Islam and the State: Political Economy of Governance in the Middle East

Lecture version of Economics 326S. Introduction to political history of Middle East from advent of Islam 14 centuries ago to modern era. Four objectives: (1) familiarize students with institutions responsible for characteristics of political development in region; (2) examine particular transformations/selected cases of inertia to derive lessons about mechanisms that govern political development, including democratization; (3) investigate how religion shaped region's political trajectory; (4) identify social forces, especially economic forces, driving contemporary rediscovery/reinterpretation of Islam's political organization and requirements, by both Islamists and secular political actors.