
NES 266 / ENV 266 Oil, Energy and the Middle East
Instructor: Eckart Woertz and Bernard Haykel
An overview of the issues surrounding global energy supplies, oil's unique economic properties, and its role in shaping the political economy of the Middle East and U.S. strategic interests in the region. We will begin by discussing the basic science and availability of energy sources, the state of technology, the functioning of energy markets, the challenges of coping with global climate change and the key role of the oil reserves in the Middle East. The second part of the course will focus on the history of oil in the Middle East and its impact on societies in the region.
NES 352 Arabia in the 20th Century: from Oil Concessions to Osama bin Laden
Instructor: Pascal Menoret
This lecture course is an introduction to the contemporary history of the Arabian Peninsula in the 20th century, from the last decades of the Ottoman presence in the region to the 9/11 bombings. Students will be introduced to state building in tribal societies, imperialism and hegemony, oil exploitation and workers’ unrest, leftist and Islamist movements, political economy and social change, women, migrants and urban unrest.
NES 518 History and Society of Saudi Arabia
Instructor: Bernard Haykel
This course examines the history, politics and society of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, perhaps the most important country in both the Arab and Islamic worlds today. Students will be exposed to the Kingdom's complex relationship with political Islam, the global oil market, other Arab and Muslim countries as well as the West. This course will give students a solid overview of its history, politics and society through a careful selection of published studies. The aim of the course is to get students acquainted with the history of the Kingdom and the main factors that have played a role in its unfolding.
NES 530 Political Economy of Arab Gulf Countries
Instructor: Eckart Woertz
An examination of the political economy of Arab Gulf countries, which are pivotal for international politics because of their energy resources, considered as political actors in their own right with specific development agendas. Course examines characteristics and challenges of countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the fields of domestic politics, economics and international relations. Issues to be discussed range from domestic liberalization and economic diversification to petrodollar recycling and foreign policy stances.
WWS 594 The Politics and Economics of Middle East Energy in the Global Context
Instructor: Giacomo Luciani
Economic growth requires constantly growing use of energy, and the availability of sufficient sources of energy on a global scale is not to be taken for granted. In this context, the Middle East countries play a vital role as exporters of hydrocarbons to the rest of the world. The course aims at providing students with the critical knowledge and skills to avoid superficial generalizations and stereotypes – which unfortunately remain all too common. The following aspects will be discussed: 1) Global energy demand and supply scenarios and the role of the Middle East; 2) Economic development and diversification of the Gulf economies 3) The Gulf countries, oil price discovery and revenue volatility; 4) The Near East and energy security: oil wars?; 5) The global gas market and the role of Qatar; 6) Rational use of energy, renewable energy sources, nuclear energy and the Middle East.
WWS 594T Political Change in the Gulf Monarchies
Instructor: Steffen Hertog
This course will examine the political systems of Gulf monarchies from a comparative perspective, looking at drivers of change and reform in particular. Special emphasis is put on understanding the internal dynamics of regimes and state-society relations in the Gulf, as Western foreign policies towards the region are too often predicated on an insufficient understanding of what drives decision-making in the Gulf monarchies.