Beyond the Handshake: Multilateral Cooperation in the Arab-Israeli Peace Process, 1991-1996

by Dalia Dassa Kaye

Overview

Arabs and Israelis have battled one another in political and military arenas, seemingly continuously, for some fifty years. The 1991 Madrid Peace Conference sought to change this pattern, launching bilateral and multilateral tracks in the Arab-Israeli peace process. As a result, a broad group of Arab states sat down with Israel and began to cooperate on a wide range of regional issues in what became known as the Middle East multilaterals. Yet why did enemies reluctant even to recognize one another choose to cooperate on regional problems? And once this process began, what drove the parties to continue such cooperation or, in some cases, halt their cooperative efforts? Beyond the Handshake addresses these fundamental questions, exploring the origins of the multilaterals and the development of multilateral cooperation in the areas of arms control and regional security, economic development, water management, and the environment. Dalia Dassa Kaye, challenging conventional concepts of cooperation, argues that multilateral cooperation in the Middle East must be appreciated as a process of interaction rather than solely as a set of outcomes. Presenting theoretical insights of value to students of regional and international relations, Beyond the Handshake provides a unique look at the evolving nature of Arab-Israeli relations and exposes the foundation the multilateral peace process laid for future regional cooperation in the Middle East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231120036
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	03/29/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	1790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dalia Dassa Kaye is assistant professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. Explaining Regional Multilateral Cooperation
2. The Historical Record: Pre-Madrid Regional Cooperation
3. The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Multilateral Talks
4. Regional Security Cooperation
5. Regional Economic Cooperation
6. Water and Environmental Cooperation
7. Conclusion
Appendix A: Concluding Remarks by Secretary of State James A. Baker III Before the Organizational Meeting for Multilateral Negotiations on the Middle East
Appendix B: Article 4: Security. Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Appendix C: Declaration of Principles and Statements of Intent on Arms Control and Regional Security
Appendix D: Statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council on the Cancellation of the Secondary and Tertiary Arab Boycott of Israel
Appendix E: Casablanca Declaration
Appendix F: Amman Declaration
Appendix G: Cairo Declaration
Appendix H: Declaration on Principles for Cooperation Among the Core Parties on Water-Related Matters and New and Additional Water Resources
Appendix I: The Bahrain Environmental Code of Conduct for the Middle East
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Michael Barnett

Kaye has written an important book that works on many levels. It is a superb and convincing analysis of the origins and development of the multilaterals in the Middle East. Based on myriad primary documents, secondary analyses, and interviews with many key players, there is unlikely to be a more authoritative of what occurred 'beyond the handshake' for some time to come. It tells us that the U.S. was important to the process but not as important as many might believe. And it generates important insights into the meaning and practice of international cooperation, illustrating how cooperation can be more than policy coordination and can require adjustments in conceptions of friend and foe.

— Michael Barnett, University of Wisconsin

Editorial Reviews

Kaye's approach provides significant insight into the rationale behind each state's involvement in and expectations from multilateral negotiations...Beyond the Handshake is a solid contribution to the subject.

Arab Studies Journal - Scott Rothstein

Kaye has produced a perceptive account of... the multilateral track in light of current paradigms of international relations.

Israel Affairs

Kaye's approach provides significant insight into the rationale behind each state's involvement in and expectations from multilateral negotiations... Beyond the Handshake is a solid contribution to the subject.

— Scott Rothstein

Arab Studies Journal

The handshake of the title happened on the White House lawn in 1993, as Yasir Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin marked the historic Oslo Accord. The handshake initiated a period of intense bilateral peacemaking that provided a framework for understanding Arab-Israeli politics in the 1990s as well as a number of important developments emerging in the wake of the Cold War. Kaye, who conducted much of her research while a fellow at the Brookings Institution, argues that traditional understandings of international cooperation based on outcomes neglect the equally significant view of cooperation as a process. Such a view can better explain developments in complex regions like the Middle East, where a new setting for interaction can help shape relations in ways not originally envisioned. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Theoretical and descriptive.

Journal of Palestine Studies