University of Victoria Department of Political Science Summer 2016

University of Victoria, Summer 2016, POLI 323 “Civil Resistance in the Middle East,” subject to change before July 4

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE SUMMER 2016

POLI 323 – ISSUES IN POLITICS:

CIVIL RESISTANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

CRN 31270

Monday July 4 - Wednesday August 17

2:30 - 4:50, Mondays and Wednesdays

Cornett Building, Room A129

Instructor: Michael J. Carpenter

Office: David Turpin Building, Room A354

Office Hours: 1:00 - 2:00, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and by appointment

E-mail:

COURSE OVERVIEW

The purpose of this course is to examine the role of civil resistance as a force for change in the Middle East. Readings and lectures cover several case studies, including the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979, the first Palestinian Intifada of 1987-1991, and the Arab Spring of 2010-2011. Readings and lectures also provide basic background into the political and historical context of the Middle East, as well as an overview of the theory of civil resistance.

The course is structured around the following questions. What are the basic claims of civil-resistance theory? How has civil resistance contributed to the transformation of political conditions in each of the cases studied? What has been the relationship between civil resistance and violent forms of protest? To what degree have ‘successful’ cases depended on the implicit threat of force from third parties? Finally, what do these cases suggest about the nature of political power, in the Middle East and more broadly?

By the end of the course, students are expected to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the relationship(s) between civil-resistance theory and the case studies presented in the course, a familiarity with the readings, and a basic understanding of the broader context of the turbulent Middle East.

REQUIRED TEXTS (available at UVic Bookstore)

* Maria J. Stephan (ed), Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization, and Governance in the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

* Adam Roberts, Michael Willis, Rory McCarthy, and Timothy Garton Ash (eds), Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (Oxford University Press, 2016)

James Gelvin, The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2015)

NOTE: Both books marked (*) are available at no cost as e-books through UVic Library website

EVALUATION

Breakdown:

Attendance / Engagement 10%

Midterm 1 15%

Midterm 2 15%

Research Paper 30%

Final Exam 30%

Attendance / Engagement:

Regular attendance and engagement is expected, graded out of 10. Engagement does not necessarily mean contributing to class discussion, though this is certainly expected and encouraged (students may also demonstrate engagement by sharing thoughts and questions during office hour and by remaining alert and attentive to lectures and discussions).

Midterms 1 and 2:

Two midterm exams are worth 15% each. They draw from lectures and readings, focusing primarily on the cases studied but also on the theory and political context. The midterms are Wednesday July 20th and Wednesday August 3rd.

Research Paper:

Worth 30%, the research paper must be double spaced, between 3000 and 4000 words (give or take 500 words if - and only if - the paper allows/requires). The paper must use at least seven scholarly sources (including at least four that are not required readings for this course). Papers must adhere to Chicago Manual citation style with either in-text references or footnotes. The emphasis is on articulating and arguing a thesis through a clear and logical structure. Papers will compare and contrast at least two cases, applying or testing some claim(s) from the theoretical literature on civil resistance. Research topic questions, along with detailed expectations, will be provided early in the term (students may suggest their own research topic, subject to instructor approval). The paper is due Sunday August 7 (electronic submission). Late papers will be penalized 2% for the first day plus a further 4% for each subsequent day late.

Final Exam:

The final exam is in class on the last day of class, Wednesday August 17. It is worth 30%. Half the exam will consist of several short-answer questions, and the other half will consist of one essay answer. Both halves will contain an element of choice. The short-answer questions will require expressing familiarity with the cases, the readings, and the theoretical ideas. The long-answer question will ask you to draw connections between different readings and cases, inviting responses to some of the questions posed on the first page of the syllabus.

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday July 4 – First class

Wednesday July 20 – Midterm 1

Monday August 1 – Holiday, no class

Wednesday August 3 – Midterm 2

Sunday August 7 – Research paper due

Wednesday August 17 – Final exam

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

1.  Introduction, Course Syllabus (Monday July 4)

No readings

2.  Middle East background part 1 (Wednesday July 6)

Readings:

-- Maria Stephan, “Introduction,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (14pgs)

-- James Gelvin, Ch. 1 “A Revolutionary Wave?” Arab Uprisings (2015) (38pgs)

3.  Middle East background part 2 (Monday July 11)

Readings:

-- Chibli Mallat and Edward Mortimer “The Background to Civil Resistance in the Middle East,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (29pgs)

-- Stephen Zunes and Saad Eddin Ibrahim, “External Actors and Nonviolent Struggles in the Middle East,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (15pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Rami Khouri, “Allahu Akbar, We Are Free at Last! Parallels between Modern Arab and Islamic Activism and the US Civil Rights Movement,” Civilian Jihad (2009)

4.  Theories of Civil Resistance (Wednesday July 13)

Readings:

-- Hardy Merriman, “Theory and Dynamics of Nonviolent Action,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (13pgs)

-- Ralph Crow and Philip Grant, “Questions and Controversies about Nonviolent Political Struggle in the Middle East,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (12pgs)

-- Gene Sharp, Chs. 1-10, From Dictatorship to Democracy (Albert Einstein Institution, 2010) (to be made available) (~78pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional) (to be made available):

-- Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” International Security Vol. 33: No. 1 (2008)

-- Jonathan Schell, “The Towers and the Wall,” Unconquerable World (2003)

5.  Survey of select Middle East cases (Pushtuns 1920-1930s, Iran 1979, Golani Druze 1985, Intifada late 1980s, Kuwait early-mid 2000s, Lebanon 2005, Iran 2009, Arab Spring 2011, Turkey 2013) (Monday July 18)

Readings:

-- Stephen Zunes, “Nonviolent Resistance in the Islamic World” Nonviolent Activist: The Magazine of the War Resisters League (Jan.-Feb. 2002) (available online) (~8pgs) https://www.warresisters.org/nva/nva0102-1.htm

-- R. Scott Kennedy, “Noncooperation in the Golan Heights: A Case of Nonviolent Resistance,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (~11pgs)

-- Rudy Jaafar and Maria Stephan, “Lebanon’s Independence Intifada: How and Unarmed Insurrection Expelled Syrian Forces,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (20pgs)

-- Robin Celikates, “Learning from the Streets: Civil Disobedience in Theory and Practice” in Peter Weibel (ed) Global Activism Art and Conflict in the 21st Century (MIT Press, 2015) (to be made available) (8pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Fariba Davoudi Mohajer, Roya Tolouni, and Shaazka Beyerle, “The Iranian Women’s Movement: Repression versus Nonviolent Resolve,” Civilian Jihad (2009)

6.  Iranian Revolution and Islamism (Wednesday July 20)

Readings:

-- Asef Bayat, “No Silence, No Violence: A Post-Islamist Trajectory,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (10pgs)

-- S. Hamid, “Islamists and Nonviolent Action,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (14pgs)

-- Mohsen Sazegara and Maria J. Stephan, “Iran’s Islamic Revolution and Non-violent Struggle,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (20pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Joseph Massad, Islam in Liberalism (University of Chicago, 2015)

-- Ervand Abrahamian, “Mass Protests in the Iranian Revolution, 1977–79,” in Adam Roberts and Timothy Garton Ash (eds), Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) (to be made available)

-- Robert Fisk, Ch. 4 “The Carpet Weavers,” The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East (Harper, 2006) (to be made available)

7.  Palestine and the first Intifada (Monday July 25)

Readings:

-- Peter Ackerman and Jack DuVall “The Intifada: Campaign for a Homeland,” A Force More Powerful (to be made available) (26pgs)

-- TBD

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Mary Elizabeth King, “Palestinian Civil Resistance against Israeli Military Occupation,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (25pgs)

-- Souad Dajani, Eyes Without Country: Searching for a Palestinian Strategy of Liberation (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994)

8.  Arab Spring part 1: Tunisia and Egypt (Wednesday July 27)

Readings:

-- Michael Willis, “Revolt for Dignity: Tunisia’s Revolution and Civil Resistance,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (23pp)

-- Sherif Mansour, “Enough Is Not Enough: Achievements and Shortcomings of Kefaya, the Egyptian Movement for Change,” Civilian Jihad (2009) (14pgs)

-- M. Cherif Bassiouni, “Egypt’s Unfinished Revolution,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (first 20pgs only)

-- James Gelvin, Ch. 2 “The Beginning: Tunisia and Egypt,” Arab Uprisings (2015) (46pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- William Cleveland and Martin Bunton, “The 2011 Arab Uprisings and their Aftermath,” A History of the Modern Middle East (to be made available)

-- Roger Owen, The Rise and Fall of Arab Presidents for Life (Harvard University Press, 2014)

9.  Arab Spring part 2: Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen (Wednesday August 3)

Readings:

-- Elham Fakhro, “Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Bahrain,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (27pgs)

-- Helen Lackner, “The Change Squares of Yemen,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (28pgs)

-- James Gelvin, Ch. 3 “Uprisings in Weak States: Yemen and Libya,” Arab Uprisings (2015) (29pgs)

10.  Arab Spring part 3: Syria and the Arab winter? (Monday August 8)

Readings:

-- Raymond Hinnebusch, Omar Imady, and Tina Zintl “Civil Resistance in the Syrian Uprising: From Peaceful Protest to Sectarian Civil War,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (25pgs)

-- James Gelvin, Ch. 4 “Coup-Proofed: Bahrain and Syria,” Arab Uprisings (2015) (38pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Maciej Bartkowski and Mohja Kahf, “The Syrian Resistance: A Tale of Two Struggles,” Parts 1 and 2, OpenDemocracy (Sept. 23 & 24, 2013) (available online)

-- Maria Stephan, “Civil Resistance vs. ISIS,” Journal of Resistance Studies Vol. 1: No. 2 (2015) (to be made available)

-- Maciej Bartkowski, “Can Political Struggle Against Isil Succeed Where Violence Cannot?” War on the Rocks (Dec. 20, 2014) (available online)

11.  Palestinian popular resistance in the West Bank, 2003-2015 (Wednesday August 10)

Readings

-- Maia Carter Hallward, “Creative Responses to Separation: Israeli and Palestinian Joint Activism in Bil’in,” Journal of Peace Research vol. 46, no.4 (2009) (18pgs)

-- Wendy Pearlman, “Palestine and the Arab Uprisings,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016) (22pgs)

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Iyad Burnat, Bil’in and the Nonviolent Resistance (2015) (hardcopies copies available from instructor and on reserve at the library)

-- Marwan Darweish and Andrew Rigby, Popular Protest in Palestine: The Uncertain Future of Unarmed Resistance (London: Pluto, 2015) (on reserve at the library)

-- Avi Shlaim, “Israel, Palestine and the Arab Spring,” in Fawaz Gerges (ed) The New Middle East Protest and Revolution in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2014) (to be made available)

12.  Catch up and review (Monday August 15)

Readings

-- Review readings and notes

Suggested further reading (optional):

-- Maria Stephan, “Conclusion,” Civilian Jihad (2009)

-- Adam Roberts, “Civil Resistance and the Fate of the Arab Spring,” Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring (2016)

SPECIAL NEEDS

The University of Victoria offers programs and support for students challenged by learning disabilities. If you require special accommodations, please contact the professor at the beginning of the course, or contact the Resource Centre for Students with a Disability: http://www.uvic.ca/services/rcsd/

PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic integrity is intellectual honesty and responsibility for academic work that you submit individually or as a member of a group. It involves commitment to the values of honesty, trust and responsibility. It is expected that students will respect these ethical values in all activities related to learning, teaching, research and service. Therefore, plagiarism and other acts against academic integrity are serious academic offences.

The responsibility of the institution - Instructors and academic units have the responsibility to ensure that standards of academic honesty are met. By doing so, the institution recognizes students for their hard work and assures them that other students do not have an unfair advantage through cheating on essays, exams, and projects.

The responsibility of the student - Plagiarism sometimes occurs due to a misunderstanding regarding the rules of academic integrity, but it is the responsibility of the student to know them. If you are unsure about the standards for citations or for referencing your sources, ask your instructor. Depending on the severity of the case, penalties include a warning, a failing grade, a record on the student’s transcript, or a suspension. It is your responsibility to understand the University’s policy on academic integrity, which can be found on pages 32- 34 of the undergraduate calendar.

For a complete explanation of plagiarism and its consequences, see “Policy on Academic Integrity” from the UVic Calendar:

http://web.uvic.ca/calendar2016-01/undergrad/info/regulations/academic-integrity.html

COURSE EXPERIENCE SURVEY (CES):

I value your feedback on this course. Towards the end of term, as in all other courses at UVic, you will have the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey regarding your learning experience (CES). The survey is vital to providing feedback to me regarding the course and my teaching, as well as to help the department improve the overall program for students in the future. The survey is accessed via MyPage and can be done on your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. I will remind you and provide you with more detailed information nearer the time but please be thinking about this important activity during the course. Time will be allotted in class during the final week of the course to complete the survey.

UVic PERCENTAGE GRADING SCALE

Passing Grades / Grade Point Value / Percentage / Description
A+
A
A- / 9
8
7 / 90 – 100
85 – 89
80 – 84 / Exceptional,outstandingandexcellentperformance. Normally achieved by a minority of students. These grades indicate a student who is self-initiating, exceeds expectation and has an insightful grasp of the subject matter.
B+
B
B- / 6
5
4 / 77 – 79
73 – 76
70 – 72 / Very good,goodandsolidperformance. Normally achieved by the largest number of students. These grades indicate a good grasp of the subject matter or excellent grasp in one area balanced with satisfactory grasp in the other area.
C+
C / 3
2 / 65 – 69
60 – 64 / Satisfactory, orminimally satisfactory. These grades indicate a satisfactory performance and knowledge of the subject matter.
D / 1 / 50 – 59 / MarginalPerformance. A student receiving this grade demonstrated a superficial grasp of the subject matter.
Failing Grades / Grade Point Value / Percentage / Description
F / 0 / 0 – 49 / Unsatisfactoryperformance. Wrote final examination and completed course requirements; no supplemental.
N / 0 / 0 – 49 / Did not write examination or complete course requirements by the end of term or session; no supplemental.

A percentage grade for an N grade should be assigned in the following manner: