MIDDLE EAST IN WORLD POLITICS

- MIDDLE EAST IN WORLD POLITICS                  3 units          

COURSE LECTURER:  Dr   Olufemi .P. Adelusi

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 This course has been designed to acquaint the students with the definition of the Middle East.

 The strategic and Economic importance of the Middle East to the Great Powers.

 Oil and the Middle East Politics;

 The founding of the State of Israel and the implications for the Middle East Politics.

 The Great Powers and the Middle East. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

     At the end of this course, students are expected to:

• Understand the strategic importance of Middle East Region
• Understand the role of Oil and Arab nationalism in the Politics of Middle East.
• Look at the implications of the turbulence of the Middle East Region for World Politics.
• Have examined the relations between The Great Powers & the Middle East Region.

METHOD OF TEACHING/TEACHING AIDS:

The method of Teaching is mostly participatory. The teacher outlines the major points of discourse on the topic. He talks to these points so outlined.   Students are encouraged to participate

by raising questions. The Teaching Aid employed is the Overhead Projector where transparency containing the printer matter for the course is projected on the screen during the contact hours.

COURSE  OUTLINE :

MODULE I- CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS & CLARIFICATION

        Week 1-The Middle East as a Sub-System of International System

 Week 2.- The Importance of the Middle East 

MODULE II- NATIONALISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST

      Week 3 -Pan Arabism

      Week 4-Zionism

     Week 5-Turkish Nationalism

 MID-SEMESTER TEST.

 MODULE III- MIDDLE EAST CONFLICTS

  Week 7- The Arab-Israeli Conflict

 Week 8- The Middle East and Oil Politics

MODULE IV- MIDDLE EAST AND RELATIONS WITH OTHER STATES

 Week 9 - The Middle East and the Great Powers

Week 10 - Africa and the Middle East

Week Eleven: REVISION

TUTORIALS

The third contact Hour is converted to group topic presentations,

Students are encouraged to participate.

METHOD OF GRADING:

     15% Mid-Semester Exam

   10% Class Test

Group topic presentations -5%

  Total Continuous Assessment- 30%

   End of Semester Exam-           70%

GRAND RULES & REGULATIONS

Attendance to lectures and tutorials are compulsory for registered students.  Students must be seated 10 minutes before the commencement of every lecture.

   Listening to Teacher as He talks to Power Points on the Screen.

    The class copies Power Points on the screen.

TOPIC FOR TERM ASSIGNMENT/PAPER:

Groups are to work around each Module 1 – 4

1.      The importance of the Middle East in World Politics

2.      The Middle East Conflicts

3.      The Middle East and the Great Powers,

4.      The Middle East and Africa.

ALIGNMENT WITH COVENANT UNIVERSITY VISION/GOALS

The course aligns with core values of Capacity Building and producing leaders for the next generation

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES RELEVANCE

The negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, the talks between Israel and Palestinian Authority are of relevance to our course.

     RECOMMENDED READINGS

1.      Nubar Hovsepian, (1995) “Competing Identities in the Arab World”. Journal of International Affairs. Summer .49, no 1

2.      Crawford Young, (1976) “Genesis of the Arab” in The Politics of Cultural Pluralism The University of Wisconsin Press.

3.      Ali Jarbawi,( 1995) “The Triangle of Conflict” Foreign Policy. No 100, Fall.

4.      Martin Kramer,( 2005) “Arab Nationalism: Mistaken Identity-The rise and fall of Arab Nationalism” http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/ArabNationalism.htm 10/12/2005

5.      Bassam Tibi,( 1988) Conflict and War in the Middle East (from interstate war to New Security) Second Edition St. Martins Press Inc.NY.

6.      Olusola Ojo,( 1988)Africa and Israel: Relations in Perspective.

7.      Ann.Lesch,( 2005 )“Zionism And Its Impact” Washington Report On Middle East. http://www.wrmea.com/html/focus.htm 10/12/2005

8.      Pouria Lotfi, (2005) Basis of Iranian Nationalism(s).http://freethoughts.org/archives/000648.php 10/12/2005

9.      Anderson, Roy R, Robert F.Siebert, & JonG Wagner,(2004), Politics and Change in the Middle East: Sources of Conflict and Accommodation.(7^th Edition).New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

10.   Ruskin, MichaelG.& James J.Cole(2004) Politics in the Middle East: Cultures and Conflict. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

11.   Hinnebusch, Raymond (2003), The International Politics of the Middle East. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

12.   Reich, Bernard & David Long(2002) The Government and Politics of the Middle and North Africa. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

13.   Cleveland, William L.(2004), A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

14.   Henry, Clement M. & Robert Springborg (2001) Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East. New York: Cambridge University Press.

15.   Rubin, Barry (2002), The Tragedy of the Middle East. New York. Cambridge University Press.

16.   Sueiman, Yasir (2003), The Politics of Arabic. London: Curzon.

17.   Amineh, Parvizi.M.(2007), The Greater Middle East in Global Politics. Social Science Perspectives on the Changing Geography of the World Politics. Brill

18.   Roler Owen,(1993), A New Post-Cold War System, The Middle East in a Realigned World .Middle East Report.

19.   Roler Owen, (1992), State Power and Politics in the making of the modern Middle East 'Routiedge,

20.   The Middle East and the Problem of Democracy.

21.   Israeli Politics and the Middle East Peace Process, 1988-2002

22.   A Survey of Arab-Israeli Relations

23.   Strategy and Politics in the Middle East 1954-1960: Defending the Northern Tier.

24.   The International Relations of the Middle East in the 21^st Century: Patterns of Continuity and Changes.

25.   The Arab-Israeli Conflict.

26.    Charles William Maynes (1998), The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century, Middle East Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1 Winter, pp. 9-16

27.   Harry.N.Howard,(1974) “The United States and the Middle East” in Tareq.Y.Ismael,(ed), The Middle East in World Politics: A Study in Contemporary International Relations (New York, Syracuse University Press.

28.   Olufemi.P.Adelusi,(2008),”U.S.A and Iraq’s Policies in the Gulf: An Examination of the Twin  Concepts of Defence and Foreign Policies in the External Behaviour of States” in Adelusi.O.P (ed), Gulf War-Operation Desert Storm: Nigerian Perspective. Komunic -8 Press Limited.