EU Diplomacy and the Israeli–Arab Conflict, 1967–2019

Abstract

Argues that the Israeli-Arab conflict has been more important for the EU than other conflict Provides a reader-friendly historical overview with chronologically organised chapters for a quick reference of the EU’s position on a specific event Covers recent events that contributed to the fragmentation of the EU’s policy vis-à-vis the conflict, such as the election of Donald Trump, Brexit, and the rise of right-wing, nationalist or populist parties and governments in Europe Introduces an innovative methodology applicable to similar studies of the Bulletin of the European Communities / European Union that trace other aspects of EU policy Includes an annotated selection of key EC/EU declarations on the Israeli-Arab conflict in an appendix Nearly 50 years since the European Foreign Ministers issued their first declaration on the conflict between Israel and Palestine in 1971, the EU continues to have close political and economic ties with the region. Based exclusively on primary sources, this study offers an up-to-date overview of EU’s involvement in the Israeli-Arab conflict since 1967. It utilises an innovative methodology to analyse keyword frequency in a sample of more than 2300 declarations and statements published in the Bulletin of the European Communities/European Union (1967–2009) as well as council reports and press interviews (2009–2018) to uncover broad patterns for qualitative analysis. The outcomes suggest that the Israeli-Arab conflict is more important to the EU than any other conflict, having been key to shaping EU’s foreign policy overall.