1. Between the years 1915 and 1922 Great Britain embarked upon a series of conflicting initiatives and agreements that shaped the landscape of the Middle East and simultaneously became fertile grounds for intense and protracted conflicts. Identify and very briefly explain the factors underlying Great Britain's behavior. List and explain these agreements, examine their impact on the nature and scope of Middle Eastern state boundaries, and analyze the extent to which these agreements have advanced or impeded the processes of state formation and nation building in the Middle East.
2. Compare and contrast Iran's and Israel's multifaceted political systems: Identify the nature of the regime, explain the challenges that it faces, and analyze its impact on their domestic, regional, and foreign policy.
3. From the chapter by Roger Owen, identify the underlying components of the colonial state and explain their impact on the formation of the modern state in the Middle East: how it shaped the exercise of power and defined the political arena in the Middle Eastern countries created and dominated by the European powers.