Impartial documentation and background information fundamental to the understanding of Arab-Israeli relations. Key Features: * Covers in detail the years since the first Arab-Israeli war and the statehood of Israel, in 1947-48, to the most recent developments in relations between Israel, the emerging Palestinian political entities and the Arab States * A chronology provides an at-a-glance record of events from 1947-2001 * A Documents on Palestine section gives essential background to the various ongoing areas of dispute * Profiles of prominent political figures * A bibliography section * A series of maps illustrating the history of Arab-Israeli conflict and recent peace initiatives and settlement issues.

What has been the role of rising powers in the Arab–Israeli conflict? What does this tell us about rising powers and conflict management as well as rising powers’ behavior in the world more generally? This book studies the way that five rising powers—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS countries—have approached the conflict since it first became internationalized in 1947. Conflict management consists of different methods, from peacekeeping to mediation and the use of economic incentives and sanctions and (non)enforcement of international legal decisions. What distinguishes them is whether they are active or passive: active measures seek to transform a conflict and resolve it; passive measures seek to ameliorate its worst effects, but do not change their underlying causes. Since 1947 rising powers’ active or passive use of these methods has coincided with their rise and fall and rise again in the international system. Those rises and falls are tied to global changes, including the Cold War, the emergence of the Third World, economic and ideological retrenchment of the 1980s and 1990s and the shift from unipolarity to multipolarity after 2000. In summary, rising powers’ management of the Arab–Israeli conflict has shifted from active to more passive methods since 1947. Their actions have occurred alongside two key changes within the conflict. One is the shift from a primarily state-based conflict between Israel and the Arabs to one that is more ethnic and territorial in scope, between Israel and the Palestinians. The other the emergence of the Oslo framework which has frozen power imbalance between Israel and the Palestinians since 1993. By pursuing the Oslo process, rising powers have separated conflict management from developing ‘normal’ diplomatic and economic exchanges with Israel and the Palestinians. In adopting this more passive conflict management approach, rising powers are disregarding both emerging alternatives that may potentially transform the conflict’s dynamics (including involvement with civil society actors like the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) and undertaking more active efforts at conflict resolution—and presenting themselves as global powers.

The biggest obstacle to Palestinian statehood may not be Israel In September 2011, president Mahmoud Abbas stood before the United Nations General Assembly and dramatically announced his intention to achieve recognition of Palestinian statehood. The United States roundly opposed the move then, but two years later, Washington revived dreams for Palestinian statehood through bilateral diplomacy with Israel. But are the Palestinians prepared for the next step? In State of Failure, Middle East expert Jonathan Schanzer argues that the reasons behind Palestine's inertia are far more complex than we realize. Despite broad international support, Palestinian independence is stalling because of internal mismanagement, not necessarily because of Israeli intransigence. Drawing on exclusive sources, the author shows how the PLO under Yasser Arafat was ill prepared for the task of statebuilding. Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, used President George W. Bush's support to catapult himself into the presidency. But the aging leader, now four years past the end of his elected term, has not only failed to implement much needed reforms but huge sums of international aid continue to be squandered, and the Palestinian people stand to lose everything as a result. Supporters of Palestine and Israel alike will find Schanzer's narrative compelling at this critical juncture in Middle Eastern politics.

Presents a distinctive collection of political, geographical and economic information on the 89 constituent units of the Russian Federation.

A unique survey of each country in the region. It includes an extensive collection of facts, statistics, analysis and directory information in one accessible volume.

In Mythologies Without End, Jerome Slater takes stock of the conflict over time and argues that US policies in the region are largely a product of mythologies that are often flatly wrong. Because of their widespread acceptance, there have been devastating consequences to the true interests of both countries. He argues that a critical examination and refutation of the many mythologies is a necessary first step toward solving the Arab-Israeliconflict.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become important actors in the globalised world. They run aid and relief programmes in the poorest countries, support international institutions (like the United Nations), or are watchdogs of them (for example watchdogs of the Bretton Woods institutions). In doing so, NGOs naturally work permanently with state-agencies and it is probably hard to find an NGO which is totally free of any governmental support (in financial, logistical or informative matters). Thus, there are strong NGO-government connections on a daily-work basis. NGOs run multiple attempts to contribute to the resolution of conflicts on all political levels. They bring together people on the grass-root level, they try to influence high officials through public pressure and they organise conferences and discussions with members and consultants of the concerned parties. The latter approach is analysed in this study. But how do NGOs influence the level of official international relations? To which degree can NGOs improve the relations of two conflicted parties, especially when the conflict is protracted and severe? The aim of this book is to define the preconditions of successful NGO mediation, to measure the NGO influence as an ?antecedent condition? for successful mediation, and to exhibit its limits. The underlying assumption is that conflict resolution is more likely if NGO mediation supports this attempt. This approach can be labelled as an ?assumption of constant effect? since the focus is on understanding the NGOs influence on international conflict resolution.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become important actors in the globalised world. They run aid and relief programmes in the poorest countries, support international institutions (like the United Nations), or are watchdogs of them (for example watchdogs of the Bretton Woods institutions). In doing so, NGOs naturally work permanently with state-agencies and it is probably hard to find an NGO which is totally free of any governmental support (in financial, logistical or informative matters). Thus, there are strong NGO-government connections on a daily-work basis. NGOs run multiple attempts to contribute to the resolution of conflicts on all political levels. They bring together people on the grass-root level, they try to influence high officials through public pressure and they organise conferences and discussions with members and consultants of the concerned parties. The latter approach is analysed in this study. But how do NGOs influence the level of official international relations? To which degree can NGOs improve the relations of two conflicted parties, especially when the conflict is protracted and severe? The aim of this study is to define the preconditions of successful NGO mediation, to measure the NGO influence as an antecedent condition for successful mediation, and to exhibit its limits. The underlying assumption is that conflict resolution is more likely if NGO mediation supports this attempt. This approach can be labelled as an assumption of constant effect since the focus is on understanding the NGOs influence on international conflict resolution. Three cases of NGO-led mediation attempts are analysed. The cases are selected because of their problematic official relations are chosen under criteria of comparatibility. Thus, they have similar conditions (framework) in common; namely, in matters of time, territory and main actors. The case studies analysed are seated in the Middle East because negotiations between Israel and Palestine were (and still are) highly conflicted, protracted and many mediation attempts by third-parties have taken place there. The analysis of these three cases - their differences and similarities - shall lead to a better general understanding of the possibilities and limits of NGOs and the necessary preconditions.

The Historical Dictionary of Arab and Islamic Organizations focuses on international and regional organizations primarily in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. With more than 300 cross-referenced entries, this volume includes both major and minor organizations. While the emphasis is on intergovernmental institutions, it also covers non-governmental organizations, key countries, movements, and prominent figures in the Arab and Islamic world. Like other dictionaries of this type, it includes an introductory essay, chronology of major events, and a select bibliography for further reading. It provides a solid starting point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the subject.

This integrated analysis of conflict and conciliation in protracted insurgency and civil war in societies divided on ethnicity, language and nationality, combines exposition of conflict management theory with detailed examples and case studies on the Northern Ireland peace process, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Bosnian war, and others.