| Kommentar |
The Revolutions of the ‘Arab Spring’ made finally evident that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) suffers from severe problems: state corruption, repression, economic failure, insufficient social services and restricted political freedom afflicted citizens for decades. In this seminar, we will focus on these developmental problems shaping the region as a whole. Keeping in mind striking regional disparities, different dimensions of and conditions for (under-)development will be discussed (like history, economic structures, political systems, the role of the military, civil society and media, political Islam and regional cooperation). To understand the distinctive dynamics of Middle Eastern politics, we will focus on the Arab states and Iran (while Turkey and Israel will not be included). The ‘Arab Spring’ is to be acknowledged as a major turning point in recent Arab history, putting into perspective many theoretical approaches used before. |
| Literatur |
- Henry, Clement M. / Springborg, Robert (2010²): Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East. Cambridge: UP.
- Asseburg, Muriel (2012)(ed.): Protest, Revolt and Regime Change in the Arab World. Actors, Challenges, Implications and Policy Options. SWP Research Paper 2012/RP 06, February 2012. Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. http://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/research_papers/2012_RP06_ass.pdf.
- Schlumberger, Oliver (2008)(ed.): Debating Arab Authoritarianism. Dynamics and Durability in Nondemocratic Regimes. Stanford: UP.
- Bayat, Asef (2010): Life as Politics. How Ordinary People Change the Middle East. Amsterdam: UP.
- Anderson, Lisa (2011): Demystifying the Arab Spring. Parsing the Differences Between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Foreign Affairs 90/2. 2-7.
- Ross, Michael L. (2011): Will Oil Drown the Arab Spring? Democracy and the Resource Curse. Foreign Affairs 90/2. 2-7.
- Fawcett, Louise (2009)(ed.), International Relations in the Middle East. Oxford: UP.
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