Middle East in International Relations 2751-KONJA-TME

1. Determinants of the Middle East policy – geopolitics, history, culture, religion, ethnicity, resources, etc.
2. The Israeli-Arab conflict. Israel's role in the Middle East. Prospects for the creation of a Palestinian state. The peace process.
3. Balance of power in the Middle East: Iranian-Saudi rivalry.
4. The significance and role of the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy in the Middle East.
5. Yemen – Iran's proxy strategy.
6. The policy of the Persian Gulf states – normalization with Israel, the role of Qatar.
7. The Arab Spring – causes, course, consequences for the region.
8. ISIS – the evolution of Middle Eastern terrorism.
9. Syria – from regional power to failed state.
10. The Middle East in the politics of the superpowers: the US, Russia, China, European countries.
11. Scenarios for the future of the Middle East.

Term 2022/23Z:

The Middle East in International Relations course covers:
1. Borders and regional characteristics, internal regional determinants: geopolitics, culture, religion, ethnics, civilization, economy, resources.
2. The Arab-Israeli conflict, role of Israel in the Middle East, the Palestinian case, terrorism in the Middle Eastern politics, role of Egypt and Jordan in the Arab-Israeli peace process.
3. Balance of power in the Middle East: Iran’s role in the Middle East, competition in the region, the nuclear program. New role of Turkey in the region. Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf politics.
4. The Middle East in the world powers politics: U.S, Russia, the European states, China
5. The Arab Spring: how it has been changing the Middle Eastern political map
6. The Middle East: prospects for the future.

Term 2023/24Z:

Total student workload

Total student workload: 125 hours (5 ECTS) 1. Contact with the lecturer: 30 hours. 2. Independent work: a) Preparation for classes (research, searching for information on the current political situation in the Middle East): 30 hours. b) Preparation for classes - video materials (documentaries, podcasts) - 30 hours. c) Preparation for classes - briefings and simulation games - 10 hours. d) Preparation for a discussion on a book addressing Middle Eastern issues (25 hours).

Learning outcomes - knowledge

In terms of knowledge: After this course student should have: - Firm understanding of the literature on the Middle East politics. - Better awareness of the characteristics of the Middle East region, its problems and driving forces; -Comprehensive understanding of the diversity of the region. - Knowledge about the Middle East main political, historical, security and economy problems.

Learning outcomes - skills

In terms of skills: By the end of the semester students will obtain the following skills: - Ability to formulate basic policy statements and recommendations regarding Russia’s priorities of the foreign policy; - ability to evaluate critically its international activity - ability to ask insightful questions about Russian foreign policy; - improved ability to write critical review of the literature; - ability to apply theoretical concepts to explain foreign policy outcomes beyond those covered in class; - improved ability to engage in policy discourse.

Learning outcomes - social competencies

In terms of attitudes: - greater appreciation of diverse policy views; - greater confidence when discussing policy issues with peers.

Teaching methods

1. In-class lectures; assigned readings; in-class exercises. 2. In-class discussion on the relationship between ongoing events and assigned readings. 3. Class discussions conducted by a student or student committee; production of charts and diagrams in class by a group of students. 4. In-class group exercises, stimulation of in-class discussions.

Exploratory teaching methods

- practical
- expert panels
- round table
- brainstorming
- case study
- project work
- biographical
- SWOT
- Oxford

Prerequisites

No preconditions.

Course coordinators

Agnieszka Bryc

Assessment criteria

1/3 of the final grade - class participation, defined as comments, criticisms, and analyses of the readings, lecture, and issues raised in discussion
1/3 of the final grade – discussion of a (supplementary) book devoted to regional issues
1/3 of the final grade – an Oxford debate

Practical placement

Bibliography

MacQueen B., An Introduction to Middle East Politics, SAGE Publications Ltd 2018.
Steward D., The Middle East Today. Political, geographical and cultural perspectives, Routledge 2009.
Lust E. (ed.), The Middle East - International Student Edition, Edited by:, CQ Press 2023.
Dorsey J., China and the Middle East, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Shehata S. (ed.), The struggle to reshape the Middle East in the 21st century, Edinburgh University Press, 2024.
Eilam E., Israel's new wars: the conflicts between Israel and Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinians since the 1990s , Oxford 2024.
An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs, Anderdosn E.W. (ed.) Routledge 2010.
Lesch D.; Haas M., The Middle East and the United States: History, Politics, and Ideologies, Routledge 2018.
Mabon S., The struggle for supremacy in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iran, Cambridge University Press, 2023.
Rabinovich I., Middle Eastern maze: Israel, the Arabs, and the region, 1948-2022, Brookings Institution Press, 2023.

Facultative:
Said E., Orientalism:, Penguin Books Ltd 2019.
Partrick N. , State Failure in the Middle East: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, Routledge 2025.
Segev T., The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust, Picador USA, 2000
Pfeffer A., Bibi: the turbulent life and times of Benjamin Netanyahu, Basic Books, 2018.
Kapuściński R., Shah of Shahs, Penguin Classics 2006.
Ghattas K., Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East, Wildfire 2021.
Thesiger W., Arabian Sands, Penguin Classics 2008.
Khalidi R., The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, Profile Books 2021.
Gunes C., The Kurds in a New Middle East: The Changing Geopolitics of a Regional Conflict, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Warrick J., Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, Anchor 2016.

Term 2022/23Z:

Bard M., Myths and Facts. A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. 2006.
Dorsey J., China and the Middle East, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Ewan W. Anderdosn (ed.) An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs, Routledge 2010.
Freeman Ch., Jr., The Mess in the Middle East, Middle East Policy, Vol. XVII, No. 4, Winter 2011.
Gunes C., The Kurds in a New Middle East: The Changing Geopolitics of a Regional Conflict, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Israel and the Egyptian Revolution, Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies, DOHA, May 2011.
Karsh E., Peace in the Middle East : the Challenge for Israel, Routledge 2014.
Lesch D.; Haas M., The Middle East and the United States: History, Politics, and Ideologies, Routledge 2018.
MacQueen B., An Introduction to Middle East Politics, SAGE Publications Ltd 2018.
Milton-Edwards B. , Jordan. A Hashemite legacy. 2nd ed., Routledge 2009
Polk W., Understanding Iran. Everything You Need to Know, Palgrave 2009.
Saikal A. (ed), The Arab World and Iran: A Turbulent Region in Transition, Palgrave Macmillan 2016.
Steward D., The Middle East Today. Political, geographical and cultural perspectives, Routledge 2009.
The New Israel and the Old, Foreign Affairs; Jul/Aug2008, Vol. 87 Issue 4, p28-46.
Vassiliev A., Russia’s Middle East Policy: From Lenin to Putin, Routledge 2018.

Term 2023/24Z:

Term 2024/25Z:

Uzupełniająca:
Said E., Orientalism:, Penguin Books Ltd 2019.
Partrick N. , State Failure in the Middle East: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, Routledge 2025.
Segev T., The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust, Picador USA, 2000
Pfeffer A., Bibi: the turbulent life and times of Benjamin Netanyahu, Basic Books, 2018.
Kapuściński R., Shah of Shahs, Penguin Classics 2006.
Ghattas K., Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Rivalry That Unravelled the Middle East, Wildfire 2021.
Thesiger W., Arabian Sands, Penguin Classics 2008.
Khalidi R., The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, Profile Books 2021.
Gunes C., The Kurds in a New Middle East: The Changing Geopolitics of a Regional Conflict, Palgrave Macmillan 2019.
Warrick J., Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, Anchor 2016.

Term 2025/26Z:

Notes

Term 2022/23Z:

No remarks.

Term 2023/24Z:

No remarks.

Term 2024/25Z:

No remarks.

Term 2025/26Z:

No remarks.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2751-KONJA-TME in USOSweb