31709 - International Relations of the Middle East

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide students with the basic analytical tools to comprehend the contemporary history of the Middle East and its place in a complex system of international relations.

Course contents

This course aims to provide students with the basic analytical tools to comprehend the contemporary history of the Middle East and its place in a complex system of international relations.  These are the course's main objectives:

Ø      to analyse the complex fabric of Middle Eastern high level of conflictuality in its multiple national, regional and international components

Ø      to understand decolonization processes in the Middle East and their profound impact on the elaboration of local elites' ideology, on the monopoly of political power by the military,  on the high level of conflictuality characterizing the area since the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire

Ø      to understand regional processes of state and nation-building, in the light of Western models and recurrent utopian Islamism

Ø      to understand the process of modernization and political and economic change in the Middle East, considering also the influence of oil resources on the institutional engineering of oil-producing  countries and their relation with the West.

Ø      to examine the Israeli process of state building and nation building, with particular reference to the impact that the Arab-Israeli Conflict had on Israeli and Palestinian societies.

Ø      to understand the failure of the Oslo process and the subsequent peace-making attempts, while considering the important changes in the Palestinian Intifada and their influence on Israeli, Palestinian and regional politics.

Ø      to explore the phenomenon of transnational Islam and international Jihadism, and the challenge it poses to Western countries and so-called “democratic” Arab and Muslim states.

Ø      to understand the latest developments in Middle Eastern conflictuality ( wars on Afghanistan and Iraq)

Essential Readings for Weekly Lectures

Week 1- Guidelines in Middle Eastern International Relations

Panarabism and Sionism: comparing opposite visions

 Morris B. (2001), Vittime: storia del conflitto arabo-sionista 1881-2001, Rizzoli, Milano, pp. 13-53

 Harendt H. (1986), Ebraismo e Modernità , Feltrinelli, Milano, pp. 77-116

 Jones C., "Ideo-theology and the Jewish State: from Conflict to Conciliation?" in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 26 n. 1, 1999

 Dawn E., "The Formation of Pan-Arab Ideology in the Interwar Years" in International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 20, n. 1, 1988, pp. 67-91

 Humphreys S., "The strange career of Panarabism", in Hourani, Khoury, and Wilson (eds.), The Modern Middle East: A Reader, London: I.B. Tauris 1993, pp. 577-596

 Week 2- Conflicts and international relations in the Middle East (part I)

1948 and the conflict imprinting in Middle Eastern regional relations

Morris B. (2001), Vittime: storia del conflitto arabo-sionista 1881-2001, Rizzoli, Milano, pp. 837-858

Shlaim A. Rogan E. acd (2004), La guerra per la Palestina: riscrivere la storia del 1948, Il Ponte, Bologna, pp. 17-142

 Week 3- Conflicts and international relations in the Middle East (part II)

Arab Responses to 1948 war: old and new historiography

 Shlaim A. Rogan E. acd (2004), La guerra per la Palestina: riscrivere la storia del 1948, Il Ponte, Bologna, pp. 149-204 e 205-290

 Week 4- The Middle East as a Cold War Scenario

1956 Suez Crisis, the Six Day War (1967) and the Kippur War (1973)

Tal D., “Israel's Road to the 1956 War”, in International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 28, n. 1, 1996, pp. 59-81

 Halliday F., “1967 and the Consequences of the Catastrophe”, in Middle East Report, n. 146, 1987, 3-5

 Galvani J. Johnson P. Theberge R., “The October War: Egypt, Syria, Israel”, in MERIP Reports, n. 22 1973, pp. 3-21

Shemesh M., "The Origins of Sadat's Strategic Volte-face" in Israel Studies vol.13, n.2, Summer 2008, pp.28-53

Week 5- Energy Resources Politics in the Middle East

Oil as political weapon, oil as political actor

AA. VV., “A Political Evaluation of the Arab Oil Embargo”, Middle East Report, n. 28, 1974, pp. 23-25

 Schwartz R., “State Formation Processes in Rentier States: the Middle Eastern Case”, paper presented at the fifth pan-European Conference on International Relations, The Hague, 9-11 September 2004 

 Okruhlik G., “Rentier Whealth, Unruly Law and the Rise of Opposition: the Political Economy of Oil States”, in Comparative Politics, vol. 31 n. 3, 1999, pp. 295-315

Week 6- The Iran Revolution and Its ‘Exportation'

Causes, characteristics and facts of the 1979 Iranian Revolution; its regional and international impact. Enmity with Saudi Arabia. Iran-Iraq War (1980-1990)

 Kepel G. (2001), Jihad: ascesa e declino, Carocci, Roma, pp. 115-169

 Halliday F., “The Arc of Crisis and the New Cold War”, in Middle EastReport, n. 100/101, 1981, pp. 14-25

 Kramer M., “Tragedy in Mecca”, in Orbis, 1988, pp. 231-247

Emiliani M. Parte I cap.5 e cap.6  In Emiliani M., Ranuzzi de' Bianchi M. Atzori E., Nel nome di Omar. Rivoluzione, clero e potere in Iran, Odoya, Bologna, 2008, pp.115-182

Nasr V., La rivincita sciita, EGEA, 2007, cap. 5, pp.113-133.

Atzori E. Parte III   In Emiliani M., Ranuzzi de' Bianchi M. Atzori E., Nel nome di Omar. Rivoluzione, clero e potere in Iran, Odoya, Bologna, 2008 pp.271-328

Week 7- The Middle East and the end of the Cold War

The Meaning of the Cold War for Middle Eastern inter-state relations and its international status,   Iraqi Invasion in Kuwait, Desert Storm, Afghan as the theatre of new enmities. 

 Owen R., "A New Post Cold War System? The Middle East in a Realigned World", in Middle East Report, n. 184, 1993, pp. 2-6

 Neff D., "The U.S., Iraq, Israel and Iran: Backdrop to War", in Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 20 n. 4, 1991, pp. 23-41

 Chaudhry K. A., "On the Way to Market: Economic Liberalisation and Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait", in Middle East Report n. 170, 1991, pp. 14-23

  Kepel J. (2001), Jihad: ascesa e declino, Carocci, Roma, pp. 257-274

 Rashid A. (2001), Talebani: Islam, Petrolio e il Grande Scontro in Asia Centrale, Feltrinelli, Milano, pp. 17-31

 Roy O., "Rivalries and Power Plays in Afghanistan: the Taliban, the Shari'a and the Pipeline", in Middle East Report, n. 202, 1996, pp. 37-40

Week 8- The Oslo Accords  

 The Oslo peace process: interests at stake, international pressures and consequences  

Morris B. (2001), Vittime: storia del conflitto arabo-sionista 1881-2001, Rizzoli, Milano, pp. 758-806

 Kepel G. (2001), Jihad: ascesa e declino, Carocci, Roma, pp. 369-377

 Shlaim A., “The Oslo Accord”, in Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 23 n. 3, 1994, pp. 24-40

Pressman J., "Visions in Collision. What Happened at Camp David and Taba?" in International Security vol.28, n.2, Fall 2003, pp.5-43

Celso A. N., "The Death of the Oslo Accords: Israeli Security Options in the Post Arafat Era" in Mediterranean Quarterly vol.14, n.1 Winter 2003, pp. 67-84

Osamah Khalil, " Pax americana: The United States, the Palestinians, and the Peace Process, 1948-2008" in CR: New Centennial Review vol.8, n.2, Fall 2008, pp.1-41

 Stork J. Doumani B., “After Oslo”, in Middle EastReport, n. 186, 1994, pp 2-4 + 26

Week 9-  9/11 and the Middle East

The impact of 9/11 on the Middle East, with special reference to the consequences of altered American approach to the Arab-Israeli Conflict . Second Intifada. 

F. Fasce, Gli Stati Uniti e il mondo dopo l'11 di settembre in  M.Emiliani, (acd) Usa-Iraq: le ragioni di un conflitto,  numero speciale di Afriche e Orienti (2.3.2003), pp. 4-14

Rabbani M., Rocks and Rockets: Oslo's Inevitable Conclusion, in Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 30 n. 3, 2001, pp. 68-81

Hammami R. Tamari S., The Second Uprising: End or New Beginning , in Journal of PalestineStudies, vol. 30 n. 2, 2001, pp. 5-25

Mansour C., The Impact of 11 September on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, in Journal of Palestine Studies, vol. 31 n. 2, 2002, pp. 5-18

 Emiliani M. acd, (2006), La vittoria di Hamas: prospettive sviluppi paure, Il Ponte, Bologna, pp. 7-55

 Week 10. Global War on Terror

 The global war on terror: the toppling of the Talebans' regime in Afghanistan. Enduring Freedom operation in Iraq and al-Qaeda Terrorist network.

 Karmon E., “Al Qaeda and the War on Terror after the War in Iraq”, in Middle EastJournal of International Affairs, vol. 10 n. 1, 2006, pp. 1-22

 Roy O. (2000), Global Muslims, Feltrinelli Milano, pp. 9-24 e 44-62

 Kepel G. (2004), Fitna. Guerra nel cuore dell'Islam, Laterza, Bari, pp. 71-105 e 148-230

 Khosrokhavar F. (2004), I nuovi martiri di Allah, Mondadori, Milano, pp. 177-250  

Emiliani M. (2008) , Alla ricerca di un nuovo spazio politico: la violenza in Iraq, in <Ricerche di Storia Politica>, n.3, 2008 

 Baxter K.& Akbarzadeh S.(2008), US Foreign Policy in the Middle East. The Roots of Anti-Americanism, London, New York, Routledge, pp.160-186

Readings/Bibliography

Compulsory background readings (especially recommended for those who did not take any Middle Eastern history and institutions course previously)

J. L. Gelvin, Storia del Medio Oriente moderno, Torino, Einaudi, 2009

M. Emiliani, La terra di chi?, Bologna, Il Ponte, 2008

G. Kepel, Jihad Ascesa e declino, Roma, Carocci, 2001

Set Texts

Halliday F. , The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, 2005

Shlaim A. Rogan E (eds), La guerra per la Palestina: riscrivere la storia del 1948, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2004

Emiliani M. (acd ), La vittoria di Hamas: prospettive, sviluppi, paure, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2006

 Emiliani M. (acd) , Hamas alla prova del governo. La Palestina sull'orlo della guerra civile, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2007

Emiliani M., Ranuzzi de'Bianchi M., Atzori E., Nel nome di Omar. Rivoluzione, clero e potere in Iran, Odoya, Bologna, 2008

Nasr V., La rivincita sciita. Iran, Iraq, Libano. La nuova mezzaluna, EGEA, Milano 2007

Baxter K. & Akbarzadeh S., US Foreign Policy in the Middle East. The Roots of Anti-Americanism, Routledge, London and New York, 2008

 

Readings for students not attending in-class lectures are the following:

F. Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, 2005

B. Morris, Vittime, Rizzoli, Milano, 2001

Emiliani M. La terra di chi? Geografia del conflitto arabo-israeliano-palestinese, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2008 

Shlaim A. Rogan E. (acd), La guerra per la Palestina: riscrivere la storia del 1948, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2004

Said E., Fine del processo di pace. Israele/Palestina dopo Oslo, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2004

Carey R. (acd), La Nuova Intifada, Milano, Tropea, 2002

Emiliani M. (acd) La vittoria di Hamas: prospettive, sviluppi, paure, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2006

Emiliani M. (acd), Hamas alla prova del governo. La Palestina sull'orlo della guerra civile, Il Ponte, Bologna, 2007

Kepel G. Jihad. Ascesa e declino, Roma, Carocci, 2000

Kepel G., Fitna. Guerra nel cuore dell'Islam, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2004

Roy O., Global Muslims.Le radici occidentali del nuovo Islam, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2003

Karmon E., “Al Qaeda and the War on Terror after the War in Iraq”, in Middle EastJournal of International Affairs, vol. 10 n. 1, 2006, pp. 1-22

Emiliani M., Ranuzzi de'Bianchi M., Attori E., Nel nome di Omar. Rivoluzione, clero e potere in Iran, Odoya, Bologna, 2008

Nasr V., La rivincita sciita. Iran, Iraq, Libano. La nuova mezzaluna, EGEA, Milano 2007

Baxter K. & Akbarzadeh S., US Foreign Policy in the Middle East. The Roots of Anti-Americanism, Routledge, London and New York, 2008

Students who are not attending  in-class lectures  must contact the lecturer during her office hours within two weeks from the beginning of the course.  

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

One final oral exam

Teaching tools

OHP, PC and video-projector will be used during lectures

Office hours

See the website of Marcella Emiliani