Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2038: International Relations, War and Peace in the Middle East

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to:

  •     familiarise you with the key issues and main developments in the politics of the Arab-Israeli conflict;

  •     introduce you to the literature on the conflict and to contradictory interpretations of the conflict;

  •     introduce you to the main issues concerning the politics of the Middle East peace process;

  •     introduce you to the basic data and the relevant literature available; and

  •     familiarise you with a range of perspectives held by different authors on the process.


The module will also aim to:

  •     sharpen your presentational skills (e.g. argumentation, discussion, presentations);

  •     introduce you to the complexities and skills required for effective diplomacy;

  •     improve your written skills through briefing papers and essays; and

  •     develop your appreciation of team work and openness to other’s ideas.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. demonstrate a knowledge of key issues in contemporary Middle East politics;
2. demonstrate an understanding of the actors, dynamics and trends in the peace process in the Middle East;
3. demonstrate an understanding of the peace process negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians;
4. demonstrate a knowledge of key issues in the Palestinian- Israeli conflict: refugees, settlements, Jerusalem, one state-two state solution;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. demonstrate an ability to find, use and analyse secondary and primary data relevant to specific issue areas;
6. demonstrate an ability to place contemporary political issues into larger contexts;
7. deploy critical arguments in analysing political issues and evaluating sources;
Personal and Key Skills8. demonstrate independent and group work including the presentation of material for group discussion articulating and defending positions on tutorial topics;
9. demonstrate analytical skills and the ability to digest, select and organise material;
10. produce well organised and coherent essays to a deadline.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Gerner, D. (ed), Understanding the Contemporary Middle East , Boulder, Lynne Rienner, 2000. 
Kimmerling B., and Migdal, J., The Palestinian People: A History , Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2003 
Dumper, Mick The Future for Palestinian Refugees (Lynne Reinner, 2007) 
Fischbach, Michael, The Peace Process and the Palestinian Refugee Claims (United States Institute for Peace, 2006) 
Brynen Rex, and El-Rifai, Roula, Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development (I.B.Tauris, 2007) 
Dumper, M., The Politics of Jerusalem Since 1967 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) 
Klein, Menachem, Jerusalem: The Contested City (Hurst, 2001) 
Watson G., The Oslo Accords: International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Agreements , Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 
Goldscheider, C. (2002) Israel’s Changing Society Population, Ethnicity and Development , Second Edition, (Boulder, Colorado: WestView Press) 
Murphy, E. C. and Jones, C. (2002) Israel: Challenges to Identity, Democracy and the State , (London : Routledge.)