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This module introduces the Middle East/South West Asia through a political-economy and racial capitalism lens, focusing not only on flows of natural resources (oil and gas) but also on circulations of goods, capital, and labour. The region has experienced tremendous growth in oil-rich states and limited and uneven development and industrialization in resource-poor states accompanied by political instability and authoritarian rule. This module will discuss how did this under-development emerge and where does the Middle East fit in our contemporary conceptions of racial capitalism and political economy.

The course will look beyond capitalism and Eurocentric conceptual frameworks to see how the Middle East offers alternative ideas of economic sovereignty, welfare, resource governance, and development. The Middle East is often thought of as ‘exceptional’ – framed largely around conflict, oil and migration. The regions political economy is much more nuanced and should be better understood, both in terms of the influence and role the Middle East plays in global economies beyond oil, and in the way economies within the Middle East are differentiated in terms of priorities, production and income.

The module will cover both domestic and international influences on the region’s postcolonial political and economic experience . These factors will include topics such as rentierism, gulf futurism and post-oil futures, ecological degradation, Islam and capitalism. You will be encouraged to draw upon this knowledge to consider the broader academic and policy implications for contemporary issues relating to the region that you hear about on the news almost every day.