OBIETTIVI FORMATIVI

Students who have successfully completed the course will - thorough knowledge of this historical period - be able to apply their knowledge and analytical skills to understand modern political and social processes in the Middle East. They will be able to express their own critical views on historical developments in Middle East -- have improved their writing skills -- have improved their critical reading skills. As a result, be able to reflectively read, comprehend and evaluate the events unfolding in the region today

OBIETTIVI FORMATIVI (DETTAGLIO) E RISULTATI DI APPRENDIMENTO

Gli studenti, dopo aver seguito questo corso, avranno una conoscenza approfondita della politica e delle istituzioni in Medio Oriente - saranno in grado di utilizzare la loro conoscenza  nell'analisi dei processi poliitci contemporanei  del Medio Oriente - saranno in grado di avere una visione critica nei confronti degli avvenimenti in del Medio Oriente- miglioreranno la loro capacità di scrivere papers e commentaries indirizzati a Think Tank e centri studi del settore. Saranno pronti per intraprendere la carriera di analista o di consulente junior presso istituti internazionali e aziende che svolgono attività economiche nella regione. 

PREREQUISITI

Storia contemporanea e Relazioni internazionali.

MODALITA' DIDATTICHE

Lezioni frontali - seminari- workshops.

PROGRAMMA/CONTENUTO

1. Welcome Session and Brief Introduction to the Politics of the Middle East
2. Introduction to Political Islam in the Middle East

3. Introduction to the role of nationalism in the Middle East

4. Secularism and pluralism: challlenges in the Middle Eastern societies.

5.  The end of empires: the emergence of modern Middle Eastern States

6.   Themes in contemporary Middle Eastern politics:
      The politics of economic restructuring

7. The limits of oil wealth and the Shale Gas

8. Focus: The Islamic Republic of Iran as peculiar hybrid regime

9. Focus : 'Arab Spring' or 'Islamic awaking: Egyptian and Tunisian cases

10. Focus:Syrian political crisis and the new balance of power in Middle East.

11. Focus: Egypt: muslim brotherhood, Army and civili society.

12.  Focus: Tunisia: the theory of 'Twin Tollerations'.

13. Saudi Arabia and the politics of reform

14. The political crisis in Yemen

15. The role of Non State Actors in the Middle East

16. The Geopolitics of the Persian Gulf

17. The role of Global Players in the Middle East: United States and China

18. The role of Global Players in the Middle East: European Union and Russia

TESTI/BIBLIOGRAFIA

1. Ellen Lust, The Middle East, CQ Press, 2015. (capitoli 1-5 e tutte le schede dei Paesi presenti nella seconda parte del libro)

2. Roger Owen, State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. (3rd edition), 2004. (Capitoli 1-2)

3. Alfred Stepan, Tunisia's Transition and the Twin Tolerations, Journal of Democracy, Volume 23, Number 2, April 2012, pp. 89-103, Johns Hopkins University Press 

4. NathanBrown,Egypt’sFailedTransition,JournalofDemocracy,Volume24,Number 4,October2013,pp.45-58,JohnsHopkinsUniversity Press.

5. Pejman Abdolmohammadi-Giampiero Cama, Iran as a Peculiar Hybrid Regime: Structure and Dynamics of the Islamic Republic, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015, Vol. 42, No. 4, 558–578.