POLI 4041 Lecture : POLI4059notes
Document Summary
The middle east is a slippery, changing concept. It is also a new idea created by. West accused of cultural bias; treating the middle east like a bad part of town. Despite frequent media usage and daily usage: no formal government usage of middle east by the dos or dod. Rahter than a middle east an alternative perception by regional scholars is: the mashreq (arab east), the khaleej (gulf region), magreb (n africa). Critiques of western ir and the middle east. We (europe, now n america) tend to be viewed as warmongers and expansionists. The region is a mess because of western intervention not because of islam or some unstoppable historical condition. Research and media are obsessed with the arab-israeli conflict: most students fall into pro-palestine or pro-israel camps and it becomes a limiting factor on their world view and ability to learn. Reductionist: tendency to want to explain everything through religion. Other variables at work besides religion and culture.
