Mini-Course

Passions and Policies of the Contemporary Arab World: Insights and Overviews from within the Region

April 2-5, 2007

Rami G. Khouri
Editor-at-large, The Daily Star
Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut

Course Overview

Four lectures and discussions on major themes that define the Arab world, as seen by a seasoned journalist, analyst and public policy think tank director at the American University of Beirut. The aim is to familiarize students with sentiments that define the majority of ordinary Arab men and women, along with the views of Arab governments. The lectures aim to help students appreciate why people feel and behave as they do in the Arab world, offering insights and analyses that are not usually given in the US public sphere.

Syllabus

The four lectures will cover the following topics:

April 2 - Political Economy
Economic stress during the past quarter century throughout the region underpins many of the tensions and conflicts in the Arab World. A review of the past quarter century shows that most Arabs are poor and getting poorer in many cases, and political economy issues continue to fuel extremism and tension in the region.

Readings:

• "How the Arabs Compare," Arab Human Development Report 2002, Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2002.
• "The Arab World: Performance and Prospects," Abdlatif Yousef Al-Hamad, Dubai, UAE, 2003.
• "Political Decay in the Arab World," Lisa Anderson
• "Macroeconomic Trends in the Middle East and North Africa," Economic Research Quarterly.
• "Chief: It's the Economy, Stupid (well, partly at least)," Rami G. Khouri, Middle East Pulse, March 5, 2003.
• "America in Arab Eyes," Shibley Telhami, Survival, Vol.49, No.1, Spring 2007.

April 3 - Islamist Movements Dominate the Political Sphere
Why Islamist movements have grown so strong and pervasive; what they tell us about modern Arab political systems; what they represent now in political, social, ideological terms; how should they be dealt with? Are these movements more about religion or politics? Special focus on the power and meaning of Hizbullah and the consequences of last summer's Lebanon-Israel war.

Readings:

• "Islamists in the Arab World: The Dance Around Democracy," Graham E. Fuller, Carnegie Papers, No.49, September 2004.
• "Islamists at the Ballot Box: Findings from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Turkey," Judy Barsalou, Special Reports: U.S. Institute of Peace, April 12, 2005.
• "What Do Islamists Really Want? An Insider's Discussion with Islamist Leaders," Abdeslam Maghraoui, USI Peace Briefing, May 2006.
• "The Muslim world and the West: the roots of conflict," Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, Arab Studies Quarterly, Summer 2005.
• "Hizbullah is Both Local and Global," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, December 28, 2005.

April 4 - The Arabs, Israel and the West
A century of tensions with Israel/Zionism and major Western powers persists throughout the Arab region, and seems to be spreading to non-Arab Iran and perhaps Turkey. How the Arab-Israeli conflict and Arab-Western tensions intersect, and what could be done to defuse them. The important role of historical memory in Arab worldviews, including how many Arabs perceive the current American-led "war on terror" through a wider prism than the post-9/11 world.

Readings:

• "The Israel Lobby," John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, London Review of Books, Vol.28, No.6, March 23, 2006.
• "Myth and Reality: Jewish Influence on US Middle East Policy," Mitchell Plitnick, Jewish Voice for Peace.
• "The Stakes: America and the Middle East," Shibley Telhami, Westview Press.
• "The Worst of the 19th and 21st Centuries," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, February 26, 2007.
• "The Great Arab Unraveling," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, February 28, 2007.

April 5 - Democracy and Dignity
The role of freedom and democracy in Arab and American worldviews, how the gap between them has widened in recent years, and how it could be narrowed. The Arab focus on dignity and justice vs. the American focus on democracy and freedom will be seen through the events in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and other lands. Is democracy a potential meeting ground for Arabs and Americans to work together for their common good?

Readings:

• "Europe's Flawed Approach to Arab Democracy," Richard Youngs, Centre for European Reform, October 2006.
• "The 'New Middle East' Bush Is Resisting," Saad Eddin Ibrahim, The Washington Post, August 23, 2006.
• "Islam & the West: Testing the 'Clash of Civilizations' Thesis," Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, May 2002.
• "US democracy promotion in the Arab Middle East since 11 September 2001: a critique," Katerina Dalacoura, International Affairs, Vol.81, No.5, 2005.
• "When Arab Democrats Are Denied Democracy," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, September 21, 2005.
• "An Ordinary Arab Week . Full of Hope," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, January 16, 2007.
• "Lebanon Makes History in Many Ways," Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global, December 16, 2006.

RSVP

An RSVP is required to attend each lecture as seating is limited. Please RSVP to kathim@uchicago.edu and indicate which lecture(s) you wish to attend. All lectures will take place from 12:00 - 1:25 p.m. in the Quiet Study Area - 1155 E. 60th Street.