hi everyone, for this final week of readings, please read the below, and fee free to divide up the readings. they are generally short, so folks can elect to do more than one after they size them up. The last items is a collection from Jadaliyya, and some are in Arabic (which you will not be responsible for). But i would like you to read the rest of the english pieces. see you all soon! b Week 11: The Syrian Uprising and the Current Impasse 1. Bassam Haddad, “Why Syria is not Next . . . So Far,” Jadaliyya. [PDF] 2. Hassan Abbas, “The Dynamics of the Uprisings in Syria,” Jadaliyya. [PDF] 3. Bassam Haddad, “Syria’s Stalemate: The Limits of Regime Resilience,” Middle East Policy, Vol. XIX, No. 1, Spring 2012, pp. 85-95. [PDF] 4. “Tentative Jihad: Syria’s Fundamentalist Opposition,” International Crisis Group, Jadaliyya. 6. Bassam Haddad, “As Syria Falls,” (Parts 1, 2), Jadaliyya. [PDF] 7. "The Syrian Uprising: Two Years On," Jadaliyya Coverage. [Link]
8 Comments
Gaza rubble after an Israeli air strike in November 2012 hi everyone, looking forward to seeing you again. for this friday, please complete the week 10 readings. i'm assuming you have already signed up for the presentations. i'll be sending you notes on your proposals before friday, but most are a go with minor revisions, so keep researching your topic. 1. Bassam Haddad, “Syria’s State Bourgeoisie: An Organic Backbone for the Regime,” Middle East Critique, Vol. 21, Issue 3 (Fall 2012). [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, “The Political Economy of Syria: Realities and Challenges,” Middle East Policy, (Spring 2011) [PDF] hi everyone, I hear you had a wonderful class, and that Rochelle was great. And she was impressed with everyone in class because you seemed quite informed and studious. This made me feel proud and happy. For April 12, please do Week 10 Readings below. Please make sure you do a very close reading of 10-1. Also, click on the image to the left, or here, to read the 2nd anniversary pieces of the Syrian uprising on Jadaliyya. I will be adding some readings to the last reading class on April 19. Note that we will have two classes after that in which we do presentations and/or catch up if we fall behind--though we shouldn't. Week 10: Syria’s Upper Class(es) and the Social Market Economy 1. Bassam Haddad, “Syria’s State Bourgeoisie: An Organic Backbone for the Regime,” Middle East Critique, Vol. 21, Issue 3 (Fall 2012). [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, “The Political Economy of Syria: Realities and Challenges,” Middle East Policy, (Spring 2011) [PDF] As discussed earlier, please submit your proposal via the submissions page on this site by March 29, according to the guidelines here: You should select your topic and submit a one page document that includes (a) the topic you wish to write your paper on, (b) 4-6 preliminary sources (including a minimum of 2 books and 2 academic journal articles), and (c) a brief statement describing why you’re interested in writing about this particular topic and what concept/theory/explanatory concern in particular you wish to address. A formal paper proposal will be due when your topic is approved. If you would like to write more, go ahead. I will approve your paper proposals in the order in which they are submitted by early next week, if not before. Hi everyone, As promised, you will have a stellar guest (Rochelle Davis) who will lead discussion and address the Wedeen book, which she knows well. so please impress her with your presentations. i know that two of you volunteered to present the wedeen book. she will also lead the other discussions after the others present the pieces. i've sent them to her so she's read them. Please let me know if you have any questions. Greetings from lovely beirut where we just launched the inaugural conference for the Arab Cou hi all, your reading for next week is week 9 below. we already discussed that two of you would be presenting the book and the rest will divide the articles. we will have a skype call or a guest moderator. in any case, please be prepared. i will certainly be in touch to share with you which direction we're taking. as to the research proposal, please submit your proposal via the submissions page on this site by march 29, according to the guidelines here: You should select your topic and submit a one page document that includes (a) the topic you wish to write your paper on, (b) 4-6 preliminary sources (including a minimum of 2 books and 2 academic journal articles), and (c) a brief statement describing why you’re interested in writing about this particular topic and what concept/theory/explanatory concern in particular you wish to address. A formal paper proposal will be due when your topic is approved. If you would like to write more Week 9: Cult of Personality? From Asad to Asad 1. Lisa Wedeen, Ambiguities of Domination, all chapters. [Text] 2. Bassam Haddad, “Asad and After,” Notes to The Economist, 2000-2001 [PDF]; “Business As Usual in Syria,” MERIP, 2001 [PDF]; “Waiting for the Wrong Time,” Carnegie ARB, 2004 [PDF]; and “Syria’s Curious Dilemma,” MERIP, 2009 [PDF] hi everyone, for this friday, we should certainly finish the following. i know a couple of you have volunteered, but there's more. and yes, there are three readings in Week 8, #1. (it looks like nina picked up ch 4 from business networks and sally picked up chapter 5). we have this is perhaps among the most crucial readings of the semester, for many readings. please do a close reading. these are our main links! Week 7: Economic Reform, the Private Sector, and State-Business Relations 1. Steven Heydemann, “Introduction,” in Networks of Privilege: The Politics of Economic Reform in the Middle East, ed Steven Heydemann (New York: Palgrave-St. Martin's Press, 2004). [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 4 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] Week 8: Economic Liberalization and the Consumption Boom 1. Bassam Haddad, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] 2. Bassam Haddad, “Change and Stasis in Syria,” MERIP, (Winter 1999) [PDF] hi all,
i'm assuming you all have figured the presentations for tomorrow. we only have two, heydemann and my networks chapter. we also have one chapter from week 6. see you soon. b Week 6: 3. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 3, in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] Week 7: Economic Reform, the Private Sector, and State-Business Relations 1. Steven Heydemann, “Introduction,” in Networks of Privilege: The Politics of Economic Reform in the Middle East, ed Steven Heydemann (New York: Palgrave-St. Martin's Press, 2004). [PDF] 2. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 4 in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] hi everyone, please find below your reading list for Friday. There was one mistake on the Reading page that i corrected (for this week, you need to read chapter 3 from my book, on the Private Sector, not Chapter 4, on Networks). if you already read chapter 4 that's good, you'll know why on Friday. I know some of you have signed up to do chapters using the first post. can you please redo your comment on this post to avoid confusion? thanks Finally, as promised, i have included the paper options under the Assignment page. check them out and feel free to have an internal discussion before we can make a decision in class on friday. by the way, i think we had a tremendous class on Friday, though i want us to engage the arguments more and begin to speak like syria experts now that you have amassed a critical amount of readings. see you soon. b Week 6: Economic Reform, the Private Sector, and State-Business Relations 1. Alan Richards and John Waterbury, Chapter 7, “The Emergence of the Public Sector,” Chapter 8, “Contradictions of State-Led Growth,” in A Political Economy of the Middle East (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996). [PDF] 2. Timothy Mitchell, "Dreamland: The Neoliberalism of Your Desires," MERIP 210 (29,1) Spring 99:28 [PDF] and Timothy Mitchell, "America's Egypt: Discourse of the Development Industry," 169 (F21, 2) Mar-Apr 91:18 [PDF] 3. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 3, in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] [The Iranian Embassy in Damascus] hi everyone, here's the assigned reading for Friday, February 15. Please divide the readings accordingly. Week 4: Post-Colonial Development and State Formation in Syria 4. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 2, “The Legacy of State-Business Antagonism,” in Business Networks: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] Week 5: The political Economy of Syria Under Hafez Asad 1. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 4, “Power and Politics Under Asad” [PDF] 2. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 5, “Power and Politics Under Asad” [PDF] 3. Raymond Hinnebusch, Chapter 6, “Power and Politics Under Asad” [PDF] 4. Bassam Haddad, Chapter 1, in Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience [Text] hi everyone your reading for sunday is below. you only have to present the four chapters by Heydemann. I will discuss Ayubi, and we will leave reading #4 (which i took out of the list below) until Friday. feel free to use the comments section below to discuss anything, including claiming chapters to present. we agreed that we will have a discussion instead of presentations on Sunday see you soon. b Week 4: Post-Colonial Development and State Formation in Syria 1. Nazih Ayubi, “The Middle East and the State Debate: A Conceptual Framework,” in Overstating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East (London: I. B. Tauris, 1995), pp. 1-24. [PDF] 2. Developmental Chart (1940s to 2012). [PDF] 3. Steven Heydemann, Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict (1946-970), [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (Read Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. Note that the hyperlinked numbers above do not correspond to chapters, but to 5 parts of the book. Search for chapters within). |
AuthorBassam Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program and teaches in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, and is Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? (Pluto Press, 2012). Archives
April 2013
Categories |