Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2162: Political Economy of Development in the Middle East

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

This module will introduce you to the main themes and dynamics in the political economy of the Middle East, at the domestic, regional and global levels. The purpose is to develop an understanding of processes of development in the Middle East and of the way these processes have shaped the existing economic, social and political realities of the region. In addition, this module will enhance your abilities to critically analyse and engage with scholarly material as well as your communication skills through class participation and group presentations. Finally, on completion of this module, you will be able to more deeply understand media reports and news on issues of political economy in the Middle East. 

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 an awareness and understanding of some of the politics of economic development;
2. effectively explain the economic factors in domestic and regional politics;
3. cogently discuss the domestic and international political economy of oil and gas;
4. describe the main factors affecting the political economy of regional integration;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. connect political and economic factors and dynamics in their domestic-international linkages;
6. draw from broader concepts in political economy of development;
Personal and Key Skills7. demonstrate skills of reasoned and supported argumentation in writing and in oral presentation;
8. demonstrate skills of independent research and teamwork; and
9. demonstrate skills of finding, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The list of topics for the class sessions are as follows:

  • General presentation of the module and group formation.
  • The question of development; Rich and poor states in the Middle East.
  • Human Development, income and wealth distribution.
  • The oil market; OPEC and OAPEC.
  • Oil and economic development: the rentier state and beyond?
  • Water in development and conflict in the MENA region.
  • Population and labor migration in the MENA region.
  • Regional integration in the Arab world.
  • Political and economic liberalization in the MENA region.
  • Globalization and the Middle East.
  • Middle Eastern economies: beyond oil and gas?

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching activities136.5 hours of lectures and 6.5 hours of convenor-facilitated student discussions regarding materials covered in lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activities96 hours of group presentations and 3 hours of class discussion regarding presentations
Guided Independent Study33Reading for class (approximately 90 pages of material across 3 readings per class)
Guided Independent Study95Preparing for assignments through researching, planning and writing essays

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

The corresponding ELE page is located here: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=46.

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.

Achcar, Gilbert. The People Want. A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising (London: Saqi, 2013).

Ayubi, Nazih. Over-stating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East(London: I.B. Tauris, 1995).

Hanieh, Adam. Lineages of Revolt. Issues of Contemporary Capitalism in the Middle East (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2013).

Henry, Clement, and Robert Springborg. Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 2nd ed.).

Richards, Alan, John Waterbury, Melani Cammett and Ishac Diwan. A Political Economy of the Middle East (Oxford: Westview, 3rd edition updated, 2013).

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Arab Human Development Reports. Available at: (http://www.arab-hdr.org/).