Middle East Studies 380 - Seminar: Authoritarianism in the Middle East

This upper-level seminar focuses on the durability of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and NorthAfrica. The course examines the emergence of authoritarian regimes in the Arab world; their consolidation into full-fledged systems of rule; patterns and variation in authoritarian governance among Arab states; thepolitical economy of authoritarianism; state-society relations under authoritarian rule; and authoritarianresponses to democratization, economic globalization and pressures for political reform. Prior course workon the history, politics, sociology, anthropology of the modern Middle East is useful.

Instructor Permission Req. Not open to first-years, sophomores