IR419 One Unit
International Relations of the Middle East
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Availability
This course is available on the MSc in International Affairs (LSE and Peking University), MSc in International Relations, MSc in International Relations (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Relations (Research), MSc in Political Science (Global Politics) and MSc in Theory and History of International Relations. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
All International Relations (IR4) optional courses at LSE are Controlled Access and require an application via LfY. Students must include a statement in their LfY application of no more than 200 words explaining their interest in the course and its relevance to their academic and career goals.
Application deadline: 12:00 noon, Friday 26 September 2025.
Notification of outcome: by 12:00 noon, Monday 29 September 2025.
After this date, students should consult the MSc Course Availability Spreadsheet for remaining spaces on IR4-level courses.
For further details, see the LSE Selecting Courses webpage in the first instance or contact IR.Programmes@lse.ac.uk only if necessary.
The course is intended primarily for students on programmes run by the Department of International Relations (IR). Students on the MSc in Comparative Politics and MSc in Global Politics may take the course, but this is subject to students demonstrating that they have a grasp of International Relations theory, or have made efforts to cover this ground before starting the course.
All students are required to obtain permission from the Teacher Responsible by completing the online application form linked to course selection on LSE for You. Students external to the IR department must clearly outline the extent to which they are familiar with IR theory / efforts they will make to familiarise themselves with this area before the course begins.
This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). In previous years we have been able to provide places for most students that apply, but that may not continue to be the case.
Requisites
Additional requisites:
A knowledge of the international political system, of the major issues in its contemporary development, and at least a basic understanding of core International Relations theory, is required. Background in IR and/or political science and/or history is a prerequisite.
Course content
The course is intended to provide an analysis of the regional politics of the Middle East since 1918, and of their interaction with problems of international security, global resources and great power/super power/hyperpower politics.
Topics covered include: The emergence of the state system in the Middle East during the inter-war period; the interplay of domestic politics, regional conflicts and international rivalries; the Cold War and post-Cold War significance of the Middle East in global politics; the importance of oil and other economic factors and interests; conflict in the Gulf and the Arab-Israeli conflict; the foreign policies of major Middle Eastern states and the Lebanese civil war; the role of ideologies and social movements: Arab nationalism, militarism, political Islam and global jihadism; state and non-state actors; democracy and human rights issues, the Arab Spring uprisings; and international relations theory and its significance for the study of Middle East politics.
Teaching
1.5 hours of seminars and 1 hours of lectures in the Spring Term.
15 hours of seminars and 10 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.
15 hours of seminars and 10 hours of lectures in the Autumn Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Autumn and Winter Term.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to produce 2 essays and 2 presentations in the AT and WT.
Seminar attendees will be expected to submit two 2,500-word essays, based on past examination papers, to be marked by their seminar teacher, and to give presentations in both the AT and WT.
Indicative reading
Students are strongly advised to read before the beginning of the course:
- Fawaz A. Gerges, Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East
- F. Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology
- Madawi al-Rasheed, A Most Masculine State: Gender, Politics and Religion in Saudi Arabia
- Fawaz A. Gerges, The Superpowers and the Middle East: Regional and International Politics
- Louise Fawcett, International relations of the Middle East
In addition they are recommended to consult:
- Nazih Ayubi, Over-stating the Arab State: politics and society in the Middle East
- Lisa Anderson, ‘The State in the Middle East and North Africa’ Comparative Politics, October 1987
- R Hinnebusch & A Ehteshami (Eds), The Foreign Policies of Middle East States
- B Korany & A Dessouki (Eds), The Foreign Policies of Arab States
- John Chalcraft, Popular Politics in the Making of the Middle East
- Madawi al-Rasheed, Demystifying the Caliphate
- Fanar Haddad, Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity
- Fawaz A. Gerges (ed.), The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World
- Z. Lockman, Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism
Assessment
Essay (100%)
The essay is a take-home assessment.
Key facts
Department: International Relations
Course Study Period: Autumn, Winter and Spring Term
Unit value: One unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: 34
Average class size 2024/25: 17
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.