The Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) InfoGuide on The Taliban examines the two Talibans, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the consequences for the region. CFR InfoGuides are a multimedia series to promote understanding of complex foreign policy issues.

This course examines the causes of war, with a focus on practical measures to prevent and control war. Topics include causes and consequences of misperception by nations; military strategy and policy as cause of war; religion and war; U.S. foreign policy as a cause of war and peace; and the likelihood and possible nature of great wars in the future.
The historical cases covered include World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Seven Years’ War, the Arab-Israel conflict, other recent Mideast wars, and the Peloponnesian War.

This course surveys both classic and cutting-edge work on the politics of the Middle East, broadly defined. Topics include the causes and consequences of political and economic development, authoritarianism and democratization, the influence of social movements, the role of women in Middle Eastern politics, regional inter-state relations, Islamism, terrorism, colonialism and foreign occupation, state-building, resistance and rebellion, and the Arab uprisings.

This is a collection of downloadable video clips on the theme of Conflict, with guiding questions for students. Clips are drawn from the following PBS WIDE ANGLE documentaries: "Greetings from Grozny" (2002), "Ladies First" (2004), "Suicide Bombers" (2004).

The Middle East’s geographical and strategic uniqueness has made every great power in history to seek to advance its interests in the region. Yet, the region constitutes the greatest single reserve of oil in the world, which has made it a regular source of foreign interference in the post-World War II era. In addition to its geographical and strategic uniqueness, the Middle East is the birthplace and spiritual center of the world’s three most important monotheistic religions. Due to its geopolitical importance, any inter- and intra-state conflict in the Middle East has the potential not only for destabilizing the region as a whole or upsetting the regional balance of power but also affecting global stability. After employing the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) in order to define and delimit the region of the Middle East, the chapters of this book address the question of regional order, examine how regionalism and globalism feature in Middle Eastern integration processes, explore regional bids for hegemony, and investigate the approaches and policies of major international actors.

Students will be able to identify and explain the current crisis in Syria. Students will also be able to evaluate the situation in Syria and formulate their opinion on the topic, citing evidence from the materials provided.

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Iranian journalist and human rights activist Akbar Ganji for a discussion of the dynamics of change in Iran. Topics covered include the Iranian Revolution in comparative context, the problem of establishing democracy in Islamic societies, power in Iran, and U.S. Iranian Relations. Ganji also talks about his work as an investigative journalist in Iran and his political imprisonment. (59 min)

Conversations with History and Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Russian scholar and policy analyst, Vitaly Naumkin, who reflects on Islam, Russian perspectives on the Middle East and Central Asia, and the implications of U.S. policy. (58 min))

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Israeli journalist Tom Segev for a discussion of his new book, 1967: Israel, the War and the Year that Transformed the Middle East. Topics included in the discussion are changes in Israeli society before the 1967 war, the events leading to war, Israeli decision making during and after the war, the interplay between personality and politics, the consequences of the war for Israel and the role of U.S. foreign policy during the crisis. (59 minutes)

Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes Daniel Pipes, Director of the Middle East Forum, for a discussion militant Islam, the impact of 9/11, and the factors shaping the debate on the U.S. role in the Middle East. (44 min)

In this 1988 interview, diplomat Samuel Lewis joins host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of conflict resolution in the Middle East. (56 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Israeli political scientist and peace activist Galia Golan for a discussion of the peace movement in Israel. She reflects on the Israeli domestic situation, compares Israeli occupation policies to South Africa's apartheid, and analyzes Israel"s geopolitical constraints. She also compares the stability of superpower conflict in the Middle East during the Cold War with today's regional geopolitical situation, especially Israel's conflict with Iran. (58 min)

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes Historian Juan Cole for a discussion of U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East. He also explores the importance of religion in understanding events in Iran and Iraq and he addresses the impact of the communications revolution on his own work as a scholar involved in the policy debate. (59 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes General John Abizaid for a discussion of the role of the military in the 21st century. Drawing on his experience as commander of the U.S. Central Command, he discusses the problems confronting the next President in the Middle East. He analyzes the lessons of the Iraq War and reflects on issues such as intelligence, the Geneva Conventions, and the role of military contractors. (53 minutes)

In this 1986 interview, Ambassador Alfred L. Atherton, a leading figure in the search for peace in the Middle East, joins U.C. Berkeley's Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the role of diplomacy in securing a stable Middle East. (30 min)

International Relations specialist Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, analyzes U.S. national interest in the Middle East and talks about his new book, The Stakes, America and the Middle East. (58 min)

On this edition of Conversations with History, host Harry Kreisler welcomes Shibley Telhami, the Anwar Sadat Chair for peace and Development at the University of Maryland, for an intriguing dialogue on the search for peace in the Middle East. (59 min)

Host Harry Kreisler welcomes historian and novelist Michael Oren for a discussion of the search for truth in his historical studies and in his novels. He reflects on the skills and temperament required to do history and fiction focusing on his study of the six day war in the Middle East and his novel Reunion. (54 min)

This seminar considers “difference” and “sameness” as they have been conceived, experienced, and regulated by peoples of the Middle East, with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. The first half discusses the Ottoman Empire by exploring how this multiethnic, polyglot empire survived for several relatively peaceful centuries and what happened when its formula for existence was challenged by politics based on mono-ethnic states. The second half of the course focuses on post-Ottoman nation-states, such as Turkey and Egypt, and Western-mandated Arab states, such as Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. Finally, the course concludes with a case analysis of Israel.

This website was produced by students in the Kevorkian Center's MA proseminar "Problems and Methods in Middle Eastern Studies" and includes extensions from the Center's 2020-2021 Virtual Series "Digital Forays in Middle Eastern Studies" that explored new avenues of research, teaching, and life in a digital age as it pertains to Middle Eastern Studies. Students created extended reflections, gathered primary and secondary readings, and completed field assignments related to each of the events in the series and published them here alongside the embedded videos from each of the events in the series.