INR 421: The International Relations of the Contemporary Middle East

This course examines the international relations of the Middle East, focusing on questions of how states developed, what drives conflict, and how the regional order has shifted over time. The course draws on theories of International Relations, and applies them to the politics of the Middle East. The course analyzes the interplay of levels of analyses, with specific attention to the role of ideology, identity, and the interaction between domestic and international politics, in the formulation of foreign policy. The course analyzes the development of the '93nation-state'94 system in the Middle East, and examines the nature of transnational identities and ideologies. We will consider a number of frameworks for understanding the region'92s international politics and Great Power involvement, roughly characterized as Realist, Liberal and Constructivist approaches, but we will always focus on how these approaches can help us understand real-world decisions and outcomes.