The Arab Spring: Shifts in the Arab World & US Response

In the last year, we witnessed unprecedented political unrest in Iran and the Arab world, in some cases toppling regimes that had been in power for over 20 years. This cataclysm is taking place when the United States is more involved in the region than at any time in our history. To better understand what is happening today, the first four sessions of this course will look at the external and internal dynamics of the Arab World and Iran from World War I to the present. The last two sessions will focus on U. S. foreign policy and the factors that have led to our increasing involvement in the Middle East.

This series on the Arab spring is part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt University.