Analysis Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Introduction
The Israeli-Palestinian struggle, “the world’s most intractable conflict”, is complex to interpret and analyze in the field of international relations. The conflict began in 1948 after Israel’s establishment and massive Jewish immigration from Europe to the Middle East. Since then, the conflict has escalated into intense hostilities between the Arab community and Israel, the huge displacement of Palestinians, the involvement of the international community, particularly the United States, unsuccessful peace negotiations, the rise of religious fundamentalism, and numerous violations to human rights (Britannica 2017).
Multiple contrasting perspectives have arisen from the conflict, revealing the ideological divisions, not only among Israelis and Palestinians, but within society. Interpreting the 51-year-old conflict through international relations theories is useful in order to develop a comprehensive analysis from the perspectives of security and material forces, diplomacy and the international community, as well as social and cultural factors. By examining some key issues in the Israeli-Palestinian through the lens of realism, one can understand the states’ military and sovereignty concerns. On the other hand, through a liberal and idealist approach, one can analyze …show more content…
For self-preservation, Israel militarizes itself, causing the other Arab nations to militarize in response, subsequently causing Israel to militarize even more, and so on. This is seen in Israel’s compulsory military service for both men and women, its top-class institutions of Air Force and Navy, the approximate 200 nuclear warheads they possess, and its military spending of 17 billion (Israel – The Poster Child of Realism
The Israeli-Palestinian struggle, “the world’s most intractable conflict”, is complex to interpret and analyze in the field of international relations. The conflict began in 1948 after Israel’s establishment and massive Jewish immigration from Europe to the Middle East. Since then, the conflict has escalated into intense hostilities between the Arab community and Israel, the huge displacement of Palestinians, the involvement of the international community, particularly the United States, unsuccessful peace negotiations, the rise of religious fundamentalism, and numerous violations to human rights (Britannica 2017).
Multiple contrasting perspectives have arisen from the conflict, revealing the ideological divisions, not only among Israelis and Palestinians, but within society. Interpreting the 51-year-old conflict through international relations theories is useful in order to develop a comprehensive analysis from the perspectives of security and material forces, diplomacy and the international community, as well as social and cultural factors. By examining some key issues in the Israeli-Palestinian through the lens of realism, one can understand the states’ military and sovereignty concerns. On the other hand, through a liberal and idealist approach, one can analyze …show more content…
For self-preservation, Israel militarizes itself, causing the other Arab nations to militarize in response, subsequently causing Israel to militarize even more, and so on. This is seen in Israel’s compulsory military service for both men and women, its top-class institutions of Air Force and Navy, the approximate 200 nuclear warheads they possess, and its military spending of 17 billion (Israel – The Poster Child of Realism