isrl 329e / gvpt 309l special topics in israel studies ... · health center and/or health care...

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ISRL 329E / GVPT 309L

Special Topics in Israel Studies; Israel & the Arab Spring: Fall 2017

Wednesdays 4:00pm - 6:30pm

TYD 2111 (Tydings Building)

Instructor: Moran Stern

Office: 4123 H.J. Patterson Hall

Office hours: Wednesdays 11.00am-12.15pm & by appointment (please send an email)

Contact info: [email protected] (Please use this email; do not send messages through

Canvas).

Twitter: @MoranStern

The so-called “Arab Spring” has been characterized by the proliferation of failed states as well as

state and nonstate actors engaged in terrorist, proxy, and low-level conventional conflicts. How

does the Arab Spring affect Israel? How does Israel respond to a transforming regional order?

What is Israel’s policy in light of the disintegrating Arab nation-states? What are the implications

of the regional turmoil on Israel’s relations with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and the Palestinians?

What are the ramifications of the Arab Spring on Israel-United States relations? Will Israel find

itself in a direct war against the Islamic State (IS)? And, just as important, what are some of the

opportunities for Israel amid a transforming Middle East?

The purpose of this course is to analyze and understand the political, diplomatic, and strategic

effects of upheavals in the Middle East on the State of Israel. To augment the students’

understanding of Israel in the context of the broader Middle East, academic readings and lectures

will be supplemented with policy papers, grass-root level examples, media, comparative

analyses, and guest speakers.

At the start of the, readings and class discussions will enable students to gain a basic

understanding of Israel’s national security and foreign policy doctrines, including a historical

framework for the study of the subjects under scrutiny. The bulk of the semester, however, will

be devoted to exploring specific key ramifications of the Arab Spring on Israel’s national

security, foreign policy; domestic politics; relations with other regional actors, the United States

and Russia; as well as Israel’s strategy towards nonstate actors such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and

IS. The course will explore themes and tensions that repeatedly confront Israel in the Middle

East.

Please note: This course does not require any previous background in Middle East, Israel or

Jewish studies.

http://www.umd.edu/CampusMaps/bld_detail.cfm?bld_code=HBK

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Grading:

Attendance is necessary for successful participation in the class. Attendance will be taken, and

absences will have a negative effect on your participation grade.

20%: Participation in class discussion: Class participation is integral to evaluating the ongoing

work of the student. Personal involvement and active participation of the students is required.

1) Your personal involvement and your active participation are required.

2) Students can contribute to class discussions by preparing a set of critical questions about

the readings assigned for that week.

3) You are encouraged to bring your questions to class and be prepared to open them for

discussion.

4) To clarify, critical questions – as opposed to descriptive ones – aim at exploring gaps;

tensions; recurring themes; highlight different views in the literature; and serve as a

platform for in-class discussion and so forth.

20%: Discussion Leaders:

1) Each student will sign up to lead one discussion about the readings assigned for that

week.

2) In case there is more than one discussion leader, students will divide the readings

between them. There cannot be more than three discussants per week.

3) Discussion leaders will be given approximately 10 minutes (in total) to present their

overview, critique and questions about the article.

4) In preparing for discussing the readings, consider the following guiding questions:

a. The question/ main issue of concern addressed by the author: Is it important? Is it

Interesting? Why?

b. The author’s main arguments: What is the main argument/s? Are they coherent? Are they

convincing? Are they innovative? Can we think of alternative argument/s to the author’s

question?

c. How does the piece relate to other themes we have discussed in class?

60%: Three Policy Memos (each 20%): Students will work in groups of 2-3 students to

produce mock policy memos. Each policy memo will analyze different themes related the Israel

and the changing Middle East (see below). Please refer to the Policy Memo Writing Guidelines

for more information.

Policy memo 1: Israel amid Regional Change: 20%

Policy memo 2: choose one of the case studies: 20%

Policy memo 3: Broader Challenges and Potential Opportunities for Israel: 20%

See undergraduate catalogue for description of grades, e.g., A+, A, A-, etc.:

https://pdc-svpaap1.umd.edu/teach/gradevalue.html

https://pdc-svpaap1.umd.edu/teach/gradevalue.html

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The Fine Print:

Academic integrity:

The student-administered Honor Code and Honor Pledge prohibit students from cheating on exams,

plagiarizing papers, submitting the same paper for credit in two courses without authorization, buying

papers, submitting fraudulent documents and forging signatures. On every examination, paper or other

academic exercise not specifically exempted by the instructor, students must write by hand and sign the

following pledge:

I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized assistance on this examination

(or assignment).

Allegations of academic dishonesty will be reported directly to the Student Honor Council:

http://www.shc.umd.edu

Attendance and absences:

Students are expected to inform the instructor in advance of medically necessary absences, and present a

self-signed note documenting the date of the missed class(es) and testifying to the need for the absence.

This note must include an acknowledgement that (a) the information provided is true and correct, and (b)

that the student understands that providing false information to University officials is a violation of Part

9(h) of the Code of Student Conduct. The university’s policies on medical and other absences can be

found at: https://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html

Prolonged absence or illness preventing attendance from class requires written documentation from the

Health Center and/or health care provider verifying dates of treatment when the student was unable to

meet academic responsibilities.

Absence due to religious observance will not be penalized, however, it is the student’s responsibility to

notify the instructor within the first 3 weeks of class regarding any religious observance absence(s) for

the entire semester. The calendar of religious holidays can be found at:

http://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html#religious

Emergency protocol:

Should the University of Maryland be closed for an extended period of time, students will be notified by

email on future plans. As a general rule, on the first day after a closure of any length, students should

come to class prepared to address the material that we were to address on the first cancelled class. During

this class session, we will work out a plan for continuing the semester in abbreviated form. In cases of

really extended cancellations, we will work out the process of remediation over email.

http://www.shc.umd.edu/

https://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html

http://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attend_student.html#religious

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Students with disabilities:

The University of Maryland is committed to providing appropriate accommodations for students with

disabilities. Students with a documented disability should inform the instructor within the add-drop

period if academic accommodations are needed. To obtain an Accommodation Letter prepared by

Disability Support Service (DSS), a division of the University Counseling Center, please call 301-314-

7682, e-mail [email protected], or visit the Shoemaker Building for more information.

Diversity:

The University of Maryland values the diversity of its student body. Along with the University, I am

committed to providing a classroom atmosphere that encourages the equitable participation of all students

regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender

identity. Potential devaluation of students in the classroom that can occur by reference to demeaning

stereotypes of any group and/or overlooking the contributions of a particular group to the topic under

discussion is inappropriate. (See Statement on Classroom Climate, https://pdc-

svpaap1.umd.edu/teach/classclimate.html).

Course evaluations:

Course evaluations are a part of the process by which the University of Maryland seeks to improve

teaching and learning. Your participation in this official system is critical to the success of the process,

and all information submitted to CourseEvalUM is confidential. (Instructors can only view group

summaries of evaluations and cannot identify which submissions belong to which students.)

Copyright notice:

Class lectures and other materials are copyrighted and they may not be reproduced for anything other

than personal use without written permission from the instructor.

Readings:

1) There are no required text books for this class.

2) Articles, book chapters and other materials will be available via ELMS (under “Files”).

3) I would highly recommend you to do the readings in the order in which they are listed.

4) It goes with saying that all students are expected to read all readings before the date due,

and understand them sufficiently to discuss them. I consider in-class participation a

central factor in calculating your final grade.

5) Each reading will have a point of view and when you finish each one you need to ask

yourself: what was the author trying to convey beyond the facts? This is what I will ask

you.

mailto:[email protected]

https://pdc-svpaap1.umd.edu/teach/classclimate.html

https://pdc-svpaap1.umd.edu/teach/classclimate.html

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Schedule of readings & lectures:

Part I: Israel amid Regional Turbulence:

Week 1: August 30th: Introduction, Overview of the Course & General Background.

Week 2: Sept. 6th: The Old Middle East:

1. Ajami, Fouad. 1978. “The End of Pan-Arabism.” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 57, no. 2, pp.

355-373.

2. Ajami, Fouad. 1992. The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice Since

1967. New York: Cambridge University Press. Introduction, pp. 1-21.

3. Barnett, Michael N. 1995. “Sovereignty, nationalism, and regional order in the Arab

states system.” International Organization, Vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 479-510.

4. Bernard Lewis, “The Return of Islam,” Commentary, 1 January 1976.

https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-return-of-islam/

Supplementary readings:

Brown, Carl L. 1984. International Politics and the Middle East. New Jersey: Princeton

University Press, pp. 3-81.

Ajami, Fouad. 1992. The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice Since

1967. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Rabinovich, Itamar. Waging Peace, Israel and the Arabs at the End of the Century. New

York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1999.

Shlaim, Avi. 2001. The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. New York: W.W. Norton

& Company.

Lustick, Ian S. 1997. “The Absence of Middle Eastern Great Powers: Political

‘Backwardness’ in Historical Perspective.” International Organization Vol. 51, no. 4, pp.

653-683.

Steven Cook and Amr T. Leheta, “Don’t Blame Sykes-Picot for the Middle East’s Mess,”

Foreign Policy, 13 June 2016.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/13/sykespicotisntwhatswrongwiththemodernmiddleeast

100years/

Adam Garfinkle, “The Bullshistory of ‘Sykes-Picot’,” The American Interest, 16 May

2016. http://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/05/16/the-bullshistory-of-sykes-picot/

Kramer Martin, “The Return of Bernard Lewis,” Mosaic, 1 June 2016.

https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2016/06/the-return-of-bernard-lewis/

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Week 3: Sept. 13th: The New Middle East: Theoretical Approaches to the Arab Uprisings:

1. Melhem Hisham, “The Arab World Has Never Recovered From The Loss of 1967,”

Foreign Policy, 15 June 2017. http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/05/the-arab-world-has-

never-recovered-from-the-loss-of-1967/

2. Gelvin, James L. 2014. The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2012, pp. 1-38. (E-book version is available via UMD Library

website)

3. Kam, Ephraim et al. 2015. “The Turmoil in the Middle East.” In Strategic Survey for

Israel 2014-2015, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National

Security Studies, pp. 91-114.

4. Michael, Kobi and Guzansky, Yoel. 2016. “The Arab World Following the Regional

Upheaval.” In The Arab World on the Road to State Failure, Tel-Aviv: Institute for

National Security Studies, pp. 65-79.

5. Aras, Bülent Aras Yorulmazlar, Emirhan. 2017. “Mideast Geopolitics: The Struggle for a

New Order.” Middle East Policy, Vol. 24 no. 2, pp. 57-69.


Khoury, Nabeel A. 2013. “The Arab Cold War Revisited: The Regional Impact of the

Arab Uprising.” Middle East Policy, Vol. 20 no. 2, pp. 73-87.

Ahram, Ariel I. 2017. “Territory, Sovereignty, and New Statehood in the Middle East and

North Africa.” The Middle East Journal, 71:3, pp. 345-362.

Bellin, Eva. 2012. “Reconsidering the Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle

East: Lessons from the Arab Spring.” Comparative Politics, 44: 2, pp. 127-149.

Scott Anderson, “Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart”, The New York

Times, 10 August 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/11/magazine/isis-

middle-east-arab-spring-fractured-lands.html

Hazran, Yusri. 2012. “The Arab Revolutions: A Preliminary Study.” Middle East Policy,

Vol. 19 no. 3, pp. 116-123.

Curtis, Ryan R. 2014. “Inter-Arab Relations and the Regional System.” In The Arab

Uprisings Explained: New Contentious Politics in the Middle East, ed. Marc Lynch. New

York: Columbia University Press, pp. 110-123.

Valensi, Carmit. 2016. “The New ‘State Order’ in the Middle East.” In Strategic Survey

for Israel 2015-2016, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National


Heller, Mark A. 2016. “Regional Transformation in the Middle East 2015.” In Strategic

Survey for Israel 2015-2016, pp. 17-27.

Asher Susser, "The 'Arab Spring': The Origins of a Misnomer", Foreign Policy Research

Institute, April 2012 http://www.fpri.org/article/2012/04/the-arab-spring-the-origins-of-a-

misnomer/

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Shine, Sima. 2016. “The Sunni and Shiite Axes in the Middle East.” In Strategic Survey

for Israel 2016-2017, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National


Fawaz Gerges (ed.), The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World

(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014).

Anderson, Lisa. 2014. “Authoritarian Legacies and Regime Change: Towards

Understanding Political Transition in the Arab World.” In The New Middle East, ed.

Fawaz A. Greges. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 41-59.

Tripp, Charles. 2014. “The Politics of Resistance and Uprisings.” In The New Middle

East, pp. 135-154.

Al-Azm, Sadik. 2014. “Arab Nationalism, Islamism, and the Arab Uprisings.” In The

New Middle East, pp. 273-284.

Adam Garfinkle, “How to Think About the Middle East Before the Arab Spring – and

After”, Foreign Policy Research Institute, November 2013

http://www.fpri.org/article/2013/11/how-to-think-about-the-middle-east-before-the-arab-

spring-and-after/

Ayoob, Mohammed. 2012. “The Arab Spring: Its Geostrategic Significance.” Middle

East Policy Vol. 19 no. 3, pp. 84-97.

Winckler, Onn. 2013. “The ‘Arab Spring’: Socioeconomic Aspects.” Middle East Policy

Vol. 20 no. 4, pp. 68-87.

Katz, Mark N. 2014. “The International Relations of the Arab Spring.” Middle East

Policy Vol. 21 no. 2, pp. 76-84.

Freeman Jr., Chas W. 2014. “The Collapse of Order in the Middle East.” Middle East


Jonathan Spyer. 2014. "New Challenges and New Alliances in the Middle East", Israel

Journal of Foreign Affairs Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 51-56.

Habun, Waleed. 2015. “A History of Insecurity: From the Arab Uprising to ISIS”, Middle

East Policy Vol. 22 no. 3. Available at: http://mepc.org/history-insecurity-arab-uprisings-

isis

Huntington, Samuel P. 1993. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs Vol. 72, no.

3, pp. 22-49.

Martin Kramer, "Revenge of the Sunnis", Mosaic, 18 July 2016

http://mosaicmagazine.com/response/2016/07/the-era-of-sunni-dominance-ended-a-long-

time-ago/

Ofir Haivry, “The Great Arab Implosion and Its Consequences”, Mosaic, 5 July 2016

http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2016/07/the-great-arab-implosion-and-its-

consequences/

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Week 4: Sept. 20th: – Rosh HaShanah: No class

Week 5: Sept. 27th: Israel: Foreign Policy:

1. Cohen, Raymond. 1994. “Israel's Starry-Eyed Foreign Policy.” The Middle East

Quarterly Vol. 1 no. 2, pp. 1-16.

2. Reich, Bernard. 2001. "Israeli Foreign Policy." In Diplomacy in the Middle East: The

International Relations of Regional and Outside Powers ed. L. Carl Brown (New York:

I.B. Tauris & Co., 2001), pp. 121-137.

3. Alpher, Yossi. 2015. Periphery: Israel’s Search for Middle East Allies. Lanham,

Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Ch. 1, pp. 3-10.

4. Klieman, Aharon. 2013. “The Sorry State of Israeli Statecraft.” Israel Journal of

Foreign Affairs, Vol. 7 no. 2, pp. 9-18.


Hadari, Gal Hadari and Asaf Turgeman .2016. “Chaos is the Message: The Crisis of

Israeli Public Diplomacy.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, 10:3, pp. 393-404.

Rabinovich, Itamar. 1999. Waging Peace, Israel and the Arabs at the End of the Century,

New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Ch. 4, pp. 129-168.

Telhami, Shibley. 1990. “Israeli Foreign Policy: A Static Strategy in a Changing World.”

Middle East Journal Vol. 44 no. 3, pp. 399-416.

Week 6: Oct. 4th: Israel: National Security:

1. Schueftan, Dan. 2015. “Israel's National Security: Challenges and Assets,” Israel

Journal of Foreign Affairs Vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 7-28.

2. Freilich, Charles. 2006. “National Security Decision-Making in Israel: Process,

Pathologies, and Strengths,” Middle East Journal Vol. 60 no. 4, pp. 635-663.

3. Harel, Amos. “Israel’s Evolving Military” Foreign Affairs, July/ August 2016 Issue,

pp. 43-50.

4. Ya’alon, Moshe. 2016. “Internal Elements of National Resilience.” In Strategic Survey

for Israel 2016-2017, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for

National Security Studies, pp. 235-238.

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Golov, Avner. 2016. “Israeli Deterrence in the 21st Century.” In Arms Control and

Strategic Stability in the Middle East and Europe eds. Emily B. Landau and Anat Kurz.

Memorandum No. 155, Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, pp. 83-97.

Kober, Avi. 2006. “Israel's Wars of Attrition: Operational and Moral Dilemmas,” Israel

Affairs Vol. 12 no. 4, pp. 801-822.

Freilich, Charles. “National Security Decision-Making in Israel: Improving the Process,”

Middle East Journal, (2013) Vol. 67 no. 2, pp. 257-266.

Dror, Yehezkel. 2006. “A Breakout Political–Security Grand-Strategy for Israel,” Israel

Affairs Vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 843-879.

Israeli, Zipi. 2016. “Public Opinion and National Security” In Strategic Survey for Israel

2015-2016, pp. 113-124.

Week 7: Oct. 11th: Israel amid Regional Turmoil:

1. Inbar, Efraim. 2015. “Implications for Israel in a Transformed Middle East.” Middle

East Review of International Affairs Vol. 19 no. 1, pp. 74-78.

2. Susser, Asher. 2014. "Israel's Place in a Changing Regional Order (1948-2013)." Israel

Studies Vol. 9 no.2, pp. 218-238.

3. Danin, Robert M. 2016. “Israel Among the Nations” Foreign Affairs July/August 2016

Issue, pp. 28-36.

4. Tira, Ron. 2015. “Israeli Strategy for What Follows the Sykes-Picot Era.” In Strategic

Assessment Vol. 18 no.1, pp. 57-69.

5. Michael, Kobi and Siboni, Gabi. 2016. “The First Circle of Military Challenges Facing

Israel: Multiple Arenas and Diverse Enemies.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-

2017, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National Security

Studies, pp. 203-213.

6. Sachs, Natan. 2015. “Why Israel Waits: Anti-Solutionism as a Strategy” Foreign

Affairs, November/December 2015 Issue, pp. 74-82.


Siboni, Gadi. 2016. “The First Cognitive War.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017,

eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, pp.

215-223.

Brom, Shlomo. 2016. “Israel and Strategic Stability in the Middle East.” In Arms Control

and Strategic Stability in the Middle East and Europe, pp. 99-114.

Eilam, Ehud. 2015. “Israel in Face of Evolving Security Challenges.” Middle East

Review of International Affairs Vol. 19 no. 2, pp. 8-17.

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Zisser, Eyal. 2006. "Trends in Middle East Politics and their Implications for Israel"

Israel Studies, Vol. 12, no.4, pp. 684-697.

Michael, Kobi. 2016. “The Changing Middle East and the Crumbling Political Order: An

Israeli Perspective.” In Transformations in West Asia: Regional Perspectives ed. Kanchi

Gupta. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., pp. 17-24.

Part II: Case Studies:

Week 8: Oct. 18th: Israel and the Major Powers: the United States and Russia:

Policy memo 1 is due 2 (hard copy) by tomorrow at the beginning of class: Israel amid

Regional Change.

Subject: Israel amid a Regional Change.

Description: In light of the dramatic changes in the Middle East, draft a policy memo which

elaborates on (1) the specific challenges that Israel faces and which you predict will intensify;

and (2) suggest what are some of the steps that Israel needs to take in order to address regional

changes such that its strategic interests are best served.

Guest speaker: Amir Tibon is the Washington correspondent for Haaretz newspaper, where he

covers the U.S.-Israel relationship and the peace process. His articles on these issues have been

published in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs and other leading U.S. publications.

In 2015, he was nominated for a National Magazine Award for an article on the latest round of

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. His first book, a biography of Palestinian president Mahmoud

Abbas, was published in July 2017.

The United States:

1. Malka, Haim, Crossroads: The Future of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership. Center

for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 2011, Ch. 1, pp. 1-18.

2. Eran, Oded and Hatuel-Radoshitzky, Michal. 2016. “Relationship Reset: Israel and the

United States.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp. 195-201.

3. Valensi, Carmit and Dekel, Udi. 2016. “The Current Challenges in the Middle East

Demand a Joint United States-Israel Strategy.” The Institute for National Security Studies

(INSS): Strategic Assessment Vol. 19, no. 1 pp. 25-39.

4. David Makovsky, “Why Trump’s Syrian Cease-fire Makes Israel Nervous,” Politico, 14

July 2017. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/14/why-trumps-syrian-

ceasefire-makes-israel-nervous-215376

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Russia:

1. Trenin, Dmitri. “Putin's Syria Gambit Aims at Something Bigger than Syria,” Moscow:

Carnegie Moscow Center, 13 October 2015 http://carnegie.ru/2015/10/13/putin-s-syria-

gambit-aims-at-something-bigger-than-syria-pub-61611

2. Borshchevskaya, Anna. “Russia in the Middle East,” The Washington Institute for Near

East Policy, March 2011

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF142-Borchevskaya.pdf

pp. 1-19, 43-44.

3. Magen, Zvi. 2016. “Russia: Internal and External Challenges.” In Strategic Survey for

Israel 2016-2017, pp. 63-70.


Dekel, Udi and Magen, Zvi. 2015. “Russian Involvement in Syria: What has Changed,

and the Significance for Israel.” INSS Insight No. 752, October 7, 2015

http://www.inss.org.il/publication/russian-involvement-in-syria-what-has-changed-and-

the-significance-for-israel/

Freedman, Robert. O. 2017. “The erosion of US-Israel relations during Obama’s second

term.” Israel Affairs, 23:2, pp. 253-272.

Eligür, Banu. 2014. “The Arab Spring- implications for US–Israeli Relations.” Israel


Klieman, Aharon. 2015. “The United States and Israel: The Road Ahead.” Israel Journal

of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 9 no. 2, pp. 163-177.

Ross, Dennis. 2015. Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to

Obama. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Ch. 11, pp. 342-392 and Ch. 12, pp. 393-408.

Kramer, Martin. 2016. “Israel and the Post-American Middle East.” Foreign Affairs,

July/ August 2016, pp. 51-56.

Charlie Rose interview with Yonit Levi, one of Israel’s top television presenter and

journalist http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60633227 (September 29, 2015).

Shibley Telhami, “How to (almost) eliminate the partisan divide on the Middle East,”

The Washington Post, 14 December 2015.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/14/how-to-almost-

eliminate-the-partisan-divide-on-the-middle-east/

Loy, Frank, “Obama Abroad: Ambitious Realism.” World Affairs, May/June 2011

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/obama-abroad-ambitious-realism

Jeffery Goldberg, “The Obama Doctrine,” The Atlantic, April 2016 Issue.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/

Michael Doran, “Obama’s Secret Iran Strategy,” Mosaic, 2 February 2016.

http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2015/02/obamas-secret-iran-strategy/

Lynch, Marc. 2015. “Obama and the Middle East.” Foreign Affairs September/ October

2015, pp. 18-27.

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Satloff, Robert and Freeman, Chas. “Israel: Asset or Liability? A Debate on the Value of

the U.S.-Israel Relationship,” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, March 2011

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/IsraelAssetorLiability.pdf.p

df

Parker, Thomas. 2014. “Is America a Declining Power?” Israel Journal of Foreign

Affairs, Vol. 8 no. 2, pp. 37-44.

Simon, Steven and Stevenson Jonathan. 2015. “The End of Pax Americana.” Foreign

Affairs November/ December 2015, pp. 2-10.

Steven David R. 2006. “American Foreign Policy towards the Middle East: A Necessary

Change?” Israel Affairs Vol. 12 no. 4, pp. 614-641.

Freeman, Chas W. et al. 2013. “U.S. Grand Strategy in the Middle East: Is There One?”

Middle East Policy, Vol. 20 no. 1, pp. 1-29.

Gause, Gregory and Lustick, Ian. 2012. “America and the Regional Powers in a

Transforming Middle East.” Middle East Policy, Vol. 19 no. 2, pp. 1-9.

Juneau, Thomas. 2014. “U.S. Power in the Middle East: Not Declining.” Middle East

Policy, Vol. 21 no. 2, pp. 40-52.

Kivimäki, Timo. 2012. “U.S. Power in the Middle East: Not Declining.” Middle East

Policy, Vol. 19 no. 1, pp. 64-71.

Pollack, Kenneth et al. 2013. “U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future of the Middle East.”

Middle East Policy, Vol. 21 no. 3, pp. 1-30.

Ross, Dennis B. and Jeffrey, James F. “Obama II and the Middle East,” The Washington

Institute for Near East Policy, March 2013.

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/StrategicReport12.pdf

Klieman, Aharon. 2013. “A Pivotal Moment: The US Approach to World Affairs in the

Second Obama Presidency.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs Vol. 7 no. 1, pp. 27-35.

Jeffrey, James F. and Eisenstaedt, Michael “U.S. Military Engagement in the Broader

Middle East,” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, April 2016

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus143_JeffreyEis

en-4.pdf

Week 9: Oct. 25th: Israel and the Palestinians:

1. Brom, Shlomo et al. 2016. “Israel and the Palestinians: Ongoing Crisis and Widening

Stagnation.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp. 151-160.

2. Rumley, Grant and Tibon, Amir. 2015. “The Death and Life of the Two-State Solution.”

Foreign Affairs July/ August 2015, pp. 78-87.

3. Yaalon, Moshe. 2017. “How to Build Middle East Peace: Why Bottom-Up Is Better Than

Top-Down.” Foreign Affairs January/ February 2017, pp. 73-84.

4. Orion, Assaf and Dekel, Udi. 2016. “Israel and the Palestinians: Conditioning a Capacity

Building for Future Arrangements.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp. 161-

174.

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5. Ezbidi, Basem. 2013. “’Arab Spring’: Weather Forecast for Palestine.” Middle East

Policy Vol. 20 no. 3, pp. 99-110.

6. Moran Stern, “The Unlikeliest Peace: Why Israel and Hamas Have (mostly) Stopped

Fighting,” The Atlantic Online, 3 July 2012.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/the-unlikeliest-peace-why-

israel-and-hamas-have-mostly-stopped-fighting/259373/


Brom, Shlomo, Anat Kurz, and Udi Dekel. 2015. “Failed Negotiations and a Military

Confrontation” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2014-2015, eds. Shlomo Brom and Anat

Kurz. Tel-Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, pp. 17-45.

Inbar, Efraim. 2015. “Did Israel Weaken Hamas?” Middle East Quarterly Spring 2015,

pp. 1-11.

Michael, Kobi. 2016. “The Eruption of Violence in the Palestinian Arena: A Transition

from a National Conflict to a Religious Conflict?” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2015-

2016, pp. 73-77.

Milton-Edwards, Beverly. 2013. “Hamas and the Arab Spring: Strategic Shifts?” Middle


Kurz, Anat and Sher, Gilead. 2016. “Breaking the Two-State Paradigm?” In Strategic


Byman, Daniel, A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, Chs. 1-13.

Shlaim, Avi. 2014. “Israel, Palestine, and the Arab Uprising.” In The New Middle East,

pp. 273-284.

Nisan, Mordechai. 2014. “The Two-State Delusion.” Middle East Quarterly Winter 2014,

pp. 1-12.

Cohen, Lloyd. 2010. “The Missing Currency of Israeli/Palestinian Negotiations.” Israel


Milton-Edwards, Beverley and Farrell, Stephen, Hamas: The Islamic Resistance

Movement. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010.

Shaul Mishal and Avraham Sela, The Palestinian Hamas. New York: Columbia

University Press, 2000

Even, Shmuel. 2015. “’The Decision that Changed History’: Ten Years since the

Disengagement from the Gaza Strip.” The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS):

Strategic Assessment Vol. 18, no. 2 pp. 73-87.

Tuastad, Dag. 2013. “Hamas-PLO Relations Before and After the Arab Spring.” Middle


Siboni, Gabi and A.G. 2015. “Will Hamas be Better Prepared during its Next

Confrontation With Israel?” The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS): Military

and Strategic Affairs Vol. 7, no. 2 pp. 73-102.

International Crisis Group. “No Exit? Gaza & Israel Between Wars” Middle East Report

no. 162 26 August 2015

http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Israel%2

0Palestine/162-no-exit-gaza-and-israel-between-wars.pdf

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Ya’ari, Ehud. “Hamas Searches for a New Strategy” The Washington Institute for Near

East Policy, October 2014

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/PolicyNote19_Yaari4.pdf

Ya’ari, Ehud. “Hamas in Crisis: Isolation and Internal Strife” The Washington Institute

for Near East Policy, 30 July 2013 http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-

analysis/view/hamas-in-crisis-isolation-and-internal-strife

Kirchofer, Charles P. 2015. “Israel and Hamas: Stabilizing Deterrence” Israel Journal of

Foreign Affairs Vol. 9 no. 3 pp. 405-415.

Al-Omari, Ghaith. . “Palestinian Succession” The Washington Institute for Near East

Policy, October 2015

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote28-alOmari-

2.pdf

Byman, Daniel and Goldstein, Gad “The Challenge of Gaza: Policy Options and Broader

Implications” The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, July 2011

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/7/gaza-borders-

byman/07_gaza_borders_byman.pdf

Brown, Nathan J. and Nerenberg, Daniel. “Palestine in Flux” Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace, January 2016

http://carnegieendowment.org/files/CEIP_CP264_Brown-Nerenberg_Final.pdf

Pollock, David. “Mixed Messages - Abbas and Palestinians on Israel, 2014-16,” The

Washington Institute for Near East Policy, April 2016

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyFocus144_Pollock-

12.pdf

Berti, Benedetta. 2015. “Non-State Actors as Providers of Governance: The Hamas

Government in Gaza between Effective Sovereignty, Centralized Authority, and

Resistance.” The Middle East Journal Vol. 69 no. 1, pp. 9-31.

Shamir, Eitan. 2015. “Rethinking Operation Protective Edge” Middle East Quarterly

Spring 2015, pp. 1-12.

Week 10: Nov. 1st: Israel and its Arab Allies: Egypt & Jordan:

Egypt:

1. Kam, Ephraim. 2016. “Egypt: The Struggles of the Sisi Regime.” In Strategic Survey for

Israel 2016-2017, pp. 119-129.

2. Stern, Moran. “The Reality of Israel-Egypt Relations.” Atlantic Council - MENASource,

28 October 2016 http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/the-reality-of-israel-

egypt-relations

3. Herman, Lyndall. 2016. “Sisi the Sinai and Salafi: Instability in a Power Vacuum.”

Middle East Policy Vol. 23 no. 2, pp. 95-107.

15

Jordan:

1. Ryan, Curtis R. 2014. “Jordanian Foreign Policy and the Arab Spring.” Middle East

Policy Vol. 21 no. 1, pp. 144-153.

2. Oded Eran. 2012. "The End of Jordan as We Know It?” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs,

Vol. 6 no. 3, pp. 15-20.

3. Amidror, Yaakov and Lerman, Eran. 2015. “Jordanian Security and Prosperity: An

Essential Aspect of Israeli Policy” BESA Center Perspective Papers No. 323, 27

December 2015 http://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/9583/


Egypt:

Winter, Ofir. 2015. “El-Sisi’s First Year as President: Legitimacy, Democracy, and

Relations with Israel.” The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS): Strategic

Assessment Vol. 18 no. 2, pp. 9-20.

Mason, Robert. 2016. “Egypt’s Future: Status Quo, Incremental Growth or Regional

Leadership?” Middle East Policy, Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 76-94.

Yaari, Ehud. “Sinai: A New Front.” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy,

January 2012

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PoilicyNote09.pdf

Ronen, Yehudit. 2014. “The Effects of the ‘Arab Spring’ on Israel's Geostrategic and

Security Environment: the Escalating Jihadist Terror in the Sinai Peninsula” Israel

Affairs Vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 302-317.

Podeh, Eli. "Normal Relations without Normalization: The Evolution of Egyptian-Israeli

Relations, 1979-2006 – the Politics of Cold Peace." In Edwin Corr, Joseph Ginat and

Shaul Gabbay, (eds.), The Search for Israeli-Arab Peace: Learning from the Past and

Building Trust. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2007, pp. 107-129.

Al-Anani, Khalil. 2015. “Upended Path: The Rise and Fall of Egypt’s Muslim

Brotherhood” The Middle East Journal Vol. 69 no. 4, pp. 527-543.

Yaari, Ehud. “Deterioration in the Sinai” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy,

11 July 2013 http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/deterioration-in-

the-sinai

Yaari, Ehud. “Hamas and the Islamic State: Growing Cooperation in the Sinai” The

Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 15 December 2015

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/hamas-and-the-islamic-state-

growing-cooperation-in-the-sinai

Michael Sharnoff, " Post-Mubarak Egyptian Attitudes Toward Israel", Foreign Policy

Research Institute, October 2011 http://www.fpri.org/article/2011/10/post-mubarak-

egyptian-attitudes-toward-israel/

Newman, Terry. 2015. “Egyptian Foreign Policy from Mubarak to Morsi: Against the

National Interest” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 103-106.

16

Gold, Zack. 2016. “Wilayat Sinai: The Islamic State’s Egyptian Affiliate.” In The Islamic

State:

How Viable Is It? eds. Yoram Schweitzer and Omer Einav, pp. 197-202.

Bowker, Robert. 2013. “Egypt: Diplomacy and the Politics of Change” The Middle East

Journal Vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 581-591.

Nathan J. Brown. 2013. "Evolution after Revolution: Egypt, Israel, and the U.S., Israel

Journal of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 7 no. 1, pp. 9-12.

Jordan:

Köprülü, Nur. 2014. “Jordan since the Uprisings: Between Change and Stability.” Middle


Russell E. Lucas. 2004. "Jordan: The Death of Normalization with Israel." The Middle

East Journal, Vol. 58 no. 1, pp. 93-111.

Susser, Asher. 2016. “Jordan and the Islamic State Challenge.” In The Islamic State: How

Viable Is It?, pp. 147-153

Allison Astorino-Courtois 1996. "Transforming International Agreements into National

Realities: Marketing Arab-Israeli Peace in Jordan", The Journal of Politics, Vol. 58 No.

4, pp. 1035-1054

Week 11: Nov. 8th: Israel and the Challenge of Militant Nonstate Actors: Hezbollah and

Islamic-Jihadi Salafi Militancy:

Theoretical background to nonstate actors:

1. Berti, Benedetta. 2016. "What's in a name? Re-conceptualizing non-state armed groups in

the Middle East." Palgrave Communications, pp. 1-8.

2. Szekely, Ora. 2016. “Proto-State realignment and the Arab Spring.” Middle East Policy

Vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 75-91.

Hezbollah:

1. Daniel Sobelman. “Deterrence Has Kept Hezbollah and Israel at Bay for 10 Years,” The

National Interest, 14 July 2016. http://nationalinterest.org/feature/deterrence-has-kept-

hezbollah-israel-bay-10-years-16970

2. Nadav Pollak, “Israel’s Forthcoming Security Dilemma,” War on Rocks, 7 July 2017.

https://warontherocks.com/2017/07/israels-forthcoming-security-dilemma/

3. Orion, Assaf and Dekel, Udi. 2017. “The Next War against Hezbollah: Strategic and

Operational Considerations.” In The Quiet Decade: In the Aftermath of the Second

Lebanon War, 2006-2016, eds. Udi Dekel, Gabi Siboni and Omer Einav. Tel-Aviv:

Institute for National Security Studies, pp. 131-142.

17

Islamic-Jihadi Salafi militancy:

1. Hashim, Ahmed S. 2014. "The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda Affiliate to Caliphate."

Middle East Policy Vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 69-83.

2. Byman, Dan. “The Six Faces of the Islamic State.” Brookings, 21 December 2015

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2015/12/21/the-six-faces-of-the-islamic-state/

4. Brom, Shlomo and Schweitzer, Yoram. 2016. “Israel and the Salafi Jihadist Threat.” In

Strategic Survey for Israel 2015-2016, pp. 17-27.

5. Stern, Moran. “How Syria is Changing Israel's Position in the Middle East.” Atlantic

Council - MENASource, 13 September 2016

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/how-syria-is-changing-israel-s-position-

in-the-middle-east


Valensi, Carmit. 2015. “Non-State Actors: A Theoretical Limitation in a Changing

Middle East” The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS): Military and Strategic

Affairs Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 59-78.

Dekel, Udi. 2016. "The Crisis in Syria: Learning to Live with It." In Strategic Survey for

Israel 2016-2017, pp. 101-118.

Mohammed Nuruzzaman. “The Islamic State is on its knees, but its legacy will long

haunt the Middle East,” The Conversation, 17 July 2017. http://theconversation.com/the-

islamic-state-is-on-its-knees-but-its-legacy-will-long-haunt-the-middle-east-

80939?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitterbutton

Sobelman, Daniel. 2017. “Learning to Deter.” International Security, 41:3, pp. 151-196.

Brom 2016. “Israel and the Islamic State.” In The Islamic State: How Viable Is It? eds.

Yoram Schweitzer and Omer Einav, pp. 187-193.

Erlich, Reuven. 2017. “The Road to the Second Lebanon War, 2000-2006: Strategic

Changes in Lebanon, the Middle East, and the International Theater.” In The Quiet

Decade, pp. 13-23.

Dekel, Udi. 2017. "The Second Lebanon War: The Limits of Strategic Thinking." In The

Quiet Decade, pp. 27-37.

Kakout, Hussein. 2015. “The Dynamics of Hezbollah-Israel Mutual Deterrence and

Reshaping the Rules of the Game.” In Tipping the Balance? Implications of the Iran

Nuclear Deal on Israeli Security ed. Payam Mohseni, Cambridge: Belfer Center for

Science and International Affairs - The Harvard Kennedy School, pp. 9-21.

Al-Tamimi, Aymenn J. 2016. “The Jihadi Threat on Israel’s Northern Border.” Middle

East Review of International Affairs Vol. 20 no. 1, pp. 22-34.

Byman, Daniel, A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, Chs. 14-17.

Blanford, Nicholas, Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year Struggle Against

Israel. New York: Random House, 2011.

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Hamzeh, Ahmed Nizar. In the Path of Hizbullah. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse

University Press, 2004

Bar, Shmuel. 2007. “Deterring Nonstate Terrorist Groups: The Case of Hezbollah.”

Comparative Strategy 26 Vol. 26 no. 5, pp. 469-493.

White, Jefferey. “A War Like No Other: Israel vs. Hezbollah in 2015” The Washington

Institute for Near East Policy, 29 January 2015

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/a-war-like-no-other-israel-vs.-

hezbollah-in-2015

Szekely, Ora. 2016. “Proto-State Realignment and the Arab Spring.” Middle East Policy

Vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 75-91.

Hashim, Ahmed S. 2014. “The Islamic State: From al-Qaeda Affiliate to Caliphate.”

Middle East Policy Vol. 21 no. 4, pp. 69-83.

Schweitzer, Yoram and Einav, Omer (eds.), 2016. The Islamic State: How Viable Is It?

Tel Aviv: The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

Walt, Stephan M. 2015. “ISIS as a Revolutionary State.” Foreign Affairs November/

December 2015, pp. 42-51

Pollak, Nadav and Levitt, Mathew. “Hezbollah's Biggest Loss to Date in Syria” The

Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 13 May 2016

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/hezbollahs-biggest-loss-to-date-

in-syria

Berti, Benedetta. “The Syrian Civil War and its Consequences for Hezbollah” Foreign

Policy Research Institute, December 2015 http://www.fpri.org/article/2015/12/the-syrian-

civil-war-and-its-consequences-for-hezbollah/

Berti, Benedetta 2012. “Hizbullah, Hamas, and the “Arab Spring”—Weathering the

Regional Storm?” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Vol. 6 no. 3, pp. 21-29.

Graeme Wood, “What ISIS Really Wants,” The Atlantic Online, March 2015 Issue.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

Week 12: Nov. 15th: The Iranian Issue:

1. Kam, Efraim. 2016. “The Nuclear Agreement and Iran’s Ambitions for Regional

Hegemony.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2015-2016, pp. 67-72.

2. Kam, Ephraim and Sima Shine. 2016. "Iran after the Nuclear Agreement." In Strategic

Survey for Israel 2016- 2017, pp. 33-46.

3. Mohseni, Payam (ed.), Tipping the Balance? Implications of the Iran Nuclear Deal on

Israeli Security, Cambridge: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - The

Harvard Kennedy School, 2015, pp. 45-56; 61-102.


Amuzegar, Jahangir. 2012. “The Islamic Republic of Iran: Facts and Fiction.” Middle


Legrenzi, Matteo Lawson, Fred H. 2014. “Iran and Its Neighbors since 2003: New

Dilemmas.” Middle East Policy Vol. 21 no. 4, pp. 105-111.

19

Brom, Shlomo and Kurz, Anat (eds.), Strategic Survey for Israel 2014-2015, Tel-Aviv:

Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) 2015, pp. 59-87.

Küntzel, Matthias. 2013. “America's Shifting “Red Lines” on Iran's Nuclear Ambitions:

A Wedge Issue in US—Israeli Relations.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs Vol. 7 no. 1,

pp. 37-44.

Gold, Dore 2015. “The Iranian Nuclear Program and Regional Stability.” Middle East

Review of International Affairs Vol. 19 no. 1, pp. 59-62.

Week 13: Nov. 22nd: Thanksgiving Recess – No class

Week 14: Nov. 29th: Israel and Turkey:

1. Kuru, Ahmet T. 2015. "Turkey's Failed Policy toward the Arab Spring: Three Levels of

Analysis." Mediterranean Quarterly 26:3, pp. 94-116.

2. Kushner, Kushner. 2016. “Turkish–Israeli Relations in Historical Perspective.” Israel

Journal of Foreign Affairs, 10:2, pp. 213-222.

3. Stern, Moran and Ross, Dennis. 2013. “The Role of Syria in Israeli-Turkish Relations”,

Georgetown Journal of International Affairs Summer/Fall 2013, pp. 115-128.

4. Moran Stern, “Turkish Israeli Reconciliation has Potential to Benefit both Sides,” The

Jerusalem Post, 5 July 2016. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Turkish-Israeli-

reconciliation-has-potential-to-benefit-both-sides-459485


Arbell, Dan. “The U.S.-Turkey-Israel Triangle,” The Brookings Institute, Analysis Paper

no. 34, October 2014

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/10/09-turkey-us-israel-

arbell/usturkeyisrael-trianglefinal.pdf

Gunter, Michael M. 2016. “Erdoğan and the Decline of Turkey.” Middle East Policy,

Vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 123–135.

Pelin Telseren Kadercan and Burak Kadercan. 2016. “The Turkish Military as a Political

Actor: Its Rise and Fall.” Middle East Policy, Vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 84–99.

Salt, Jeremy. 2016. “Erdogan’s ‘New Turkey’ Slides into Turmoil.” Middle East Policy,

Vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 119-131.

Cenap Çakmak & Murat Ustaoğlu. 2017. “Politics vs. trade: a Realist view on

Turkish‒Israeli economic relations.” Israel Affairs, 23:2, pp. 303-323.

Ozkan, Behlül. 2014. “Turkey, Davutoglu and the Idea of Pan-Islamism.” Survival Vol.

56 no. 4, pp. 119-140.

Fidan, Hakan. 2013. “A Work in Progress: The New Turkish Foreign Policy.” Middle


Tur, Ozlem. 2012. “Turkey and Israel in the 2000s—: From Cooperation to Conflict.”

Israel Studies Vol. 17 no. 3, pp. 45-66.

Malley et al. 2012. “Israel, Turkey and Iran in the Changing Arab World.” Middle East


https://muse-jhu-edu.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/article/483256

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Kanat, Kilic Bugra. 2013. “Turkish-Israeli Reset: Business As Usual?” Middle East

Policy Vol. 20 no. 2, pp. 113-121.

Uzer, Umut. 2013. “Turkish-Israeli Relations: Their Rise and Fall.” Middle East Policy

Vol. 20 no. 1, pp. 97-110.

Herzog, Michael and Cagaptay, Soner. “Israel and Turkey Approaching Reconciliation

Amid Policy Challenges” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 19 April 2016

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/israel-and-turkey-approaching-

reconciliation-amid-policy-challenges

Part III: Broader Challenges and Opportunities Facing Israel:

Week 15: December 6th: Opportunities/ Broader Challenges Facing Israel:

Policy memo 2 (hard copy) is due at the beginning of class: choose one of the case studies

Israel and Other Regional Actors amid a Transforming Region.

Description: In light of the dramatic changes in the Middle East, draft a policy memo that

proposes ways in which Israel should (if necessary, in your view) revise its policies towards

(choose one): the Palestinian issue; Egypt; Jordan; Hezbollah; Islamic Jihadi-Salafi groups; Iran;

Turkey - such that its strategic interests are best served.

1. Winter, Ofir. 2016. “Arab Approaches to the Political Process and Normalization with

Israel.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp. 175-183.

2. Yadlin, Amos. 2016. “Israel 2016-2017 Situation Assessment: Challenges and

Responses.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp. 241-261.

3. Alpher, Yossi. 2015. Periphery. Ch. 13, pp. 105-123.

4. Siboni, Gabi. “The First Cognitive War.” In Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017, pp.

215-223.

5. Elran, Meir et al. 2016. “The Internal Arena and National Security.” In Strategic Survey

for Israel 2015-2016, pp. 103-112.


Eilam, Ehud. 2016. “The Struggle against Hezbollah and Hamas: Israel's Next

Hybrid War.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, 10:2, pp. 247-255.

Baram, Gil 2017. “Israeli Defense in the Age of Cyber War.” Middle East Quarterly,

24:1, pp. 1-10.

Jones, Clive and Milton Edwards, Beverly. 2013. "Missing the 'devils' We Knew? Israel

and Political Islam and the Arab Awakening." International Affairs, Vol. 89 no. 2, pp.

394-415.

David, Steven R. 2016. “How do states die: lessons for Israel.” Israel Affairs, 22:2, pp.

270-290.

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Yadlin, Amos. 2016. “Five Years Back and Five Years Forward: Israel’s Strategic

Environment in 2011-2015 and Policy Recommendations for 2016-2020.” In Strategic


Guzansky, Yoel. 2014. “Israel and the Arab Gulf States: From Tacit Cooperation to

Reconciliation?” Israel Affairs Vol. 21 no. 1, pp. 131-147.

Goren, Nimrod and Yudkevich, Jenia (eds.), Israel and the Arab Spring: Opportunities in

Change. Ramat-Gan, Israel: Mitvim - The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies

and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation (FES), 2013.

Podeh, Elie. 2014. “Israel and the Arab Peace Initiative, 2002-2014: A Plausible Missed

Opportunity.” The Middle East Journal Vol 68 no. 4, pp. 584-603.

Eli Podeh, “Saudi Arabia: Lynchpin of the Moderate Axis in the Middle East,” The

Jerusalem Post, 13 April 2016. http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Saudi-Arabia-Lynchpin-

of-the-moderate-axis-in-the-Middle-East-451179

Eran, Oded. “Active Israeli Policy in the Mediterranean Basin” The Institute for National

Security Studies, 6 December 2015

http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=11045

Bengio, Ofra. 2014. “Surprising Ties between Israel and the Kurds.” Middle East

Quarterly Summer 2014, pp. 1-12.

Tsafrir, Eliezer. 2015. “Rediscovering the Kurds.” Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs Vol.

9 no. 3, pp. 453-458.

Mao’z, Moshe. 2015. “A National or Religious Conflict? The Dispute over the Temple

Mount/Al-Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem.” Palestine-Israel Journal, pp. 25-32.

Inbar, Efraim. 2014. “Israel’s Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean.” Middle East

Quarterly Summer 2014, pp. 1-12.

December 13th:

Policy memo 3 is due by 5pm via email: Broader Challenges and (potential) Opportunities

for Israel

Subject: Opportunities/ Broader Challenges Facing Israel

Description: In light of the dramatic changes in the Middle East, draft a policy memo which

elaborates on (1) a specific challenge (choose one) that Israel faces and which you predict will

intensify; and (2) what regional opportunities, created by the current reality, can Israel build on

in order to address that challenge such that its interests/ regional position is best served.