Foreign Policies of Middle Eastern States

This course offers a critical comparative assessment of the main factors, actors and dynamics that shape the foreign policy making of Middle Eastern states through a variety of analytical frameworks. We are going to look at systemic and sub-systemic variables (especially power configurations), and unpack the state to analyze the impact of domestic variables (such as regime type, bureaucratic politics, and the role of individuals). After explaining foreign policy processes for individual states, we analyze the interactions of these foreign policies on sub-regional (the Levant, and the Gulf) and international levels (particularly the U.S. policy toward the region as a source of opportunities and challenges to its states