Aid Diplomacy And Facts On The Ground

This volume reviews the lessons that can be drawn from external funding for the Israeli-Palestinian peace and reconstruction process over the last decade. What are the implications —for Palestinians, Israelis, and international actors —of this experience in light of plans for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip? What are the realistic possibilities for a viable Palestinian state? What are the responsibilities, opportunities, and constraints for external actors?A major aspect of the last decade has been the three-way relationship between aid, diplomacy, and "facts on the ground" during one of the most difficult and frustrating periods in the history of the Middle East. This book offers analyses of the relationship between aid and diplomacy over this period and in particular the role that external assistance has played — and could now play —in supporting peace strategies.Aimed at senior policymakers, diplomats, donors, and academics involved in the peace and reconstruction process in the West Bank and Gaza, Aid, Diplomacy, and Facts on the Ground will also provide lessons for those involved in similar processes in other regions. Contributors include Yossi Alpher (Bitter Lemons), Geoffrey Aronson (Foundation for Middle East Peace), Christian Berger (External Relations Directorate General, EC), Rex Brynen (McGill University), Claude Bruderlein (Harvard University), Larry Garber (former USAID Mission Director, Jerusalem), Eyad El Sarraj (Gaza Community and Mental Health Hospital), Jeff Halper (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions), Mustaq Khan (SOAS), Karma Nabulsi (Nuffield College, Oxford University), Harish Parvathaneni (UNRWA, Gaza), Nigel Roberts (World Bank, Jerusalem), Sarah Roy (Harvard University), Nader Said (Birzeit University), David Shearer (OCHA, Jerusalem), and Jimmy Weinblatt (Ben Gurion University).

The book examines the impact of aid to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip from the 1993 Oslo Agreement up to 2013. It attempts to go beyond the general notion that the Israeli occupation is the main instrument of control and de-development and rather tries to investigate these aspects and the dynamics that have surrounded foreign aid delivery in the Territory. At the socio-economic level, the book explores how donors’ definition of partner for peace has exacerbated socio-economic inequalities within the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. The book also looks at how foreign aid has been used as an instrument for particular groups to advance politically, and through this socially and economically. Hence, the book attempts to investigate the resultant socio-economic imbalances within Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.

Despite for many years receiving the highest per capita aid worldwide, the economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have failed to achieve any lasting developmental outcomes and suffer from major weaknesses which undermine their very survival. This book argues that the dominant, mainstream approach to the study of aid and aid effectiveness is theoretically and empirically inadequate for a comprehensive understanding and analysis of the workings of aid in developing countries, particularly those undergoing conflict. This book examines the nature of donor operations in Palestine, highlighting the political and ideological determinants of aid allocation and effectiveness, and focussing on the role of trade-related donor assistance in Palestine, more commonly known as Aid for Trade. It discusses how such trade-related assistance is only another instance of donors working ‘around’ the conflict, as opposed to taking it into account; and how aid to Palestine cannot bring about significant improvement as long as the Palestinian economy is fundamentally affected by Israeli occupation, settlements and blockade. It argues that unless restructured and more carefully targeted, aid can only act as a temporary relief mechanism. Furthermore, the book sheds light on critical areas within Palestinian territories that are in need of development and require significant and immediate attention at both national and international level.

What do we mean by 'gifts' in International Relations? Can foreign aid be conceptualized as a gift? Most foreign aid transactions are unilateral and financially unreciprocated, yet donors expect to benefit from them.Previous research dealing with foreign aid has analyzed the main donor motives and interests in providing financial support. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the invisible political or social 'exchange' taking place between recipient countries and donors when a grant agreement is signed. Focusing on Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel - the main beneficiaries of Western foreign aid – the book uses gift theories and theories of social exchange to show how international social bonds are shaped by foreign aid and in what ways recipient countries are obliged to return the 'gift' they receive. Foreign aid is a means of buying 'stability' or 'democracy' in the region but Beata Paragi is interested here to understand the actual feasibility of Western assistance. Looking at the context of the Arab Spring, the book examines how aid impacts on a recipient country's domestic political events such as war, the quest for self-determination, the struggle against occupation and the fight for dignity. An original contribution to Middle East Studies and International Relations, the research presents an alternative interpretation of foreign aid and show how external funds interact with local developments and realities.

Why has the West disbursed vertiginous sums of money to the Palestinians after Oslo? What have been donors’ motivations and above all the political consequences of the funds spent? Based on original academic research and first hand evidence, this book examines the interface between diplomacy and international assistance during the Oslo years and the intifada. By exploring the politics of international aid to the Palestinians between the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the death of President Arafat (1994-2004), Anne Le More reveals the reasons why foreign aid was not more beneficial, uncovering a context where funds from the international community was poured into the occupied Palestinian territory as a substitute for its lack of real diplomatic engagement. This book also highlights the perverse effects such huge amounts of money has had on the Palestinian population and territory, on Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, and not least on the conflict itself, particularly the prospect of its resolution along a two-state paradigm. International Assistance to the Palestinians after Oslo gives a unique narrative chronology that makes this complex story easy to understand. These features make this book a classic read for both scholars and practitioners, with lessons to be learned beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

This book seeks to examine the causes of escalation and de-escalation in intrastate conflicts. Specifically, the volume seeks to map the processes and dynamics that lead groups challenging existing power structures to engage in violent struggle; the processes and dynamics that contribute to the de-escalation of violent struggle and the participation of challengers in peaceful political activities; and the processes and dynamics that sustain and nurture this transformation. By integrating the latest ideas with richly presented case studies, this volume fills a gap in our understanding of the forces that lead to moderation and constructive engagement in the context of violent, intrastate conflicts. This volume will be of great interest to students of conflict management, peace studies, conflict resolution, ethnic conflict and security studies in general.

This book compares the involvement of Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine (Palestinian Territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip) in international relations from the viewpoint of their practical performance. In particular, it provides an overview over the current Kurdish and Palestinian paradiplomatic activities and their practical performance in terms of their capabilities, capacities and practical achievements. The contributing authors analyze the evolution of paradiplomacy, the domestic legal and institutional framework, the goals, instruments, and capabilities of Kurdish and Palestinian paradiplomacy, and selected foreign relations. The book identifies the similarities and differences between the paradiplomacy of Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine with regard to a set of guidelines: causes, legal foundations, institutionalization, predominant motives, practical implementation, and outcomes of paradiplomacy. It provides empirical explanations about how and why Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine develop and practice paradiplomacy and contributes to a better understanding of Kurdistan-Iraq’s and Palestine’s involvement in international affairs and their activities.