Middle Eastern Conflict Research Articles

Superpower Influence on the Arab-Israeli Dispute: An Expected Utility Analysis, 1948–1978

We develop an expected utility model of the Middle Eastern conflict to examine the relationship between the conflict and cooperative behavior of the Middle Eastern countries and superpower influence on the region. Empirical findings in this study support the following hypotheses: one nation’s conflictual behavior is reciprocated by its enemy; as the relationship between the two superpowers improves, the stability in the Middle East deteriorates; and as the superpowers become more cooperative (conflictual) with the potential initiator’s enemy, that potential initiator is less (more) likely to escalate conflict. One of the findings in this study thus suggests that the United States not send wrong messages to Israelis by becoming less cooperative with them on the issues related to the Middle East peace talks.

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.

The Soviet approach to a settlement in the Middle East

Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: One of the most alarming realities of modern life is the way in which we have grown accustomed to protracted conflicts. Among them is the Middle Eastern conflict, which has now smouldered for more than forty years, at times flaring into life, at others dying back. To many people the tragic events there seem to be so remote that they may as well be on a different planet, having little to do with their country's vital interests or with their own personal lives. But what are the true facts of the matter?

Distortions in the Perceptions of International Conflicts

Summary Two groups' (Israelis and Irish) attitudes toward each other were compared, along with the attitudes of a control group (Australians) toward both. The groups were divided according to surmised attitudes toward the conflict in their country, Jews vs Arabs and Protestants vs Catholics. Students of education (N = 153) answered open-ended questionnaires about the Northern Irish conflict (in Israel), the Middle Eastern conflict (in Ireland), or both. On the basis of political alignments and Heiderian principles of interpersonal balance it was hypothesized that Israeli Arabs would be more sympathetic toward the Irish/Catholic cause than Israeli Jews, and that Irish Catholics would be more supportive of the Arab side in the Middle Eastern conflict than Irish Protestants. The samples possessed significantly different amounts of both nominal and correct information, revealed different types of misconceptions, and expressed significantly different attitudes. Wherever the expression of an attitude would have created imbalance, evasive techniques were used, including expressions of ambivalence, neutrality, indifference, and rationalization.

Rebellion in a World of Totalitarianism Sharīf Ḥatātah’s Novel "The Eye with an Iron Lid"

Political freedom in the Arab world and rebellion against it underpin the novel al-ʿAyn dhāt al-jafn al-maʿdanī (The Eye with an Iron Lid, 1980) by Egyptian author Sharīf Ḥatātah (1923– ). This novel set in 1940s Egypt, a decade of national and social ferment, harshly criticizes British colonialism and the Egyptian governments of the time. The narrative depicts the struggle of the Egyptian national movement as well as the brutal denial of political and individual freedoms that led to the July 1952 revolution. The novel is profoundly autobiographical, and Ḥatātah’s life story as a doctor, writer and political activist depicted in his al-Nawāfidh al-maftūḥah (The Open Windows, 2006) contributesvaluable background. A wide-ranging analysis of the author and his novel embraces comparative literature, especially within the Arabic prison literature genre, recent critical studies, the existentialphilosophy of Albert Camus and the psychological elements of fear of death, loneliness and persecution. At its root the article spotlights the adage, the people’s fear of the leadership and the leadership’s fear of the people, that drives so much of contemporary Middle Eastern conflict and oppression.Keywords: Sharīf Ḥatātah, The Eye with an Iron Lid, Arabic prison literature, Egyptian literature, ModernEgyptian history, totalitarianism

United Nations Action with Respect to the Middle Eastern Conflict United Nations Security Council

United Nations Action with Respect to the Middle Eastern Conflict United Nations Security Council