Conflict and Peacemaking in Israel-Palestine Theory and Application Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics Series

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle is considered to be one of the most entrenched conflicts in the world. Presenting and evaluating interactive models of peacemaking and the phenomenon of intractable conflict, the book takes an in-depth look into specific models for peacemaking and applies them to the situation in Israel/Palestine.

The argument centers around the idea that a multifaceted approach to peacemaking has the greatest potential to transform an intractable conflict into a mutually beneficial social order. Encompassing theoretical background, comparative studies of conflict resolution processes in similar circumstances around the world and policy recommendations, the author presents four interactive models of peacemaking to suggest a comprehensive approach to peacemaking that attacks the conflict from various angles, directions and dimensions.

Introducing general conditions that have the potential to transform a situation of destructive conflict into a more peaceful social order, Conflict and Peacemaking in Israel-Palestine adds a fresh perspective to the study of destructive social conflicts and should provoke critical discussion among students and scholars of peace and conflict studies, Middle Eastern politics, conflict resolution and management.

Introduction Part 1: General Background 1. Intractable Conflict as a Complex Phenomenon 2. The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict 3. Between Conflict-Resolution and Conflict-Management Part 2: Interactive Models of Peacemaking 4. The Strong-Leader Model 5. The Social-Reformer Model 6. The Political-Elite Model 7. The Public-Assembly Model. Summary and Conclusion

Sapir Handelman is a visiting professor at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Wayne State University, an associate at Harvard University and the Lentz Fellow in Peace and Conflict Resolution Research. His research focuses on the study of destructive social conflicts and their resolution, political theory, and applied ethics. He also leads the "Minds of Peace Experiment" at various Centers for Peace Studies around the U.S. and the Middle East, a project which offers simulations of a potential Palestinian-Israeli public-assembly, a public negotiating congress, and is the recipient of the 2010 Peter Becker Award for Peace and Conflict Studies.