International Relations Commons^™

The Holocaust's Legacy: Influencing Jewish Political Identity, Jordan Eskew

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis addresses the intricate relationship between the historical persecution of the Holocaust and its enduring influence on contemporary Jewish political engagement, a subject of significant contemporary relevance in political and international relations. Despite broad recognition of the Holocaust’s impact, the specific ways in which its memory affects Jewish political attitudes and actions around the world in the modern day have not been sufficiently thoroughly examined. Utilizing qualitative methods, including interviews with 20 individuals—public figures, Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and broader members of the Jewish diaspora— this study focuses on understanding the interplay between historical trauma, community cohesion, and the …

On Dialogue And Beyond: Positive Environmental Peacebuilding In Palestine, Elsa Barron

The Journal of Social Encounters

In Palestine, environmental management has been used as a tool of military occupation and oppression. Yet even within that context, many community-based organizations have established programs relating to environmental peacebuilding. Of these initiatives, environmental dialogue programs have received significant attention and resources, even more so since the war in Gaza began in October, 2023. However, a deeper interrogation of these programs reveals the danger that dialogue and collaboration devoid of a critical analysis of power and injustice further perpetuates systemic oppression. Moving these programs into the realm of positive environmental peacebuilding requires a willingness to engage in this structural analysis. …

The Conservative Interest In American Higher Education: From Vietnam To Palestine, Alexandra Pearl Mulvey

Senior Projects Spring 2024

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Middle Eastern Defense: The Role Of The Abraham Accords, Graciela H Phillipps

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

Defense organization in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region has been historically fraught with instability and conflict, rooted in tensions ranging from centuries-old religious disputes to modern geopolitical power struggles. However, two years ago deep-seated status quos in the area were challenged and successfully overcome through the drafting and signage of agreements in which Arab nations normalized ties with the nation of Israel, popularly known as the Abraham Accords. The Accords emphasized the mutual desire for peace and prosperity in MENA between signees with a pointed reference to maintaining security in the traditionally volatile region. These pivotal feats of …

Strengthening Cybersecurity Of The United Arab Emirates After The Establishment Of Diplomatic Relations With Israel, Afini Nurdina Utami, M. Hamdan Basyar

Journal Of Middle East and Islamic Studies

The United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations with Israel in September 2020. This decision is in line with the United Arab Emirates' national commitment to enhance the development of the country's potential. The two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of cyber and technology. The regional threat posed by Iran is one of the factors driving cooperation between the two countries in the field of cybersecurity. This study aims to answer the background of the two countries’ increasing cooperation in the field of cybersecurity and how to strengthen cybersecurity as one of the objectives of cooperation after the …

The Psychological Effects Of Israel’S Security Narrative On Palestinians In The West Bank And Gaza And Its Implications For Conflict Management, Gabrielle Childs

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Israel began constructing a separation barrier in 2003 in response to increasing terrorism and suicide bombings by the Palestinians during the Second Intifada (Dowty, 2005, p. 171). The separation barrier is an elaborate 400-mile security system of concrete walls, fences, barricades and checkpoints built to protect Israeli citizens (Vick & Arik, 2010). The wall portion of the barrier was constructed of thick reinforced concrete, stands approximately 25 feet tall, and separates the West Bank and Israel boundaries. There is bitter contention over whether the barrier was properly placed along the official partition boundaries. The concrete barriers were built in the …

Military Industry And The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Aid, Technology, And Barriers To Peace, Brandon A. Sandoval

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the current US and Israel militarized response to Palestine, the negative impacts on the Palestinian and Israeli people that result from this policy, and the military-industrial complex that benefits from the US-Israel relationship. I also note that the military industry profits from the Israel-Palestine conflict and, thus, has an incentive for the conflict to continue. I argue that despite billions of US dollars that have been appropriated by the U.S. Congress for Israel’s security, the US and Israel have failed to build peace in the region, ultimately wasting funds and exacerbating current conflicts. I also argue that …

Persistence Of Jewish-Muslim Reconciliatory Activism In The Face Of Threats And “Terrorism” (Real And Perceived) From All Sides, Micah B.D.C. Naziri

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation concerns how Jewish-Muslim and Israel-Palestine grassroots activism can persist in the face of threats to the safety, freedom, lives, or even simply the income and employment of those engaged in acts of sustained resistance. At the heart of the study are the experiences of participants in the Hashlamah Project, an inter-religious collaboration project, involving Jews and Muslims. Across chapters and even nations, chapters of this organization faced similar threats and found universally-applicable solutions emerging for confronting those threats and persisting in the face of them. This raised the question of whether revolutionaries and activists in general can persevere …

The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise In Israel And Palestine, Nubar Hovsepian

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

A book review of Nathan Thrall's The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine.

A One Percent Chance: Jabotinsky, Bernadotte, And The Iron Wall Doctrine, Andrew Harman

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis is an examination of the long historical processes that have led to the Israel/Palestine conflict to the contemporary period, focusing mostly on the period before Israeli independence and the 1948 war that created the Jewish state. As Zionism emerged at the turn of the twentieth century to combat the antisemitism of Europe, practical and political facets of the movement sought immigration to Palestine, an area occupied by a large population of Arab natives. The answer to how the Zionists would achieve a Jewish state in that region, largely ignoring the indigenous population, fostered disagreements and a split in …

History, Identity Politics And Securitization: Religion's Role In The Establishment Of Indian-Israeli Diplomatic Relations And Future Prospects For Cooperation, Michael Mclean Bender

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to provide an understanding of the historical and contemporary dynamics of India’s foreign policy towards Israel within the context of religious identity from 1947 to 2015. A historical analysis of the relationship between India and Israel exhibits the ways that religious identity has served as a primary factor impeding as well as facilitating relations between the two nations.

The analysis was done within the context of the historical Hindu-Muslim relationship in India and how the legacy of this relationship, in India’s effort to maintain positive relations with the Arab-Muslim world, worked to inhibit relations with Israel prior …

A Comparative Study Of Middle Eastern Foreign Policy: How Middle Eastern Intelligence Agencies Shape Current Events, Megan A. Fink

Honors Theses

This study monitored the intelligence and foreign policy actions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia from August 2013 to August 2014. Data was collected from coverage by Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and Al-Jazeera, three reliable and respected news sources that cover global events. The actions taken by foreign policymakers in these countries were recorded throughout the study period.

These actions were organized into a taxonomy based on whether they were intelligence-based or non-intelligence based. Within those broad categories, more distinguishing characteristics were analyzed to show patterns of behavior within national intelligence services of the nations studied. These patterns …

Becoming A State: Zionist And Palestinian Movements For National Liberation, Martin S. Widzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the road to statehood for the Zionist and Palestinian movements. There are three components which frame this investigation: 1. social movements and the practices in which they engage that are aimed at establishing statehood for a people; 2. distinctive configurations of the international system and the manner in which both the material and ideational foundations of that system pulls units towards conformity and predictable behavior; and finally, 3. the role of agency, that is, the way in which instrumentally rational individuals attempt to push the structure in which they are embedded towards a configuration that is better …

Boycotts To Bombs: History, Causes, And Comparison Of The Palestinian Intifadas, Leah Wilson

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

One of the foremost geopolitical issues of the twenty first century, the conflict between Israel and Palestine has a complicated, ominous history, and limited signs of hope for resolution in the near future. Darkened by particularly bloody and significant events such as the 1948 Arab-Israel dispute, the 1967 Six Day War, and the continuously violent actions taken near the turn of the century, the conflict continues to detrimentally impact the security of the region, the socioeconomic livelihood of Palestinians, and the dwindling influence of international actors to curb recognizably illegal settlements and flagrant human rights violations. Particularly significant to the …

Book Review: The Arab Spring, Democracy And Security: Domestic And International Ramifications, Efraim Inbar (Ed), Zenonas Tziarras

Zenonas Tziarras

To oer analysis on an on going political event is always a challenging task. Yet, the “Arab Spring” has given rise to many questions about the past, the present and the future of the Arab world and the Middle East more generally. The Arab Spring, Democracy and Security:Domesc and International Ramifications addresses some of these questions. The chapters of this edited volume have been written by selected Israeli scholars focusing on “issues such as democratization, the role of economic factors in political change and explanations for variations in regime stability in the Middle East.” The relationship between internal and external …

The Us On The Palestinian Statehood Bid: Weighing The Costs, Thomas Pegram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Reflecting on the controversy surrounding the Palestinian bid for statehood, Richard Falk neatly subverts the opening words of the UN Charter, “we the people,” as having always surrendered to “we the governments,” and, in the modern era of American empire, “we the hegemon.”

This may well be true. The UN Security Council (UNSC), in particular, is viewed in Washington as a vehicle for hegemonic ambitions—to be indulged when it serves its purpose and vetoed and sidelined when it does not. Unfolding events at the UNSC, reportedly due to vote on the Palestinian resolution on November 11 but now postponed perhaps …

From Ankara To Jerusalem: An Analysis Of The Decline In Turkish-Israeli Relations, Kama Sacajiu

Honors Theses

Turkey and Israel had been strong allies in the Middle East, however in recent years, these relations have turned sour. Turkey was the first predominantly Muslim country to recognize the state of Israel upon its creation in 1948. However, Present day Turkey has gone as far as to pull its ambassador from Tel Aviv. The importance and implication of the decline in relations between Turkey and Israel will be explained in the following chapters. The examination of Turkish foreign policy, and specifically a history of its relations with Israel, gives a basis to explain the changes that occurred with their …

Palestinian Refugees: Protection In Exile, Vivienne Chew

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Palestinian refugee problem is perhaps the most critical and complex of the outstanding issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sixty-two years have now passed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced en masse and rendered stateless. Since then, successive generations of Palestinian refugees have endured discrimination, insecurity, repeated cycles of displacement, and infringement of their basic rights and freedoms.

Bedouin Women In The Naqab, Israel: Ongoing Transformation, Marcy M. Wells

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since its inception in 1948, the state of Israel has based development plans on an agenda of nation-building that has systematically excluded Palestinian Arab citizens such as the indigenous Bedouin. Policies of relocation, resettlement, and restructuring have been imposed on the Bedouin, forcing them from their ancestral lands and lifestyle in the Naqab (or Negev, as it is called in Hebrew) desert of southern Israel. The rapid and involuntary transition from self-sufficient, semi-nomadic, pastoral life to sedentarization and modernization has resulted in dependency on a state that treats the Bedouin as minority outsiders through unjust social, political, and economic structures. …

Stopping The Killing And/Or Stopping Human Rights Violations, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The relationship between promoting human rights and stopping wars can be perplexing. The 19th century origins of the Geneva Convention and the International Commissions of the Red Cross (ICRC) are warnings about the moral danger, ambiguities, or tensions of bringing war within the arena of human rights considerations. Human rights and war can be a toxic cocktail. One should not want to make war more likely or legitimate or deadly by seeming to say that the killing machine on one side or the other is acting humanely, as if that makes war okay. War is hell.

Healing From War To End All Wars, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The First World War was known as the war to end all wars. After the Second World War, and especially in reference to the Holocaust, the urgent slogan was “Never Again.” Although these hopes to end war and genocide have not yet been fulfilled, they inspired the worldwide moral stance against war and a host of international instruments and bodies contributed to the protection of both civilians and combatants during war.

Proportional To Life, Emma Gilligan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Economist piece entitled “Proportional to what?” poses a dangerous question. The notion, as the article suggests, that proportionality in war is a “slippery idea” or that the facts are “nebulous” is the work of either an intentionally provocative or idly cynical author. Whatever the motivation for the words, it is precisely the dismissive tone embodied in such statements that has contributed to and defined the attitude more recently of larger states, like Israel and Russia, to issues of accountability for the death of civilians.

Protecting Human Rights In Conflict, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Just War Theory of Jus in Bello is the international community’s attempt to ensure respect for human rights and human welfare during armed conflicts. The principle of proportionality and the obligation to distinguish between combatants and civilians in attacks are two related notions that are fundamental to the protection of human rights during conflict. The principle of proportionality limits the amount of violence and destruction that is morally permissible. By contrast, the principle of discrimination (or distinction) discriminates between legitimate targets, such as soldiers and weapons depots, and illegitimate targets, specifically noncombatants such as civilian populations and their property.

Proportionality And Unjust Wars, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As violence rages in the Middle East, policymakers, academics, and the public alike have been embroiled in debate over the proportional use of force. As The Economist article points out, historical grievances leave both Israelis and Palestinians with compelling arguments for defense and resistance. However, at this point, the cycle of violence has perpetuated blame that goes beyond a simple tally sheet. World leaders remain divided on the rights and wrongs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but human rights groups internationally are crying out for Israel and Hamas to end attacks that “do not discriminate between civilians and military targets.” While …

February Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Proportional to What?” The Economist. December 30, 2008.

Nigel Parsons On Israel's Occupation By Neve Gordon. Berkley, Ca: University Of California Press, 2008. 318pp., Nigel Parsons

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Israel's Occupation by Neve Gordon. Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 2008. 318pp.

Memory And Violence In Israel/Palestine, K. M. Fierke

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History’s Double Helix, edited by Robert I. Rotberg. Indiana University Press, 2006.

and

Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Ussama Makdisi and Paul A. Silverstein. Indiana University Press, 2006.

Geopolitics Or Human Rights?, Judith Blau

Human Rights & Human Welfare

George Soros’ article, “On Israel, America and AIPAC” serves as a sobering reminder that the human rights revolution is constantly being scuttled by geopolitics that not only sideline human rights, but more devastatingly undermine their premises. I happen to agree with him that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a major obstacle to the U.S. normalizing relations with any country in the Middle East, including and especially Israel. AIPAC is something of a misnomer because it is a coalition, not a committee, and some of its key members include neo-cons, as Soros mentions, as well as Christian evangelicals. …

Engagement As A Way Toward Peace, Mahmood Monshipouri

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Bush administration’s active support for the Israeli government is counterproductive in its refusal to recognize a Palestinian unity government which includes Hamas. A great majority of American Jews have called for Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 and support the creation of a Palestinian state. A hard-line minority of politicians in the United States, along with their affiliated media networks and think-tanks, have continued to dominate the main Jewish lobbying group, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

June Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“On Israel, America and AIPAC” by George Soros. New York Review of Books. April 12, 2007.