in the Middle East during the Colonial Period.
Week 4- The Cold War in the Middle East between the global and the regional
Week 5- The Middle East after the Cold War
Week 6- International Relations of the Middle East and conflict
Week 7- Political Ideologies in the Middle East: Nationalisms and Islamo-nationalisms.
Week 8- Challenges to the State in the Middle East: transnational movements
Week 9- Political Economy of International Relations in the Middel East
Week 10 - Review and conclusions
Readings/Bibliography
Louise Fawcett, International Relations of the Middle East, Oxford University Press (3rd edition), 2013
Raymond Hinnebusch, The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2003 (available also in Italian: Raymond Hinnebusch, La politica internazionale del Medio Oriente. Bologna: Il Ponte, 2010), chaps. 1,2,7,8.
Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics, and Ideology. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. (Available also in Italian as Fred Halliday, Il Medio Oriente, Potere, Politica e Ideologia. Milano: V&P, 2007), chapter 2.
For a historical overview (highly recommended to those who did not take a minor/major in History of the Modern Middle East before):
Marcella Emiliani, Medio Oriente: una storiadal 1981 al1991 e Medio Oriente: una storia dal 1991 a oggi (Bari: Laterza, 2012)
alternatively if English preferred :
William Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, Boulder CO: Westview Press, 2013.
Non attending students must agree on a customized bibliography focusing on a preferred topic among those covered during the course. THEY ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE LECTURER, EITHER BY EMAIL OR DURING OFFICE HOURS, NO LATER THAN WEEK 4. STRICT DEADLINE.
The following resources can be used productively to research on various topics in history, politics and international relations of the Modern Middle East.
http://jadaliyya.com [http://jadaliyya.com/] [ indipendent e-by ASI, Arab Studies Institute]
http://merip.org [http://merip.org/] [Middle East Research and Information Project]
http://w3fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/ [MESA homepage]
http://www.albawaba.com/ [Albawaba Middle East gateway]
http://www.mideast.org/ [Middle East Institute]
http://menic.utexas.edu/menic.html [Centre for ME Studies, Univ of Texas at Austin]
http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/ [Al-Ahram Weekly]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/ [BBC World Service]
Academic journal specialized in Middle Eastern Studies:
British Journal of Middle East Studies
Bulletin (British Society of Middle Eastern Studies)
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
International Journal of Middle East Studies
Journal of Palestine Studies
Middle East Report
MERIP Middle East Report
MERIP Reports
Access to these journal is free for all UNIBO students via the University Library System (see how to connect by remote to the Uni server in order to access these resources when you're not on campus
http://www.sba.unibo.it/it/almare/servizi-e-strumenti-almare/connessione-da-remoto
Teaching methods
Lectures
Assessment methods
Oral exam at the end of the course (100% final grade)
Teaching tools
Maps, slides, PC
Office hours
See the website of Francesca Biancani