Two complementary views of peacemaking: The Palestinian-Israeli case

Middle East Policy

Volumn 15, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 56-66

  Handelman, Sapir ^a,b  

^a HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI ST LOUIS   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 51349096112     PISSN: 10611924     EISSN: 14754967     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4967.2008.00358.x     Document Type: Article

References (35)

1. See H. Agha, S. Feldman, A. Khalidi and Z. Schiff (2004), Track-II Diplomacy: Lessons from the Middle East (MIT Press, 2004), pp. 1-3.
2. U. Savir, The Process: 1,100 Days That Changed the Middle East, (Random House, 2004).
3. H.C. Kelman, "Some Determinants of the Oslo Breakthrough," International Negotiation, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1997), p. 188.
4. This is especially relevant to the twentieth century, when the best minds were occupied in demonstrating again and again the limitations of political leadership; see FA. Hayek, Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (University of Chicago Press, 1967), pp. 22-42;
5. and FA. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom, (University of Chicago Press, 1976 [1944]).
6. It is also worth remembering that even Machiavelli, who saw in authoritarianism an unavoidable transitional period toward republicanism, did not trust his prince to bring salvation; see N. Machiavelli, The Discourses, in P. Bondanella and M. Musa (eds.), The Portable Machiavelli (Penguin,1979 [1531]).
7. See also S. Handelman, "Between Machiavellian Leaders and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Toward an Indirect Approach to Conflict Resolution in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict," Orient, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2006), pp. 554-567.
8. This includes Sharon's unilateral withdrawal in 2005 and the Annapolis summit in 2007.
9. H.C. Kelman, "The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process and Its Vicissitudes: Insights from Attitude Theory," American Psychologist, Vol. 63, No. 4 (2007), p. 292.
10. Ibid. There are many pieces of research that provide an almost infinite set of explanations for the collapse of the Oslo accord. My central claim here is that, in general, the political-elite model cannot sustain a peace process by itself.
11. S. Handelman and J. Pollak, "Interactive Models of Peacemaking: The Palestinian-Israeli Case," (2008), pp. 11-12. From http://portal.idc.ac.il/ he/schools/Government/Staff/Documents/Sapir%20Hendelman%20- %20Interactive%20Models%20of%20Peacemaking.pdf.
12. K.R. Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies, Vol. 2 (Routledge, 1996 [1944]).
13. 10J. Agassi, Technology: Philosophical and Social Aspect (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1995).
14. Ironically, it was Benjamin Netanyahu's elections slogan in 1996, "Peres will divide Jerusalem," that brought the issue of Jerusalem to the forefront of public discussion.
15. D. McKittrick and D. McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland (New Amsterdam Books, 2002).
16. J. Courtney, E. Lust-Okar and I. Shapiro, "Problems and Prospects for Democratic Settlements: South. Africa as a Model for the Middle East and Northern Ireland?" Politics and Society, Vol. 33, No.2 (2005), p. 302;
17. and P. Dixon, "Political Skills or Lying and Manipulation? The Choreography of the Northern Ireland Peace Process," Political Studies, Vol. 50, No. 3 (2002), pp. 725-741.
18. A. Spark, Tomorrow Is Another Country: The Inside Story of South Africa s Negotiated Revolution (Sandton, South Africa : Struik Book Distributors, 1994), p. 156.
19. Courtney, Lust-Okar, and Shapiro, pp. 301-302.
20. Spark, pp. 128-129.
21. Kelman, "Some Determinants of the Oslo Breakthrough," p. 188.
22. Handelman, "Between Machiavellian Leaders and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Toward an Indirect Approach to Conflict Resolution in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict."
23. E. Inbar, "Israel's Palestinian Challenge," Israel Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 4 (2006), pp. 823-842;
24. and S.F. Landau, "Settings, Factors and Phenomena of Conflict in Israeli Society," in Albrecht, Simon, Rezaei, Rohne and Kiza (eds.), Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in Middle Eastern Societies -Between Tradition and Modernity (Berlin: Duncker and Humblot), pp. 239-240.
25. For example, a Palestinian public opinion poll from March 13-15, 2008, shows that "66 percent support and 32 percent oppose the Saudi initiative, which calls for Arab recognition of and normalization of relations with Israel after it ends its occupation to Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and after the establishment of a Palestinian state... But the findings show total lack of confidence in diplomacy with 80 percent saying that negotiations launched by the Annapolis conference will fail while only 14 percent believe it will succeed. .. Pessimism about diplomacy also leads people to search, for alternative means to end the occupation with findings showing about two-thirds (64 percent) supporting the continued launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip against Israeli towns and cities such as Sderot and Ashkelon." See http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/ polls/2008/p27e1.html.
26. The term was coined by Urie Bronfenbrenner; see U. Bronfenbrenner, "The Mirror Image in Soviet-American Relations: A Social Psychologist's Report," Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 17 (1961), pp. 45-56.
27. Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee. See also the Mitchell report 2001 and http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/pal/mitchelll.htm.
28. Agha, Feldman, Khalidi and Schiff, pp. 3-4; and Kelman, "Some Determinants of the Oslo Breakthrough," pp. 187-190.
29. Kelman, op. cit., pp. 189-192.
30. In a keynote speech Tony Blair expressed his commitment to solve the Northern Ireland conflict and called on the largest nationalist political party, Sinn Fein, to end the violence and join the process: "The settlement train is leaving. I want you on that train. But it is leaving anyway, and I will not allow it to wait for you. You cannot hold the process to ransom any longer. So end the violence now." G.J. Mitchell, Making Peace (Alfred Knopf, 1999), p. 101.
31. I have borrowed the term "competitive pluralism" from J. Raz, The Morality of Freedom (Oxford University Press, 1986).
32. It is well known that competition can be a powerful vehicle to progress. Moreover, as free-market economists emphasize, in a competitive environment the self-interest of individuals is channeled spontaneously for tine benefit of society; see FA. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty (University of Chicago Press, 1960). However, competition also can be destructive. Constitutional economists argue that constructive competition can emerge only in a framework of rules and institutions;
33. see Vanberg.V, "Market and State: The Perspective of Constitutional Political Economy," Journal of Institutional Economics, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2005), pp. 23-49. In this respect, the public assembly is an institution that encourages the emergence of constructive competition.
34. For example, the Downing Street Declaration had an instant impact on the "troubles." "The Downing Street Declaration stated that negotiations would be limited to those parties not engaged in paramilitary violence. In response, the IRA announced a complete cessation of all military activity in August 1994, forcing Loyalists to parry with a ceasefire." See also Courtney, Lust-Okar and Shapiro, p. 291.
35. J. Courtney, and I. Shapiro, "South Africa 's Negotiated Transition: Democracy, Opposition, and the New Constitutional Order," Politics and Society, Vol. 23, No. 3 (September 1995), pp. 269-308.