These are the lecture notes of Politics: MENA from 2020/2021. I made my notes and scored a 7.5 on the final. The readings are not included as I did not do them myself so I cannot help you.
LEC 1: Crash Course Middle East
Politics:
- (inter)national power relations
- social economical governmental ideological forces
Middle East: Morocco to iran + turkey and Arabian Peninsula
Shared features of the Region
● Islamic history
● Colonial past
● Recent independence
● Islam, but also multi-religious. Lots of religious ‘pockets’
● Multi-ethnic (eg Kurds Jezidis etc)
● Multi-linguistic (Arabic / Turkish / Persian)
● European (later also US) interests
○ suez canal (1869 British shortcut to crown jewel)
○ access to warm sea (Russia)
○ oil
○ Israel- immaterial nature
○ Religious affiliations (Fr/GB/US)
■ American Universities in Beirut/Cairo established by missionaries
■ Converting muslims to christianity was impossible; so started
preserving christian roots
○ Cold War
○ Romanticism / Orientalism (seen as intriguing and mystifying)
End 19th, beginning 20th century
● Situation: colonial rule
● Ideology: pan-Islamism (notion/urge for unity based on islam)
First World War
● Situation: Ottomans side with Axis. Called for international jihad; sultan was khalif
being the only one who could formally ask for holy war.
● English and Germans use Arab / Bedouin nationalism (Lawrence of Arabia)
● Role of oil. GB fleet switched from coal to oil
● Dismemberment of Ottoman Empire (Sykes-Picot agreement 1916)
○ French interests: wanted to expand empire
○ British: oil and direct connection with British India
● Feisal in Versailles; son of emir of Mecca. Lawrence brings him to versaille. They had
been promised own land
Interbellum
● Situation: mandates and protectorates
● Ideology: nationalism and pan-Arabism (cultural)
● Situation in ME: mandates (Sykes-Picot) officially recognised by League of Nations
● Sherif Hussain, emir of Mecca, would be first king of damascus. Feisal moved to Iraq
● Ibn Saud ousted Sherif Hussain ended up getting Saudi Arabia 1932
● Situation in Maghreb:
○ Algeria annexed by France
, ○ Tunisia declared protectorate of France
○ Morocco divided with Spain as protectorate
○ Rif wars 1920-27 (Berber vs. France/Spain)
● Situation in Gulf
○ British had various emirates; protectorate alliance
○ Prince Faisal tour in Europe. Dutch/GB largest number of muslims.
Saudi-Arabia had only income being pilgrimage. So found oil and gave to
Dutch and GB because of their large muslim populations around the globe
○ FDR meeting with Saudi-Arabia. US gave protection in return could develop
Saudi oil industry
Second World War
● Situation: rush for oil sources + Suez
1950s-70s
● Situation: de-colonisation / independence (except: Turkey Iran Saudi-Arabia)
● Last ‘colonial’ wars:
○ 1954-62: Algerian Independence War
○ 1956: Suez Crisis
● Ideology:
○ socialism / nationalism / pan-Arabism
○ 1958-61: Arab Socialist Union (Egypt/Syria)
○ Coups to establish ‘socialist republics’ in Egypt (1952) Iraq (1958) Yemen
(1962) Syria (1963) Libya (1969). Cold War fright in the west because
socialists. But poor new countries, very driven to improve fate of fellow
countrymen
● In charge: army disposes of royalty
● Socialist programs:
○ secularism
○ women’s liberation
○ free education
○ free health care
○ nationalisation (local and foreign)
● Situation: cold war
○ Aswan Dam (1960-70) US wanted to pay but wanted influence, so Nassar
went to Soviets
○ CIA intervention Iran
○ US: ‘containment’ of Soviet-Union
Iran & Turkey
● Similar developments, but earlier. (secularism etc.)
1970s-90s
● Situation: deteriorating economy and politics
● Ideology/sentiment: fundamentalism / Islamism
○ Islam as alternative discourse
● 1979 Pivotal point.
○ Iranian revolution
○ Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan
, ○ General imposed islamic rule in Pakistan.
○ Saudi Zealots took over the holy mosque. Saudi military not equipped well
enough, so French paratroopers stormed place
○ Historical peace Egypt-Israel in Camp David
● Emergence of new Islamic organisation
○ Lebanon hezbollah / hamas
● Emergence of Islamic discourse (also in politics)
● Emergence of ‘islamic’ violence
Late 1990s
● Situation: political and economic liberalisation
● Ideology/sentiment: liberalism. New generation of young leaders (jordan/syria/egypt)
● But also: terrorism by Islamic movements
○ Algeria (groupe Islamique Armee: 1992-98)
○ Egypt (Gamaat al-Islamiyya: 1992-98)
○ International (Al Qaeda, 1998 US embassy bombings)
○ 9/11 (2001)
● Problem: support of autocratic regimes. Bush wants democracy and freedom in ME
● Arab Spring 2011. Increasing sentiment among the population, want to take matters
into their own hands. Before it was an elite who wanted better for the country.
● 2014 ISIS.
2001 Onwards
● Increasing resentment against ‘the West’. But is that always justified? Risk of
neo-Orientalism; orientalism being a condescending approach.
● Civil Wars in ME:
○ Yemen (1962-65; 2011-)
○ Lebanon (1975-2000) US, France (1983)
○ Algeria (1992-98)
○ Palestine (2007?)
○ Iraq (2006-08) US
○ Libya (2011-) NATO
○ Syria (2011-) Russia Turkey
● Wars in the ME after WWII
○ Last colonial war: Suez Crisis (1956), Algeria (1954-62)
○ Arab-Israeli wars: 1948 1967 1973
○ Israel-Lebanon wars: 1978 1982 1996
○ Israel-Gaza bombings: 2012, 2014
○ Gulf wars:
■ First (1980-88): Iraq-Iran (West backed Iraq not actually present)
■ Second (1990-91): Iraq-Kuwait (‘Desert Storm’)
■ Third (2003): Iraq-US/UK
○ ISIS (2014)
● Western intervention in the ME:
○ Military
■ see above
■ but also: large weapon supplies
■ UN presence since 1948
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