Dynamics of the Arab States' Positions in the Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Perspectives for Peace

Abstract

The Middle East represents a region constantly engaged in multi-dimensional, complex conflicts involving the issues such as ideology, religion, ethnicity, territory, history, and others. One of these conflicts is that between the Jewish and Arab people which took the violent form after the official establishment of Israel in 1948. This dissertation looks at the Arab perspective of the conflict, particularly, at the dynamics of the frontline states' (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt) positions in the Arab-Israeli rivalry, and the factors which influenced it. The conceptual approach involves historical overview and periodization of the conflict. These approaches allowed seeing the circumstances under which certain stances had been taken in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict; these circumstances stand as the factors of change in dynamics. The analysis of the dynamics is based on the key assumptions of the realist theory of international relations such as centrality of the sovereign states and their self- interests, security dimension, and the relations of states determined by the relative levels of power, both economic and military. In addition, the concept of "balance of power" of game theory is used to aid the understanding of the central question. The study showed two major trends. First, is the...