The Secret Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations in Oslo: Their Success and Why the Process Ultimately Failed

by Behrendt; Sven

• ISBN13: 9780415415927
• ISBN10: 0415415926
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-04-09
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Oslo secret negotiations from 1992 to 1993 were some of the most astonishing and also successful negotiations in the Middle East, leading to the mutual recognition between the PLO and Israel. Through an in-depth examination of the Oslo negotiations, this book argues that at the core of the negotiations was a fascinating dilemma of recognition. Overcoming this dilemma was at the centre of the secret negotiations. A thorough analysis documents how decision makers tried to communicate without being able to engage in face-to-face negotiations, and highlights the significance of the role of third parties in the conflict resolution process, stressing in particular the importance of the European Union?s power in bringing the sides together. This is a comprehensive account of the Oslo negotiations, focusing particularly on the timely issue of non-recognition ? which is of great importance today given the recent emergence of the rise of Hamas as the dominant Palestinian political force.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The promise	p. 2
Predetermining choices: The international system and domestic politics	p. 4
Rational choice and constructivist approaches to negotiation analysis	p. 5
Towards an explanation of Oslo	p. 9
Israel and the PLO: Facing international and domestic challenges	p. 11
Israel moves towards peace	p. 11
The PLO in need of new options	p. 17
Converging interests	p. 24
Let's argue: A constructivist approach to understanding the Oslo talks	p. 29
Constructing the framework	p. 32
Spilling over into the Oslo talks	p. 46
The first stages	p. 47
The quest for legitimacy	p. 56
A constructivist interpretation of the Oslo talks	p. 61
Cautious rapprochement: A rational choice approach to understanding the Oslo talks	p. 63
Sending signals	p. 63
Lifting the ban to talk	p. 66
Engaging in direct talks	p. 72
Oslo overshadows the multilateral and Washington talks	p. 75
A rational choice based interpretation of the Oslo talks	p. 80
Bargaining in Oslo	p. 81
Caught in the negotiator's dilemma	p. 84
The Norwegians intensify their role	p. 87
Final tests on both sides	p. 89
Final drafting of the Declaration of Principles	p. 103
Mutual recognition	p. 105
Testing the explanatory power: Rational choice and constructivism	p. 109
The success of the Oslo talks - and why the process failed	p. 111
Timeline	p. 120
Documents	p. 123
Notes	p. 138
Bibliography	p. 146
Index	p. 157
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