How Has Realism Theory Played a Key Role in Israeli and Palestinian Relations

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Introduction

For many centuries, Judaic and Arabian societies have engaged in one of the most complicated and lengthy conflicts known to mankind, the makings of a highly difficult peace process. Unfortunately for all the world’s peacemakers the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the war between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is rooted in far more then ethnic tensions. Instead of drawing attention towards high-ranking officials of the Israeli government and Hamas, focus needs to be diverted towards the more suspect and subtle international relations theory of realism which, has imposed more problems than solutions.
Throughout the course of this paper, I seek to explore the use of realism theory to both explain and account for the Arab-Israeli conflict. More precisely, how has realism theory played a key role in Israeli and Palestinian relations, and will it impact future diplomatic efforts? The viewpoints and stances of various nations, religious organizations, and geopolitical alliances will be examined in an effort to better understand the past, present, and future of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Contemporary realism theory will also be examined for the sake of giving the noted international relations theory wider parameters and new boundaries. It is no surprise that the global community has had a significant impact on the region, yet the next step is to link such to the international relations theory.
This examination of realism theory is based on evidence of which the global community has already presented. First, ethnic tensions spiraling into conflict are nothing new and prior conflicts do frequent history textbooks. However, Israel and Palestine cannot simply be compared to the Hutu and Tuts...

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... The Middle East as a Subordinate International System. World Politics, 10, pp 408-429.

• Jack Donnelly, "The Ethics of Realism", in Christian Reus-Smit, Duncan Snidal (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Relations, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 150.

• Jonathan Fox and Shmuel Sandler . Bringing Religion into International Relations. (June 2004) Palgrave Macmillan. 22 March 2014

• Adrian Pabst (2012). The secularism of post-secularity: religion, realism, and the revival of grand theory in IR. Review of International Studies, 38, pp 995-1017.

• Schmidt, B. C. (2007). Realism and facets of power in international relations. In F. Berenskoetter & M. J. D. Williams (Eds.), Power in world politics (pp. 43-63). London: Routledge.

• Jerome Slater. "Muting the Alarm over the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." International Security 32, no. 2 (Fall 2007): 84-120.

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