Neil Caplan

The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories provides non-specialist readers with an introduction and historical overview of the issues that have characterized and defined 130 years of the still unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Provides a fresh attempt to break away from polemical approaches that have undermined academic discussion and political debates Focuses on a series of core arguments that the author considers essentially unwinnable Introduces readers to the major historiographical debates sparked by the dispute Encourages readers to consider more useful ways of explaining and understanding the conflict, and to go beyond trying to prove who is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ "This volume suggests a fresh and original interpretation to the history of the Arab Israeli conflict. Caplan juggles skillfully and even-handedly between the two narratives, reflecting the parties’ own views without embracing the cause of any party." –Joseph Nevo, University of Haifa "An impressive and very valuable work. One could not ask for a better short history of the conflict. Caplan offers readers a study that is extremely well-informed, resolutely fair-minded, and filled with thoughtful insights." –Mark Tessler, University of Michigan

Contested Histories

The Israel-Palestine Conflict

One of the "10 Must-Read Histories of the Palestine-Israel Conflict" —Ian Black, Literary Hub, on the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration The new edition of the acclaimed text that explores the issues continuing to define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Numerous instances of competing, sometimes incompatible narratives of controversial events are found throughout history. Perhaps the starkest example of such contradictory representations is the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. For over 140 years, Israelis, Palestinians, and scores of peacemakers have failed to establish a sustainable, mutually-acceptable solution. The Israel-Palestine Conflict introduces the historical basis of the dispute and explores both the tangible issues and intangible factors that have blocked a peaceful resolution. Author Neil Caplan helps readers understand the complexities and contradictions of the conflict and why the histories of Palestine and Israel are so fiercely contested. Now in its second edition, this book has been thoroughly updated to reflect the events that have transpired since its original publication. Fresh insights consider the impact of current global and regional instability and violence on the prospects of peace and reconciliation. New discussions address recent debates over two-state versus one-state solutions, growing polarization in public discourse outside of the Middle East, the role of public intellectuals, and the growing trend of merging scholarship with advocacy. Part of the Wiley-Blackwell Contested Histories series, this clear and accessible volume: Offers a balanced, non-polemic approach to current academic discussions and political debates on the Israel-Palestine conflict Highlights eleven core arguments viewed by the author as unwinnable Encourages readers to go beyond simply assigning blame in the conflict Explores the major historiographical debates arising from the dispute Includes updated references and additional maps Already a standard text for courses on the history and politics of the Middle East, The Israel-Palestine Conflict is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and interested general readers.

Laura Zittrain Eisenberg

Fifteen years since the publication of its second edition, this foundational text in the history of Arab-Israeli peacemaking endeavors has been updated to include developments from the past twenty-five years. Thoroughly revised and expanded, the third edition of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace examines the history of recurrent efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict since the 1970s and identifies a pattern of negative negotiating behaviors that repeatedly derail peacemaking efforts. In addition to updating all of the book's existing chapters with post-2010 sources and developments, authors Eisenberg and Caplan have added new chapters on the Arab Peace Initiative, the Annapolis Conference, the Kerry mission, and the Abraham Accords, as well as a conclusion that questions several core notions regarding the nature of the conflict, the possibility of its resolution, Arab-Israeli "normalization," and the viability of the two-state solution. An epilogue extends the book's framework into present-day crises in the region, specifically Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. A companion website comprises nine appendices, among them 145 primary source documents, expanded notes, links to websites for maps, data and analysis, peace activities, and additional visual and documentary sources. Also online is a robust instructor's guide offering supplementary resources and ideas for assignments, research and classroom exercises, all of which draw upon and complement the themes running throughout the text. By measuring contemporary diplomatic episodes against the historical pattern of counterproductive negotiating habits, Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace makes possible a coherent comparison of some eighty years of Arab-Israeli negotiations and offers readers a framework with which to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of peace-making attempts—past, present, and future.

Patterns, Problems, Possibilities

Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace

The current Arab-Israeli peace process and its historical context.

Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace, Second Edition

This book, first published in 1997, focuses on the Anglo-American cooperation which began during the relatively uneventful years 1953 and 1954, and which led to a covert operation, code-named 'Alpha', which aimed – unsuccessfully – at convincing Egyptian and Israeli leaders to consider a settlement through secret negotiations. As with the other three volumes that make up Futile Diplomacy, this volume comprises Dr Caplan's expert in-depth analysis with a wealth of primary source documents, making this a key reference source in the study of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Operation Alpha and the Failure of Anglo-American Coercive Diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1954-1956

Futile Diplomacy, Volume 4

These four volumes provide a careful and balanced behind-the-scenes account of the intricate diplomatic activity of the period between 1913 and 1956. Exploiting a range of available archive sources as well as extensive secondary sources, they provide an authoritative analysis of the positions and strategies which the principal parties and the would-be mediators adopted in the elusive search for a stable peace. The text of each volume comprises both analytical-historical chapters and a selection of primary documents from archival sources ...

Futile Diplomacy: Operation Alpha and the failure of Anglo-American coercive diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1954-1956

These two volumes provide a careful and balanced behind-the-scenes account of the intricate diplomatic activity of the period between the first and second Arab-Israeli wars. Exploiting a range of available archive sources as well as extensive secondary sources, they provide an authoritative analysis of the positions and strategies which the principal parties and the would-be mediators adopted in the elusive search for a stable peace. The author examines the recurring deadlocks in terms of the motives and calculations of the various parties, and reveals how new incentives of pressures offered by outsiders proved incapable of reversing the serious deterioration of Arab-Israeli relations as the region headed for war at Suez. The text of each volume comprises both analytical-historical chapters and a selection of primary documents from archival sources.

The United Nations, the Great Powers and Middle East Peacemaking 1948-1954

Futile Diplomacy

This book, first published in 1997, provides a careful and balanced behind-the-scenes account of the intricate diplomatic activity of the period between the first and second Arab-Israeli wars. The author examines the recurring deadlocks in terms of the motives and calculations of the various parties, and reveals how new incentives of pressures offered by outsiders proved incapable of reversing the serious deterioration of Arab-Israeli relations as the region headed for war at Suez. The text of this volume comprises both an in-depth analysis of the period and events, and a selection of primary documents from archival sources.

The United Nations, the Great Powers and Middle East Peacemaking, 1948-1954

Futile Diplomacy, Volume 3

Futile Diplomacy: The United Nations, the great powers, and Middle East peacemaking, 1948-1954

Thoroughly updated and expanded, this new edition of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace examines the history of recurrent efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and identifies a pattern of negative negotiating behaviors that seem to repeatedly derail efforts to achieve peace. In a lively and accessible style, Laura Zittrain Eisenberg and Neil Caplan examine eight case studies of recent Arab-Israeli diplomatic encounters, from the Egyptian-Israeli peace of 1979 to the beginning of the Obama administration, in light of the historical record. By measuring contemporary diplomatic episodes against the pattern of counterproductive negotiating habits, this book makes possible a coherent comparison of over sixty years of Arab-Israeli negotiations and gives readers a framework with which to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of peace-making attempts, past, present, and future.

"In an innovative study, two historians of the Arab-Israeli conflict reflect on what their craft can contribute to peacemaking." -- Middle East Quarterly "A fine overview of the troubled Arab-Israeli negotiations since Camp David, filled with sound analysis and a wealth of documentary material. Students and diplomats alike will benefit from this thoughtful study." -- William B. Quandt, Byrd Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia "This timely book... will be invaluable for students of Middle East international relations and for policy makers who seek a mutually acceptable resolution of this protracted conflict." -- Michael Brecher, McGill University "No matter where one stands on the issues, this valuable work commends itself to students, peace makers, and anyone concerned about the Arab-Israeli conflict and its peaceful resolution." -- Philip Mattar, Institute for Palestine Studies "... Eisenberg and Caplan offer the reader lessons of the past and sound guidance for the present and the future.... a well-researched and well-written book." -- Itamar Rabinovich, Tel-Aviv University What must change before the Arab-Israeli conflict is resolved diplomatically? By illuminating recurring factors that seem to doom peacemaking, Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace offers a fresh interpretation of how, when, and why the process does and does not work and points to diplomatic strategies that may produce an enduring peace.

This book, first published in 1978, examines the confrontation of the Jewish community of Palestine – the Yishuv – with its Arab question in the period immediately following World War 1, a period of excitement and uncertainty. Its main focus is on the different ways in which the men and women of the Yishuv perceived and defined the question of relations with the Arabs, and how they proposed to deal with the problems that arose.

Neil Caplan

About

Books

Join the club