Course Credit:
4
This course provides an introduction to the modern history of West and Central Asia. It covers the period from World War II until the present. Geographically, in West Asia it looks into Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey and Iran. Major themes include the growth of state power, political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural developments in the region including the emergence of nationalism and pan- Arabism, authoritarianism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, role of outside powers, the politics of oil, rise of Islamic political movements, the recent protest movements and the developments connected to the „Arab Spring‟. In Central Asia the course looks into the region as an emerging and increasingly important area of Asia. Being part of the former Soviet Union for a long time the countries of Central Asia particulary the so-called five “Sthans” as independent republics, now have been showing signs of huge possibilities in economy and development but enormous problems like fragile democracy and rise of militant Islam. The big powers rivalry in the region bordering two of them viz. Russia and China also forms a part of the course to discuss.