Read Instructions Carefully

Answer 3 questions: one from part A, one from part B and one from part C.

Each question should serve as a short and self-contained essay.  That means it needs a clear thesis statement, well-chosen supporting evidence, and a coherent, logical, and adequately defended position. Your answers should be at 800-1000 words. Be sure to cite sources used. Your answers should be clearly structured and begin with a thesis statement.

Please submit your answers through the link provided on blackboard. Exam is due by midnight Thursday December 14. No Late exams will be accepted.

Part A: Answer one of the following questions.

1. Outline how the failure of 20th century secular political ideologies has contributed to the emergence of radical Islamic ones across the region? Discuss with reference to Islamic and secular political ideologies in the Arab world
2. What are the requirements and prospects of democratisation in the contemporary Arab world? Discuss with comparative reference to different political systems in the region.

Part B: Answer one of the following questions .

1. Outline and discuss the causes for the failure of the Oslo Peace accords and how they contributed to the second uprising or “Intifada” in the year 2000.
2. It has been argued that the “original sin” which ignited today’s conflicts/civil wars in Iraq and Syria leading to the rise of radical organization like ISIS was the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Discuss this statement with specific reference to how the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003 ultimately led to the rise of Iranian hegemony in the region and the nature of the Sunni response to the perceived Shiite threat as manifested in the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts.
3. The Middle East has been shaken to its core by what has been called the Arab Spring. Outline the events that that led to the collapse of three North African dictatorships: Tunis, Egypt and Libya and ignited civil wars in Syria and Iraq.

Part C: Answer the following question.

1. Write an essay reflecting on what you think you have learnt from this course about the ongoing conflicts and instability in the Middle East (Arab Israeli conflict, the Arab Spring phenomenon and civil war in Syria and Iraq as examples). Then reflect on the potential challenges facing the Trump presidency regarding the region. Try to support your essay by incorporating information, material, ideas and thoughts that were raised both in the lectures and class discussions including reference to different political systems in the region, the legacy of colonialism and the impact of US foreign policy.