module
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ARA3163: Politics and Reform in the Gulf
This module descriptor refers to the 2023/4 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, the syllabus will cover all of the following topics:
- Pre-oil socio-political characteristics and dynamics of the Gulf states
- The politics of oil and rent in the Gulf; historical review of political reform trends in the Gulf
- Politics and reform in Saudi Arabia Politics and reform in Kuwait
- Politics and reform in Bahrain Politics and reform in Oman
- Politics and reform in Qatar
- Politics and reform in the UAE
- Politics and reform in Iran
- Politics and reform in Yemen
- Towards democratisation or liberalised autocracy?
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 13 | Lectures and convenor-facilitated discussions regarding materials covered in lecture |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 9 | Group presentations and class discussion regarding presentations |
| Guided Independent Study | 33 | Reading for class; |
| Guided Independent Study | 95 | Preparing for assignments through researching, planning and writing an essay. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
- Gulf States Newsletter (GSN) and the Economist Intelligence Unit’s reports on the Gulf states, electronically;
- The International Crisis Group’s reports at www.crisisgroup.org;
- Human Rights Watch (Middle East) produces good reports on the Gulf states: http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-east/n-africa
- Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) (weekly)