AMST 301 America in the Middle East

Spring 2014 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT Department of Political Studies and Public Administration Center for American Studies and Research Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies AMST 301: America in the Middle East PSPA 319C: Special Topic: US in the Middle East MEST 317N: Special Topic: US in the Middle East PSPA 293 D: Senior Seminar on the US in the Middle East Professor Waleed Hazbun [email protected] Meeting Time: Tuesday, 3:30 pm-6:00 pm Nicely 325 Office hours: Mon., Wed. 10:30 am-Noon Jesup 201 This seminar explores the political, economic, and cultural relations between the United States and the Middle East. It seeks to explain the nature of American policy and the role of American non-state actors though an examination of changing strategic assessments, cultural attitudes, political struggles, socioeconomic forces, and ideological trends within both the US and Middle East. While there are no prerequisites for this course, it is offered as a complement to PSPA 311 International Politics and the Middle East (at the MA level) and PSPA 237 The Middle East in International Politics (at the BA level). These courses survey US policy towards the Middle East framed by how American policymakers defined and pursed US strategic interests and sought to counter regional challenges to those interests. In contrast, this seminar recognizes the limits of mainstream international relations scholarship to fully explain the nature of US policy and US-Middle East relations or even address many aspects of these complex relationships. This course explores the multidimensional nature of political, economic, and cultural relations between the United States and the Middle East. In particular, it suggests that the definition of strategic interests and assessment about how best to pursue them are, in practiced, shaped by cultural and ideological constructions, domestic political factors, and the actions of transnational non-state actors such as private firms, NGOs, the media, and expats in the region. Through readings, discussions, and varied writing assignments the seminars seeks to engage students to critically think about the changing nature of the American presence in the Middle East and its possible future course. Course Requirements: Attendance and seminar participation: Weekly writing assignments: Final paper (due May. 5): [Draft due April 22] (20% of course grade) (50%) (30%) This seminar is an over/under course with both MA graduate students and an undergraduate (senior) students. The only difference is that the graduate students will have a longer final paper and a few extra readings [G]. This course is a discussion-based seminar: Course assumes a basic understanding of modern Middle East geography, history, and politics as well as post-1945 US foreign policy. Rather than listen to a lecture, students should come prepare to discuss and question the readings. The seminar assumes that the acquisition of information will take place outside of seminar. Student should prepare responses to the discussion questions (available on moodle). This seminar requires a lot of reading [50-100 pp/week]: But unlike other courses, you will not be tested on memorizing facts or expected to simple answers to questions. Note: [G]=graduate only, [U] = undergraduate only, [C] = reading offers historical context. This is also a writing intensive course: Almost every week you will be assigned a short writing task. These assignments will be passed out in class, on moodle, or via email. These will include, for example, responding to discussion questions, writing an op-ed or blog post. These are exercises in the process of writing as a means to understand the material. Final paper: Towards the end of the course you will write an essay drawing from, extending, synthesizing, material engaged and produced over the weeks. You will be given a question(s) to address, but this will closely follow the material covered in seminar and not require extensive outside research. Length: 10-12 pages for undergrads, 15-20 pages for graduate students. You will submit a draft, then edit it, and rewrite the draft based on feedback from the instructor and your colleagues. A course reader will be available at the AUB Book Store under the course AMST 301 (Vol I & II). Additional Readings (noted by [M]) will be posted on AUB’s online course management system, Moodle. You can log in at: http://moodle.aub.edu.lb *Please note: This schedule aims to give you an over view of the course, but readings subject to change. These changes will be noted in red on Moodle.* January 28 1. Introduction: What does “America” represent in the Middle East? Michael Oren, “Apple pie and the Middle East,” Los Angeles Times, January 15, 2007. [M]. Ted Widmer, “The challenge of imperialism,” Boston Globe, July 15, 2007. [M]. February 4 2. An Overview: Rethinking the Roots of “Anti-Americanism” Ussama Makdisi “’Anti-Americanism’ in the Arab World: An Interpretation of a Brief History,” Journal of American History, (September, 2002), pp. 538-557. [C] Fawaz Gerges, Obama and the Middle East: End of America’s Moment? (Palgrave, 2012): 28-68. Barak Obama, “Moment of Opportunity: American Diplomacy in the Middle East & North Africa,” Remarks at the State Department, May 19, 2011. [M]. John Waterbury, “Hate Your Policies, Love Your Institutions,” Foreign Affairs (Jan-Feb 2003): 5868. [M]. 2 February 11 3. Culture, Politics, Interests: Explaining US Foreign Policy in the Middle East Douglas Little, “Orientalism, American Style,” in American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945, (North Carolina, 2002), pp. 9-42. [U] William Quandt, Peace Process: American Diplomacy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (Brookings, 2005), pp. 7-17. [G] William Quandt, Decade of Decisions: American Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967-76, (California, 1977), pp. 1-36. Michael C. Hudson, “The United States and the Middle East,” in Fawcet (ed.) The International Relations of the Middle East 2nd ed. (Oxford, 2009), pp. 308-330. Melani McAlister, “Middle East Interests” in Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, & U.S. Interests in the Middle East since 1945, (California 2005), pp. 1-12. GEOPOLITICAL INTERESTS AND ENGAGEMENT February 18 4. The Cold War in the Middle East: Doctrines, propaganda, covert action Peter Sluglett, “The Cold War in the Middle East,” in Fawcet (ed.) The International Relations of the Middle East 2nd ed. (Oxford, 2009), pp. 44-60. Melani McAlister, “Benevolent Supremacy,” in Epic Encounters, (California 2005), pp. 43-55. Douglas Little, “Mission Impossible: The CIA and the Cult of Covert Action in the Middle East,” Diplomatic History, (November 2004), pp. 663-701. [M] “U.S. Propaganda in the Middle East - The Early Cold War Version” National Security Archive, Electronic Briefing Book No. 78 Edited by Joyce Battle, selections. [M] February 25 5. Contrasting view of the US role in Lebanon, 1958 Erika Alin, “U.S. Policy and Military Intervention in the 1958 Lebanon Crisis,” in Lesch (ed.) Middle East and the United States, 4th ed. (Westview, 2007), pp. 122-140. [M] Richard J. McAlexander, “Couscous Mussolini: US perceptions of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the 1958 Intervention in Lebanon and the origins of the US–Israeli special relationship,” Cold War History Vol. 11, No. 3, (August 2011), pp. 363-385. [M] Maurice M. Labelle Jr. “A New Age of Empire? Arab ‘Anti-Americanism,’ U.S. Intervention, and the Lebanon Crisis of 1958,” International History Review, 35, 1 (2013), pp. 42-69. [M] [C]/[G] Malik Mufti, “The United States and Nasserist Pan-Arabism,” in David W. Lesch (ed.) The Middle East and the United States, 4th ed. (Westview, 2007), pp. 141-160. [M] March 4 6. Modernizing the Middle East: Remaking in the American image Richard Bulliet, “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places,” in The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization (Columbia, 2006) pp. 95-133. [M] Michael Latham, The Right Kind of Revolution, (Cornell, 2011), pp. 75-83. Michael Hirsh, “Bernard Lewis Revisited,” Washington Quarterly, (November 2004): 13-9. [M] [G] Matthew Jacobs, Imagining the Middle East (UNC Press, 2011), pp. 140-186. 3 March 11 7. Americans in the Middle East: Expats as agents James A. Bill, ‘The United States in Iran: Diplomats, Intelligence Agents, and Policy Making,” in The Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations (Yale, 1988), pp. 379-424. Peter L. Hahn, Crisis and Crossfire: The US and the Middle East Since 1945 (Potomac, 2005), pp. 144-146 (Khomeini) [M] Robert Vitalis, “Aramco World: Business and Culture on the Arabian Oil Frontier,” in Counter-Narratives: History, Society and Politics in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Palgrave, 2004), pp. 151-181. Melani McAlister, “Iran, Islam, and the Terrorist Threat, 1979-1989,” in Epic Encounters (California 2005), pp. 198-216, [G] pp. 216-34. March 18 8. Rethinking the global politics of oil and the geopolitics of interdependence Melani McAlister, “King Tut, Commodity Nationalism, and the Politics of Oil, 1973-79” in Epic Encounters (California 2005), pp. 125-40. J. B. Kelly, “Oil Imperialism,” The New Republic, July 26, 1980, p. 18-20. [M] [C] Gary Sick, “The US in the Persian Gulf: From Twin Pillars to Dual Containment,” in Lesch and Haas (eds.) The Middle East and the United States, 5th ed. (Westview, 2012), pp. 327-343.2 Timothy Mitchell, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (Verso, 2011), pp. 200-230. Daniel Yergin, The Global Impact of US Shale, Project Syndicate, January 8, 2014. [G] Simon Bromley, “The United States and the Control of World Oil,” Government and Opposition 40:2 (2005): 225-255 [M] March 25 No class April 1 9. America and Israel: Identity, Culture, and the ‘Special Relationship” Melani McAlister, “The Good Fight: Israel after Vietnam, 1972-1980,” in Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, U.S. Interests in the Middle East since 1945 (California, 2005), pp. 155-197. Michael Barnett, “Identity and Alliances in the Middle East” in Katzenstein (ed.) The Culture of National Security, (Columbia 1996), READ ONLY pp. 432-447. [M] Kiera Feldman “The Romance of Birthright Israel,” The Nation July 4, 2011 (+ Letters). [M] Martin Kramer, “The American Interest,” Azure, (Autumn 2006): 21-33. [M] Mitchell Plitnick and Chris Toensing, “‘The Israel Lobby’ in Perspective," Middle East Report, (Summer 2007): 42-47 [M] April 8 10. America's New Middle East: Remapping political geographies Waleed Hazbun, Beaches, Ruins, Resorts: The Politics of Tourism in the Arab World, (Minnesota, 2008), pp. [U] 77-93, 100-131, 138-141, 156-188; [G] pp. 77-188. Tim Mitchell, “Worlds Apart: An Egyptian Village and the International Tourism Industry,” Middle East Report, No. 196, (Sept.-Oct., 1995), pp. 8-11+23. [M] 4 April 15 11. USA as Empire? 9/11, American Exceptionalism, and the Iraq War Michael Ignatieff, “The Burden,” New York Times, January 5, 2003, pp. 22-27, 50-54. [M] Thomas Friedman, “Four Reasons To Invade Iraq,” Slate.com, January 12, 2004. [M] Waleed Hazbun, “The Middle East through the lens of Critical Geopolitics: Globalization, Terrorism, and the Iraq War,” in Is There a Middle East? (Stanford, 2011), pp. 207-230. [G] Gearóid Ó Tuathail (Gerard Toal), “‘Just out looking for a fight’: American affect and the invasion of Iraq,” Antipode, 35, 5 (2003): 856-870. [M] John J. Mearsheimer “Imperial by Design” The National Interest, Jan/Feb 2011. [M] Zalmay Khalilzad, “Follow the Leader,” The National Interest, February 2, 2011. [M] THE FUTURE OF THE US IN THE MIDDLE EAST April 22 12. The US and the Arab Uprisings: A “Moment of Opportunity”?... Ryan Lizza, “How the Arab Spring remade Obama’s foreign policy,” New Yorker, 5/2/2011 [M] Reread: Barak Obama, “Moment of Opportunity” [M] Marc Lynch, The Arab Uprisings (Public Affairs, 2012) pp. 161-235. Aaron David Miller, “For America, An Arab Winter,” Wilson Quarterly (Sum. 2011): 36-42.[M] [G] Waleed Hazbun, “The Geopolitics of Knowledge and the Challenge of Postcolonial Agency: International Relations, US Policy and the Arab World,” in The Oxford Handbook of Postcolonial Studies, edited by Graham Huggan (Oxford, 2013), pp. 217-234. [M] *Draft of final paper due* April 29 13. ..or the end of the American era in the Middle East? Barak Obama, “Address to the United Nations General Assembly,” September 24, 2013 [M] Chuck Hagel, “Speech at the WINEP Soref Symposium,” May 9, 2013. [M] John J. Mearsheimer, “America Unhinged” The National Interest, Jan/Feb 2014. [M] Colin H. Kahl and Marc Lynch, “U.S. Strategy after the Arab Uprisings: Toward Progressive Engagement,” The Washington Quarterly 36,2 (Spring 2013) pp. 39-60 [M] Toby Craig Jones, “Don’t Stop at Iraq: Why the U.S. Should Withdraw from the Entire Persian Gulf,” The Atlantic, December 22, 2011. [M] Steve Niva, “Disappearing Violence: JSOC and the Pentagon's new cartography of networked warfare,” Security Dialogue 44,3 (2003): 185-202. [M] [G] Peter Harling and Sarah Birke, “The Arab World into the Unknown,” The Arabist, 14 Jan 2014 [M] [G] Bassel F. Salloukh, “The Arab Uprisings and the Geopolitics of the Middle East,” The International Spectator: Italian Journal of International Affairs, 48,2 (2013), pp. 32-46. [M] *Review/comments on drafts due* May 5 *Final paper due * 5