1. Geopolitics of the Middle East
Sabina Anselmo Vieira
Bohumil Doboš

2. Course structure Middle East, North Africa, Sahel
21st century, primarily post-Arab Spring
Mix lectures/seminars

3. Course requirements Seminar attendance (10%) Presentation (20%)
Active participation (20%)
Final essay (50%)

4. Course requirements Readings in Moodle
Presentations – 1-2 persons per 1 topic
Essay – 3,000-3,500 words, deadline 1st June

5. Syllabus No. Topic Lecture/seminar Taught by Presentation topics 1.
Opening – historical overview, ME in the 20th century // Current questions, problems and challenges L
Both 2.
Israel and the Arab World, The Middle East Peace Process SV 3.
Modern geopolitical conflict for regional supremacy 4.
Seminar: Sunna-Shia S BD
1)    Competition in Yemen
2)    Competition in Iraq
3)    Iran, Saudi Arabia, and nuclear weapons 5.
The Role of Religion in the ME politics (Confession, Identity, and Ethnicity) 6.
Seminar: role of religion
1)    Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood after the Arab Spring
2)    Ennahda movement after the Arab Spring
3)    Role of Islam in contemporary Turkey 7.
Demise of State in the ME in Intl Theory 8.
Social conflicts and other sources of tension 9.
Seminar: Social Tension
1)    Demography and social issues in Iran
2)    Social issues in oil/non-oil producing countries
3)    Khaat in Yemen
10.
Specifics of Northern Africa
11.
Seminar: North Africa after the Arab Spring
1)    Tuareg movement and post-Arab Spring Northern Africa
2)    Foreign intervention and proxy groups in Libya
3)    Importance of Nile river disputes for Egypt
12.
Guest  L

6. Middle East in the 20th Century

7. The „Sick Man“ on Bosphorus
The decline of the Ottoman Empire
An effort to balance ambitions of European states
By 1912 coastal North Africa is lost (Algeria and Libya colonies, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt „protectorates“)
By 1913 European part of the Empire is lost

9. WW I and the rise of national movements
Ottoman Empire - choosing the wrong side to prevent partition
Sykes-Picot Agreement
Arab Revolt of 1916
Sionist enterprise and the Balfour Declaration

10. Mandate system Mandates of the League of Nations FR: Lebanon and Syria
GB: Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan
Newly emerging countries:
Egypt, (Syria), Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq
Challenges to the mandate system

12. WW II
Middle Eastern front – an effort to commit Allied troops to defend local claims, partially successfull (North Africa)
Revolts in Palestine, Iraq and Syria – thwarted
Unbearable cost

13. Cold War
Decolonization (new states, Algeria)

14. Cold War Israel and Palestine Superpower involvement
Iranian revolution
Oil exports

15. Cold War
Socialism
Pan-Arabism

16. Cold War Lebanese War Iran-Iraq War Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty
Libyan/Palestinian terrorism

17. 1990s Hopes for new era Operation Desert Storm
Single remaining Superpower
Calm before the storm