After an examination of primary and secondary American, Israeli, and international sources such as White House speeches, Aljazeera interviews, American and Israeli newspapers, and documentaries,...Show moreAfter an examination of primary and secondary American, Israeli, and international sources such as White House speeches, Aljazeera interviews, American and Israeli newspapers, and documentaries, this thesis shows that former president of the United States Donald Trump was the opposite of a mediator for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead of being the broker of peace, Trump’s foreign policy created more agitation in the Middle Eastern region, and on the international level. Trump played a strategic game, in which realist and constructivist elements were visible in particular. Thus, this study argues that Trump certainly did not improve the tense situation in the Middle East, although he truly saw himself as the true peace maker. In addition to that, this thesis makes a contribution to the field of International Relations in two ways. Firstly, this thesis created clarity by connecting several aspects of Trump’s decision-making on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to specific IR theories. Secondly, it is an addition to the yet incomplete amount of academic literature on the Trump Administration’s approach for this particular conflict.Show less
In this thesis I will review the dynamics of economic relations between Israel and Palestine, in the context of its corresponding policy framework and the institutional arrangements (the Oslo...Show moreIn this thesis I will review the dynamics of economic relations between Israel and Palestine, in the context of its corresponding policy framework and the institutional arrangements (the Oslo Accords) that cover the implementation and management of those relations. I focus on the effect of the agreements on Palestine’s capacity to generate revenue, and will analyse this from three economic domains in which revenue can be generated: trade, taxation and labour. I will argue that the Oslo peace process has formalized and institutionalized economic relations that foster serious economic dependency, and that the agreements have failed to address the core economic weaknesses the Palestinian economy has had to deal with as a consequence of prolonged occupation and colonial structures.Show less
The study delves into the convoluted relationship between women and war and analysis the reasons that led Israel and Palestine to admit women in their combat units in the early 2000s.
This case study aims to understand how tourism can contribute to peace, by exploring the ways in which Israeli and Palestinian tour guides negotiate boundaries in a deeply divided society, through...Show moreThis case study aims to understand how tourism can contribute to peace, by exploring the ways in which Israeli and Palestinian tour guides negotiate boundaries in a deeply divided society, through working in MEJDI’s multiple-narrative tours. Specifically, it focusses on two types of boundaries that are negotiated: the social and spatial. The interpretive thematic content analysis of 8 semi-structured and in-depth interviews with Israeli and Palestinian tour guides reveals that social and spatial boundaries are negotiated through various processes. The most prominent in the social domain are: creation of a common in-group identity, established frequent contact and friendships, development of trust, and for most an increase in understanding and legitimization of ‘the other side’. Noticeable was that the spatial boundaries were harder to negotiate, because they have been institutionalized throughout the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The participants do cross the boundaries frequently, by guiding tours to places they usually do not visit and by re-ordering mental maps of safe and unsafe places. However, the wall/fence/checkpoints remain present and those boundaries are harder to negotiate. Ultimately, these findings are discussed and placed in relation to the ‘tourism and peace nexus’, contact hypothesis, social identity theory, theories on boundaries and boundary negotiation, and aim to contribute to the question if tourism can bridge gaps and lead to peace.Show less
Unlike the Cold War era, in which realist perceptions about the global world order were prevalent, the explanation of roots of conflicts has since then increasingly shifted towards questions of...Show moreUnlike the Cold War era, in which realist perceptions about the global world order were prevalent, the explanation of roots of conflicts has since then increasingly shifted towards questions of culture and ethnicity. According to Samuel Huntington (1993, 1996), who introduced the notion of a clash of civilization, civilizations are fundamentally characterized by their respective religions. In concrete terms, it became a widely shared assumption that classical (realist) conflicts caused by economic, territorial or power-related motives were outdated. This thesis aims to build its argumentation on this “revitalization of religion” while aiming to assess the two opposing roles of Israelis and Palestinians as securitizing actors, which consistently invoke religion in their securitizing policies (Laustsen/Waever 2000: 705). These are fueled by myths and opposing identities that create an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ phenomenon. The human need for identity and its social construction is thus key for the further analysis. Taking a starting point from Lucke’s and McLarren’s (2017) work, the question is raised whether and how religion should be included within the securitizing framework. This work is based on the idea that religion is easily securitized by actors who base their entire argumentation on an existential threat posed by the ‘enemy’ against them.Show less
The European Union’s approach towards the OPT on human rights has often been criticised for its conflicting interests, its internal division and coordination. However, simply renouncing the EU’s...Show moreThe European Union’s approach towards the OPT on human rights has often been criticised for its conflicting interests, its internal division and coordination. However, simply renouncing the EU’s effort in human rights promotion in the name of realism, neo-liberalism or Eurocentric imperialism does not offer clarifications why the EU is committed to universal human rights norms and as to why the EU proved to be very weak in projecting its human rights agenda. This thesis suggests a normative power approach to the study of EU human rights policy towards the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Vital to it is the assumption that EU human rights policy and the relation between the EU and Israel has been and should be normative. To analyse this assumption, this thesis draws upon the existing literature in regard to ‘Normative Power Europe’ and adopt Ian Manners tripartite analytical framework in order to assess the EU’s adherence to human rights norms and its external identity, illustrate how the EU diffuses human rights norms, and how the impact of this should be evaluated in the case of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In doing so, this thesis aims to add to the empirical abundance of NPE literature and applying normative power to the human rights dimensions of EU-Israeli relations. To address these goals, the research shows the inconsistencies between the EU’s rhetoric and the diffusion of norms in Israel’s policy. This thesis will argue that the EU has normative intentions but that this is not a precondition for firm action and the diffusion of human rights norms in Israel. The protection of human rights as core norm of the EU is easily sacrificed when it has to compete with (vital) self-interests such as a collective European identity, security interests and strategic interests. The extent to which the EU pursues a human rights agenda is nevertheless very limited to the detriment of the EU’s normative identity.Show less
