Politics of the Middle Eastern and North African States

The course is meant not only to provide a comprehensive overview of the historic evolution and contemporary internal politics and foreign policies of the Middle Eastern and North African States but to also apply an in-depth analysis of socio-political processes taking place in them and their causal relationships, which determine trajectories of development of these countries and societies. Much attention will be devoted to changes taking place in the region in the past several years and their consequences to not only individual states but the entire region too.

To familiarize students with the socio-political developments in the states of the MENA region thus enabling them to critically assess not only the processes taking place in the region in the last hundred years but also their repercussions to Europe.

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Where and what is the Middle East? From European colonies to nation states Staying the course/ changing the course: political development of MENA nation-states in the second half of the 20th c. (Cold War period, post-Cold War period) Twilight of MENA nation states? – collapse of states, the aftermath of the Arab Spring “War on Terror” and other U.S. led initiatives and campaigns in the MENA region Analysis of case studies from the development perspectives

Familiarity with the historical development of the MENA region Familiarity with the socio-political processes in the individual nation-states of the MENA region Ability to compare socio-political processes the across the MENA region Ability to situate socio-political processes in the MENA region against the global political processes Ability to initiate, plan and realize individual and team-based projects with full appreciation of the socio-political processes in the MENA region