Major Research Essay (50%)
The essay will assess your ability to research relevant scholarly work on your chosen topic, form a thesis, analyse the available material, and then present a coherent and compelling argument as a
polished academic essay. Essays should refer to a range of material in addition to the required readings for this unit, and should be correctly and consistently referenced. The basis of your
research should be academic works i.e.: chapters in edited books or academic articles in recognised journals. Wikipedia, and similar web-based resources, are not acceptable unless they are used to
make a point about lay knowledge (e.g. you might refer to a series of online blogs to illustrate how a particular topic is represented in popular understandings).
The essay must be 2500 words including references (but not the bibliography/reference list). Make sure you indicate clearly which question you are responding to.

The essay questions are as follows:choose one question :
1. ‘Politics in the Middle East is determined by international actors.’ Discuss with reference to the historical and contemporary Middle East.
2. Explain and analyse the competing perspectives on the role of contemporary political Islam in the Middle East.
3. How did the shift from the Cold War international system to the US dominated post-Cold War international system affect the Middle East?
4. ‘Samuel P. Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations” tells us nothing about the international relations of the Middle East and everything about US foreign policy.’ Do you agree?
5. What domestic, regional and international forces drove the “Arab Spring”? What have been the consequences for the Middle East as a result of these uprisings?

Essays are due in Week 12, Sunday 19 February, 9pm

REFERENCING
The footnote format is preferred, however you can use either the Harvard (‘in text’) referencing style or the modified Oxford style (footnotes). N.B. Whatever style you choose you must be
consistent, and your essay must contain a Bibliography. For information about referencing if you are unsure go to the following site and look up either Harvard Style or Oxford Style:
https://libguides.mq.edu.au/Referencing
Whatever referencing system you choose, you must include a bibliography at the end of your essay that lists all sources (with complete page numbers where applicable) you have consulted. For
Internet references, provide author, title, and complete website address.

PLAGIARISM
1. The University defines plagiarism in its rules: “Plagiarism involves using the work of another person and presenting it as one’s own.” Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University’s rules
and carries serious significant penalties. See Handbook of
Undergraduate Studies or web at: www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism/.
2. Material that is quoted or paraphrased from any source must always be accompanied by a full reference to the source.
3. If you quote directly, that is, if you use somebody else’s exact words, they must be enclosed in quotation marks and its source footnoted. Paraphrasing, which is summarising or putting another
person’s ideas or material into your own words, must also be referenced in a footnote.
Please be aware that instances of significant plagiarism can result in disciplinary action by the university.
* Readings:?
* Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2005. Pp 1-17. File?
* Edward Said, Orientalism, Penguin Books, 2002. “Preface” and “Introduction”

* Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2005. Pp 21-40. ??
* Fawaz A. Gerges, “The Study of Middle East International Relations: A Critique”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2 (1991), pp. 208-220.
* Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2005. Pp 75-96. ??
* Eugene L. Rogan, “The Emergence of the Middle East into the Modern State System”, in Louise Fawcett (ed), International Relations of the Middle East. Pp 17-39.
* David Hirst, The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, London: Faber and Faber, 1977. Pp108-122. ???
* ?

* David Hirst, The Gun and the Olive Branch: The Roots of Violence in the Middle East, London: Faber and Faber, 1977. Pp147-154. ???
* ?

* Illan Pappe, “Zionism as Colonialism: A Comparative View of Diluted Colonialism in Asia and Africa”, South Atlantic Quarterly 107:4, Fall 2008. ???
* ?

* Ari Shavit “Survival of the Fittest? An Interview with Benny Morris” Logosonline 2004, https://www.logosonline.com/morris.htm
Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2005. Pp 97-119.
* Fouad Ajami, The End of Pan-Arabism , Foreign Affairs, 57:2 (1978/1979:Winter) p.355- 373.????

* Fred Halliday. The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 167-192.
Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005 pp. 130-164

Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005 pages 193-228.
* Noam Chomsky, Perilous power: the Middle East & U.S. foreign policy : dialogues on terror, democracy, war, and justice, Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm Publishers, 2007. Chapter 3. ???
* John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, “The Israel Lobby” London Review of Books, 23 March 2006, https://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/print/mear01_.???
* Joseph Massad, “Blaming the lobby” Al-Ahram Weekly, March 23–29, 2006, https://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/787/op35.htm
* Fred Halliday, The Middle East in International Relations, Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. 261-299. ??
* Andrea Teti and Gennaro Gervasio, “The Unbearable Lightness of Authoritarianism: Lessons from the Arab Uprisings”, Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 16, No. 2, 321–327, July 2011