Contemporary Middle East

. Discuss your understanding of why defensive developmentalism, as practiced by the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Persia was unsuccessful? Could these three Middle Eastern nations have done anything different to make it work? Explain.

. What were the main beliefs of such Muslim fundamentalists as the Wahhabis of Arabia and Muslim modernists like as Malkom Khan and Jamal al Din al Afghani. Discuss what impact these ideas might have on many people of the Middle East today

. Analyze the Osmanlilik reform movement in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and why it failed.

. What caused the Young Turks to rebel in 1908 and why were they successful in deposing the Sultan in 1909? What did they stand for and were their goals significantly different from those of the Osmanlilik?

. Discuss the effects of European control of the region in terms of political, economic, and social developments. What are the implications for the region today?

. Differentiate the two ways in which nation states were born in the immediate aftermath of World War I. Provide specific examples of each.

. What is Zionism and how did it develop? Why did the indigenous people of Palestine resent the settlement of thousands of Zionists in their land? Could any compromise have been worked out?

. Explain how authoritarian governments developed in the Middle East after the fall of communism. Why do the governments in the region appear so tenacious and powerful?

. Discuss the significant changes that oil brought about to the political, economic, and social lives of the people in the region. Specifically discuss how Middle Easterners were both better off and worse off as a result of the influx of oil wealth.

. Analyze which of the six major US interests in the Middle East were successful or unsuccessful and why. Why has US policy often been inconsistent?

. What factors led to the ulama taking power and prevailing in Iran in 1979? Discuss the reasons for the anti-American feeling that lead to the hostage crisis during the Carter administration.

. Compare and contrast Islamism (political Islam) to secular nationalism. What are the two types of Islamists? Which type is now more prevalent and why?