Program Overview

Lands that were once part of the Ottoman Empire form an arc around the eastern Mediterranean, a crescent that has gained notoriety in recent decades as a region of striking instability. Yugoslavia suffered bloody breakup in the 1990s, and Bosnia remains a centre of unresolved tensions; Iraq and more recently Syria have collapsed into battlegrounds for internal factions and external forces; and Turkey’s penchant for military coups, authoritarian government and repression of Kurds suggest that its stability is only relative to the turmoil of nearby countries.

External commentary often presents tensions across this crescent as legacies of the Ottoman Empire and its violent end, and in our Crescent of Crisis short course we will delve into the question of Ottoman and post-Ottoman origins of contemporary problems. We will examine:

The course encourages debate about Ottoman decline, Ottoman legacies to post-Ottoman states, the dynamics of nation-building, and the roles of history and nostalgia in contemporary public affairs. It will also challenge you to think comparatively about historical developments across distinct geographic regions and chronological periods.

It is ideal if you have a personal or professional interest in the Middle East, southeastern Europe, contemporary politics, empires and nationalism.

This short course is assessed via a 5000-word essay and 60% attendance requirement.

30 credits at level 7