ILRGL 4337 - Labor and Employment in the Middle East and North Africa

(crosslisted) NES 4337
(HA-AG)

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Co-meets with ILRGL 6337/NES 6337.

D. Bishara.

This course introduces students to the history, evolution and trajectory of state-labor relations, labor activism, and the politics of unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As the region with the highest concentration of non-democratic regimes in the world, the MENA provides a rich context for examining state efforts to control interest representation, and workers’ struggles for freedom of association. In addition, the region features diverse political economic systems, making it ideal for examining the interaction between resource endowments and labor market dynamics. Finally, the region is ripe for the study of youth activism and the mobilization of the unemployed given that youth unemployment rates are higher in the MENA than any other world region.