OSHER 514 - Politics of the Middle East

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Arab Spring of 2011, the Middle East has slowly deteriorated into a widening state of turmoil. Some areas have become open battlegrounds where multiple state and non-state actors compete over conflicting political and religious goals. Diverse factions of political Islam compete with each other, often guided by smaller but persuasive splinter groups. U.S. influence has declined and Russia has emerged as both a provocateur and peacemaker. Terrorist organizations cling to territory while the West's push for democracy has declined. Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia now face each other across active battlefields. We will examine the political, religious and non-state actors in the region, and discuss their politics, objectives and conflicts. We will examine the changing relationships between governments such as Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Russia, Israel, and the U.S. and the relationships between established states and non-state peoples such as the Kurds, Palestinians, Yazidis, and Druze.