Looking back at my work on conflict resolution in the Middle East.

Abstract

This autobiographical article traces the author's work on the resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict back to his childhood experiences in Nazi-ruled Austria. It proceeds to describe his early participation in the American civil rights and antiwar movements; his choice of social psychology as his field of study because of its potential relevance to issues of peace, justice, and social change; and his role—as a social psychologist—in the beginnings of the peace research movement. It then describes his introduction to John Burton's work on unofficial diplomacy in the mid-1960s; his development—in collaboration with colleagues and students over the years—of interactive problem solving, an approach derived from Burton's work and anchored in social-psychological principles; and his application of the approach primarily in the Middle East. The article briefly describes the methods of interactive problem solving and reviews his activities during the various phases of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and e...