Fall/Winter Timetable
POL2418H1F L0101
Undergraduate Course Code: POL479H1F L0101
Topics in Middle East Politics
Contesting Authoritarianisms in the Middle East
Themes
This is a fast-paced course and it will be divided into two sections. The first examines the historical formation of states and authoritarian regimes in the contemporary Middle East. This section will be organized around a series of articles presentations and subsequent debate. Among the themes examined will include strong and weak states, clientelism and neo-patrimonialism, and critical junctures and path dependent political development. The second section, organized around student seminars, examines the various forms of social and political contestation in the region, especially those related to the recent Arab Spring.
Texts
Oliver Schlumberger, Debating Arab Authoritarianism: Dynamics and Durability in Nondemocratic Regimes, (2007).
Format and Requirements
The course will be divided into two parts. The first will be organized around a series of article presentations by students followed by discussion. The second part will be organized around student seminars on selected topics. These seminars will be the basis for the major paper. All students will also be required to write an analytical book critique/review (TBA).
November 14, 2023
Congratulations to Madalyn Hay, a recipient of a 2023-2024 Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship. Madalyn, one of our doctoral students, holds a BAH in Contemporary Studies and Classics from the...
August 24, 2023
Congratulations to alumna Meaghan Williams, a recipient of the 2022-23 Governor General’s Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, the highest academic honour available to graduate students in Canada. Awarded annually by the Office of the...
June 14, 2021
Great news from the Canadian Political Science Association, which held its annual awards ceremony (online) over the weekend of June 12 & 13: Professor Stefan Rencken’s book "Private Governance and Public...
April 22, 2021
Congratulations to two political science alumni now teaching at U of T who have both won Superior Teaching Awards! Igor Shoikhedbrod and Khalid Ahmed will be celebrated on May 5th at...
August 6, 2020
Q&A with 2020 Vanier Scholar Yojana Miraya Oscco Congratulations to PhD student Yojana Miraya Oscco who has won a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC). Launched in 2008, the program enables...
April 30, 2020
Congratulations to our graduate student Kevin Edmonds who has won New College's June Larkin Award for Pedagogical Development. A PhD candidate specializing in Caribbean political economy, histories of alternative/illicit development, foreign intervention and...