This course is designed to acquaint students with some of the more important problems, concepts and ideas related to the process of transformation of the Middle Eastern political economies. While paradigms of sustainable economic growth and equitable distribution of wealth will be among the central concerns of the course, its scope will be much broader, dealing with the fundamental questions of where these societies are headed, by which paths, and with what human consequences.

The course will combine theoretical and comparative approaches to change in the Middle East with the advancement of empirical knowledge concerning individual experiences of the Arab states, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. In discussing what constitutes ‘development’ and how it can be measured, various currents in contemporary discourse about development (or in reaction against development) will be examined, using Western and indigenous perceptions. The course will seek to integrate the themes of globalisation, the emergence of new social movements, crises of rentierism and corporatism, and neo-patriarchy into the narrative of change in the Middle East.

1. To identify and understand global challenges faced by the world in general and the Middle East in particular.
2. To familiarize students with the experiences of Middle Eastern states and societies with "development" and encourage them to think about the implications of economic adjustment for communities at mezzo- and micro-level.
3. To promote and facilitate a reevaluation of the concepts and theories contained within the existing "development" and "modernisation" frameworks.
4. To introduce students to scholarly criticism of developmentalism, both from within the field of development studies (eg, ‘New Institutionalists', theorists of ‘social capital', etc.), and from outside (Third Worldism, feminism, traditionalists, et al.)
5. To examine critically the praxis of development based on the Washington Consensus and neo-liberalism.

One 4,000 word essay (50%), one 2.5 hour exam (40%), participation (10%).

One two-hour seminar per week. 

Please note that this course is likely to be held outside of business hours in 2010, most likely 6-8pm on a weekday evening.

There is no prescribed overview text for this course. Readings will be made available to students at the start of the course

The following book provides a solid background reading concerning development in the Middle East:

*A Richards and J Waterbury, A Political Economy of the Middle East: State, Class and Economic Development, Boulder: Westview Press, 1996.