Politics and Security in the Levant (NS 3361)

This course will cover the pivotal issues facing the Middle East region called the Levant, what was previously Greater Syria (bilad al-sham), or the part of the Arab East (al-mashreq): Israel-Palestine (focusing on Palestine), Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. We will study the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Lebanese civil war, the development of Syria’s and Jordan’s regimes, in addition to the current Palestinian-Israeli dilemma, rebuilding the Lebanese nation, and the prospects of economic liberalization and political democracy in Syria and Lebanon. We will cover both events particular to the different countries, and common situations facing them all.

Students will become familiar with the history and particular political trends in the Levant region, the interrelation between the countries, and the dynamics of current conflicts. The course entails both details and theoretical approaches to the countries, both history and political science.