PS 172: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST Malik Mufti (x72016) Fall 2011 Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. 11:35 12:30 (Packard 211) Purpose The course begins by outlining the historical backdrop to current events: the "Near East Question" of the 19th century in which the Ottoman, Persian, Russian, and British empires engaged in a competitive "Great Game" from the Balkans to India. It will then deal with the evolution of United States policy toward the Middle East since World War II, identifying basic American interests and investigating how the U.S. has pursued those interests in the context of issues including conflicting nationalisms (such as the Arab-Israeli, Iraqi-Iranian, and Turkish- Greek disputes), the role of Turkey and Iran in the regional balance of power, the Islamist revival, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Finally, it will investigate the question of whether recent developments such as the post-9/11 "war on terror" and the potential new "Great Game" in the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia herald a fundamental transformation in U.S. Near East policy. Requirements Class will meet from 1:30 to 2:45 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in Eaton 201. There will be one map quiz (worth 5% of the final grade) on 3 October and one mid-term (30%) on 26 October, as well as a final exam (40%). Students are expected to do all the assigned readings as well as participate in class discussions, which will count for 25% of the final grade. Readings The following books (indicated in bold in the Course Outline) should be purchased at the Tufts Bookstore: 1. Ian J. Bickerton & Carla L. Klausner. A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict 2. James A. Bill. The Eagle and the Lion 3. Douglas Little. American Orientalism The rest of the readings either have URL's provided in this syllabus for downloading, or will be delivered to you directly.
2 COURSE OUTLINE Week One (7 September): Introduction Great Game to the Post-WWI Settlement Week Two (12-14 September): Origins of the Palestine Conflict Bickerton & Klausner: Introduction & Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-111) Little: Chapter 3 (pp. 77-87), Chapter 8 (pp. 269-276) Week Three (19-21 September): WWII, US Involvement, Crises in Iran and Egypt Little: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 9-58), Chapter 4 (pp. 117-137), Chapter 5 (157-181) Bickerton & Klausner: Chapter 5 (pp. 112-132) Bill: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 15-97) Week Four (26-28 September): Nasserism and the 1967 War Little: Chapter 3 (pp. 87-103), Chapter 5 (pp. 181-192), Chapter 8 (pp. 279-288) Bickerton & Klausner: Chapter 6 (pp. 132-153) Week Five (3-5 October): 1973 War, Cyprus, Afghanistan Little: Chapter 3 (pp. 103-110); Chapter 8 (pp. 288-292) Bickerton & Klausner: Chapters 7-8 (pp. 154-203) Malik Mufti. Daring and Caution in Turkish Strategic Culture, pp. 41-46 3 October: Map Quiz
3 Weeks Six & Seven (12-17-19 October): The Iranian Revolution and the Iraq-Iran War Bill: Chapters 6-8 (pp. 183-315) Little: Chapter 4 (pp. 137-155); Chapter 6 (pp. 193-206, 215-227) Saddam Hussein. "The National Potential and International Politics" (pp. 65-84) Week Eight (24-26 October) 24 October: Catch-up and Review 26 October: Mid-term Examination Week Nine (31 October 2 November): Lebanon and Turkey Bickerton & Klausner: Chapter 9 (pp. 204-218) Malik Mufti. Daring and Caution in Turkish Strategic Culture, pp. 49-65 Week Ten (7-9 November): Kuwait War and Dual Containment Little: Chapter 7 (pp. 252-266) Saddam Hussein. "Speeches" (22 pp.) Anthony Lake. "Confronting Backlash States", Foreign Affairs (March/April 1994): pp. 45-55. [http://fullaccess.foreignaffairs.org/19940301faessay5095/anthonylake/confronting-backlash-states.html] Malik Mufti. Daring and Caution in Turkish Strategic Culture, pp. 65-80.
4 Week Eleven (14-16 November): Israel and the Palestinians Intifada and Negotiations Bickerton & Klausner: Chapters 9-12 (pp. 218-332) Little: Chapter 8 (pp. 292-306) Richard Perle et al., "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm", The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS) Research Paper No. 1, June 1996. [http://www.iasps.org/ strat1.htm] Jeremy Pressman. "Visions in Collision: What Happened at Camp David and Taba?", International Security, vol. 28, no. 2 (Fall 2003): pp. 5-43. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/international_security/v028/28.2pressman.html] Week Twelve (21 November): The Black Sea Arena in Transition Malik Mufti. Daring and Caution in Turkish Strategic Culture, pp. 87-93, 109-122, 138-143. Gareth Winrow. "Turkish Policy toward Central Asia and the Transcaucasus", in Alan Makovsky and Sabri Sayarı, eds., Turkey's New World (WINEP: 2000): pp. 116-130. S. Frederick Starr. "Power Failure: American Policy in the Caspian", National Interest (Spring 1997): pp. 20-31. [http://www.treemedia.com/cfrlibrary/library/policy/ powerfailure.html] Stephen Kinzer. "Kurds in Turkey: The Big Change", New York Review of Books, 12 January 2006 (11 pp.). [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18624] Week Thirteen (28-30 November): 9/11 A Turning Point? "The National Security Strategy of the United States of America: September 2002 (31 pp.). [http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf] Speech by President Bush at the American Enterprise Institute on 27 February 2003 (4 pp.). [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/27/1046064150688.html] Bernard Lewis. "Bring Them Freedom, Or They Destroy US", 16 July 2006 lecture. [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/09/bring_them_freedom_or_they_des. html] Little: Chapter 9 (pp. 307-342) Rashid Khalidi. Resurrecting Empire (Boston: Beacon Press, 2004), Chapter 2 ("America, the West, and Democracy in the Middle East"), pp. 37-73. [http://s153440986.onlinehome.us/uploadedfiles/explore/resurrecting_empire- Chapter_2.pdf]
5 Week Fourteen (5-7 December): A New Era? 2007 Iraq Poll: "Ebbing Hope in a Landscape of Loss". [http://www.abcnews.go.com/images/us/1033airaqpoll.pdf] Kenneth M. Pollack. The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America (New York: Random House, 2004), Chapters 11-12 (pp. 303-374) Ray Takeyh. "Time for Détente With Iran", Foreign Affairs, March/April 2007 (8 pp.). [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070301faessay86202/ray-takeyh/time-for-detentewith-iran.html] Bickerton & Klausner: Chapters 13-14 & Conclusion (pp. 333-400) Ari Shavit. "Survival of the Fittest", Ha'aretz, 9 January 2004 (15 pp.). [http://www.logosjournal.com/morris.pdf] Robert Pape. "Blowing Up an Assumption", New York Times (18 May 2005). [http://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=1aab179d343c2f5d63fcc2c44434c019&_docnum =1&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=98c35f45eb0b8765b1ef531a89341fd8] Week Fifteen (12 December): Conclusions and Prospects