Postgraduate Course: Political Contestation in the Middle East (PGSP11527)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Political Contestation in the Middle East examines the role of social movements and other forms of collective action in Middle East politics. It explores how movements of people challenge, reinforce and create new centres of authority in the region. We will engage with theoretical literature on contentious politics, social movement theory and collective action and use examples drawn from the Middle East to engage with broader debates. Themes covered include the salience of class and community in regional social movements, the relationship between Islam and Revolution, gender-based and feminist movements, settler colonialism, national liberation movements, and civil wars and violent insurgencies. Students are encouraged to explore and compare cases beyond the essential readings in their essays and independent research. |
| Course description |
The course examines the role of contentious politics in the politics and international relations of the Middle East. It explores how movements of people challenge or reinforce centres of, particularly state, authority in the region. The main theories of IR tend to ignore or downplay domestic and transnational actors, or else focus on the role of 'good' social movements promoting emancipatory or democratic agendas. The Middle East has traditionally singled out as a region with a weak civil society that produces 'bad' norms and social movements, particularly of a sectarian or terrorist nature. The Arab uprisings challenged this assumption and prompted scholars to reconsider the societal sources of democratic transition - as well as authoritarian relapse - in the region. They also prompted reconsideration of how popular mobilisations and social movements influence regional and international order. In this course, we will assess the literature on contentious politics and use examples from the Middle East to engage with broader debates. Themes covered include social movements and geopolitics; globalisation and regionalisation; the sociopolitical role of intellectuals; religion and gender-based mobilisation; sectarianism; and the notion of public (and counterpublic) spheres. We will examine a range of case studies, such as Arab anti-colonial movements and their legacies; trajectories of Palestinian and Kurdish struggles for statehood; the Israeli settler movement; the BDS movement; secular and Islamic feminist movements in Egypt and Iran; popular uprisings in Egypt from 2011 to 2013; and sectarian mobilisations in Iraq and Syria.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
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Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Presentation and essay (30%): Students will make a presentation comparing at least two Middle Eastern social movements, to be accompanied by a written essay of no more than 1500 words. The presentation wil not receive a mark, but the student will receive written feedback from the course organiser on its form and substance.
Long essay (70%): Students will devise their own question in consultation with the course organiser. They will be encouraged to reflect on how Middle East cases can inform or enrich broader debates on social movements and contentious politics.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the literature on collective action and social movements in the Middle East, as well as a critical understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of social science theories as related to contentious politics in the region
- Creatively apply IR and other social science theories to cases of collective action and social movements in the Middle East and demonstrate critical awareness of contextual specificities
- Develop creative or original approaches to the analysis and comparison of social movements and other forms of collective action in, and beyond, the Middle East
- Synthesise findings from study of contentious politics in the Middle East with broader debates on social movements and collective action
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Reading List
Beinin, Joel, and Frédéric Vairel. Social Movements, Mobilization, and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa. Stanford University Press, 2011.
Chalcraft, John. Popular Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Moghadam, Valentine M. Globalization and Social Movements Islamism, Feminism, and the Global Justice Movement. 2nd edition. Globalization. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.
Tilly, Charles, and Sidney Tarrow. Contentious Politics. Oxford University Press, 2015.
Tripp, Charles. The Power and the People Paths of Resistance in the Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Critically analyse literature on contentious politics in the Middle East
- Communicate orally their own ideas on contentious politics, and engage constructively with those of their peers.
- Work independently, and in consultation with others, to identify and scope an area of research and devise a research question on issues related to political contestation in the Middle East.
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| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The course is delivered via weekly 2-hour seminar, where the emphasis is on discussion and collective exploration of themes and topics, as well as assessed student presentations. Each session will begin with a (very brief) introduction by the course organiser, framing key themes and issues relating to the topic of the week. This introductory talk will NOT summarise or evaluate the assigned readings, which will form the basis of subsequent student-led discussions. Some of the 2-hours will also involve smaller group activities and discussion.
Political Contestation in the Middle East is delivered in parallel with the UG honours course Social Movements and Collective Action in the Middle East. In addition to the required seminar, PG students are strongly advised to attend the weekly UG lecture (Thursdays, 9AM). Lecture slides will be made available on the course LEARN page.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ewan Stein
Tel: (0131 6)50 4264
Email: ewan.stein@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Casey Behringer
Tel: (0131 6)50 2456
Email: Casey.behringer@ed.ac.uk |
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