Interpreting Conflict

This book offers a thought-provoking analysis of the controversial Camp David II peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis in July 2000 and the ensuing political events. The author's understanding of Middle Eastern politics is fresh and unconventional. Oded Balaban argues that the true political positions in the conflict do not coincide with traditional divisions between left and right, East and West, Israeli and Palestinian. Although his insights are surprising his reasoning is always rigorous and logical. This book is recommended to all those interested in new approaches to political analysis.

Autorentext

The Author: Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oded Balaban is Professor of Political Philosophy and Epistemology at the University of Haifa, Israel, and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Florida. He has served as Head of the Department of Philosophy and of the Honor Students Program at the University of Haifa. He earned a doctorate from the University of Tel Aviv on Hegel s theory of judgment. Dr. Balaban is the author of Plato and Protagoras (1999), The Bounds of Freedom (with A. Erev, Peter Lang, 1995), Politics and Ideology (1995), and Subject and Consciousness (1995). He edited Impunity and Human Rights in Latin America (with A. Megged, 2003), and he has published many papers in academic journals.

Zusammenfassung
«Oded Balaban's analysis highlights the philosophical foundations of the different narratives of the Camp David II summit of July 2000, which intended to put an end to the century-long Israeli Palestinian conflict but it turned out to be the gate to yet another chapter of violence, hatred, and bitterness. Balaban's analysis is an invaluable source to anybody who wishes to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it provides not only a window into a very important event, but examines dimensions of this summit that have not been analyzed by others. It will be of interest to students of conflict resolution and negotiation, because it draws our attention to the philosophical dimension of these processes.» (Zeev Maoz, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Davis, and Former Head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University)