Project description
PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: NOTE THAT THE COURSE SUBJECT IS ABOUT POLITICS AND CONFLICTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. REFER TO NOTES FROM CLASS (ATTACHED) AND OTHER SOURCES.

First three questions: answer with 1 – 2 paragraphs each
Question 1. Shed light on the important contribution of Edward Said in explaining how Western Scholarship (Orientalism) has traditionally dealt with the Middle East. Explain his main arguments and mention major works.

Question 2. Describe how oil rent has had a detrimental impact on socio-economic and political development of Middle Eastern states and societies. What has been the “Grand Bargain” between state and people? (include things such as oil-rent, political freedom, dutch disease, distorts economy, foreign influence and backing of authoritarian governments because of oil, country has full power and is not afraid of banning political freedoms because of control over many industries such as oil and natural gas, and more)

3. Discuss the transformation of most military regimes in the post 1967-era from radical, revolutionary forces to essentially conservative,parasitic ones. Shed light on the growth of military-industrial complexes in the Middle East. Provide a few examples. (Miltirization,, Anwar al Sadat, Hafez al Asad, Nemeiri of Sudan, Military spending etc.)

Next part will be two answers 1 to 1.5 page essays each, refer to notes AND OUTSIDE SOURCES (important to have sources as well)

1. Write an essay on the origins and emergence of modern nationalism in the Middle East. Explain the impact of American Protestant missionaries in the Levant and the growth of the Arab intellectual societies in the 19th century. Why did nationalism (Arab, Turkish, Iranian) in the region during the 20th century take on an illiberal form? Who were some of the key theoreticians, and what did they advocate? describe the effect of European cultural nationalist thought in this regard. (for example include Sati Al-Husri, romantic german philosophers impact, Herder, etc….. and more)

2. Discuss the role and importance of islam as a political force in the modern Middle East starting from the 19th century. Describe the ideas and contributions of some of the prominent founders of Islamic modernism (Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, Mohammad Abduh, and Rashid Rida). Shed light on the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its expansion into other Middle Eastern countries. What were the objectives of the Brotherhood? Why do Islamist movements continue to be a potent political force in the region, particularly since the late 1960s until present?