阿以冲突的现状、成因及出路

巴勒斯坦地区的阿以冲突历久不息,加剧了世界政治与民族关系危机,因此认识其冲突的根源和解决的途径,已成为世人关注的问题,成为研究阿拉伯和以色列问题的认识前提。鉴于出自实际考察的研究不是很多,即便有一定论著也多从官方视角出发,难以触及当地社会现实的底层,所以本文试图在这方面做一补充,从长期的社会底层观察和思考中总结阿以冲突的症结所在,以裨读者对这一国际政治焦点问题的具体形势获得正确理解。     

1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War

Shulamit Laskov, ed., Haim Hissin, Memoirs and Letters of an Early Pioneer (Hebrew), Jerusalem, Yad Izhak Ben‐Zvi, 229 pp.

Ilan Schori, The Dream turned into a Metropolitan — The Growth of Tel Aviv, the First Hebrew City in the World, Tel Aviv, Avivim Publishers, 423 pp.

Ran Aaronsohn. Baron Rothschild and the Colonies; The Beginnings of the Jewish Colony of Eretz Israel, 1882–1890, Jerusalem, Yad Izhak Ben‐Zvi, 322 pp.

Meir Avizohar, National and Social Ideals as Reflected in Mapai, 1930–1942, Tel Aviv, Am Oved, 447 pp.

Aviva Halamish, Exodus — The Real Story, Tel Aviv, The Association for the Study of Illegal Immigration in Memory of Shaul Avigur at Tel Aviv University and Am Oved, 325 pp.

Eli Shaltiel, Pinhas Rutenberg: 1879–1942, Tel Aviv, Am Oved, 2 vols., 703 pp.     

Martin Amis,neo-Orientalism,and hubris

This article puts forward a reading of Martin Amis’s 2008 book The Second Plane with an emphasis on its cultural politics. It reconsiders Amis’s book from a distance of almost a decade in light of recent global developments, including the rise of ISIS in the Middle East, the resurgence of acute Islamophobia in Europe and the US, and Tony Blair’s public acknowledgement of the shortcomings of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. With these factors in mind, the essay argues that it is possible to detect in Amis’s book early warning signs of how the West’s relationship with both Islamism and Islam would develop in the period following its publication. Drawing on William Connolly’s work on tragedy and Edward Said’s work on Orientalism, the essay argues that The Second Plane ought to be read as advancing a hubristic ‘neo-Orientalist’ cultural and political agenda which today threatens to lock much of the world into an ongoing cycle of recrimination and revenge. Against this, a case is made for an appreciation of the complex circumstances which give rise to suicide terrorism and for a sense of history largely absent from Amis’s writing on the subject.     

Spatial and temporal dynamics of linkage strategies in Arab-Israeli water negotiations

Water issues are inherently multi-faceted and therefore water policy often involves linkages to other issues. By providing opportunities for bargaining, use of policy linkages in transboundary water negotiations can increase the possibilities of reaching agreements; however, they also involve potential political costs. While there is ample theoretical literature on the potential benefits and risks of linkages in transboundary water negotiations, there is little empirical work exploring if, how, and why linkages are implemented in practice, especially in areas of conflict, in which they have perhaps the largest potential impact. This study evaluates the rationales behind decisions to adopt or refrain from linkage strategies by examining their actual use in Arab-Israeli water negotiations. The study finds that the likelihood, scale, and scope of linkages change over time, and they depend on factors such as the political climate, the level of trust between the parties, the degree of power asymmetry between parties, and political affiliation. Other variables such as size of negotiating parties were weakly correlated with likelihood of linkages. Knowing the opportunities and limits afforded by such linkages is crucial for negotiators and policymakers who are often drawn to linkage strategies without considering their inherent risks.