Syria And Israel From War To Peacemaking

This is the first book to deal with the most crucial case of war and peace in the Middle East. Moshe Ma'oz examines the history of relations between Israel and Syria throughout the Middle Eastern conflict. Drawing upon a variety of original sources, the author discusses still little-known episodes in relations between the countries such as Syrian peace offers to Israel in the early 1950s and the mid-1970s; American and Soviet involvement; the role of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and the PLO; Israel's contribution to the aggravation of the conflict with Syria, and the new Syrian diplomatic strategy since 1988 and the peacemaking process after the Madrid conference (from late 1991). The book demonstrates the crucial importance of Syrian-Israeli relations for the strategic posture of both countries, for the fate of the Palestinian problem, and for the prospects of an overall Middle East Settlement.

This is the first book to explain how Syria and Israel transformed their complex relationships from war to peace. It looks at the factors which influenced relations between the countries and the influence of domestic policies.

In Syria and the Middle East Peace Process, Alasdair Drysdale and Raymond A. Hinnebusch, two noted Middle East scholars, present the first detailed examination of Syria's role in the long struggle for an Arab-Israeli peace. They paint a surprising portrait of a county whose power is out of proportion to its size, economy, and resources. They explore the reasons behind this phenomeno most importantly, the Machiavellian brilliance of its leader, Hafez al-Asad. The authors address the origins of the Asad regime, Syrias strategy toward its Arab neighbors, its conflict with Israel, and the history of its relationships with the Soviet Union and the United States. The authors argue forcefully that Syrian involvement is vital in an effort to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This is an interdisciplinary study of Israeli society in one of the defining moments in the history of Israel. The contributors discuss the critical aspects of the political order, economics, the military, the role of the media and legal reform that are shaping a new Israel.

This book, first published in 1985, examines the whole problem of peacemaking in the Arab-Israel conflict. It considers the different countries involved, the changing positions they have adopted over time and the range of opinion within each country. It looks at the role of the superpowers and shows how their vacillations and their viewing of the conflict in simple terms as part of the global superpower rivalry have been unfortunate. It examines how a typical uncommitted medium power – Canada – can contribute to peace in very many ways though it may not achieve a breakthrough.

Examining the Israeli-Arab conflict as an "intractable conflict," Israeli Peacemaking since 1967 seeks to determine just which factors, or combination of factors, impacted on Israel's position in past peace-making efforts, possibly accounting for breakthroughs or failures to reach agreement. From King Hussein's little known overtures immediately after the Six-Day War, through President Sadat's futile efforts to avoid war in the early 1970s, to repeated third-party-mediated talks with Syria, factors including deep-seated mistrust, leadership style, and domestic political spoilers contributed to failures even as public opinion and international circumstances may have been favourable. How these and other factors intervened, changed or were handled, allowing for the few breakthroughs (with Egypt and Jordan) or the near breakthrough of the Annapolis process with the Palestinians, provides not only an understanding of the past but possible keys for future Israeli-Arab peace efforts. Employing extensive use of archival material, as well as interviews and thorough research of available sources, this book provides insight on just which factors, or combination of factors, account for breakthroughs or failures to reach agreement; a framework useful for examining both the Israeli-Arab conflict and intractable conflicts in general.

'Peacemakers in Action' explores the conflicts and the stories of 15 individuals identified by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding from regions as far-flung as West Papua, Indonesia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, El Salvador and South Africa.

The second volume of Peacemakers in Action tells the stories of remarkable individuals - peacemakers - across the world who strive to end violence in religiously charged conflicts.