The Middle East peace process continues to frustrate even the most optimistic of observers. What once seemed
the nearly inevitable "working out" of a decades-long conflict
is now seen more clearly as a contingent unfolding set of events that could
drive the region in more than one direction, including toward explicit conflict
and war, as it has between Israel and Lebanon and Hamas and Fatah in the past eighteen months. This presents unique theoretical, analytic, and policy opportunities.
Two
ongoing IGCC projects continue to keep the lines of unofficial communication open,
and a new project seeks to provide answers on which types of reconstruction and political development are crucial to the Middle East in the fight against terrorism. Past IGCC projects have addressed both the environmental and economic concerns
of the region.
The 2007 IGCC conference drew together academics and practitioners to discuss current research relevant to counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. Leading social scientists from political science, economics, sociology, and anthropology and practitioners from the U.S. military, the U.S. State Department, and the British Foreign Service presented their latest findings and on-the-ground experiences during two days of meetings. The conference was held with the support of the University of California Office of the President , the Earhart Foundation, and the British Consulate-General, Los Angeles. Organizers are pursuing funding for a series of follow-on activities, including a project on Terrorists and Rebels, a follow-up conference focused on policy, and a training program in evaluating benign interventions for Special Operations forces.
Arms Control and Security Improvement in the Middle East
After the Middle East Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) negotiations
stalled in 1995–96, IGCC began a program to engage Arab and
Israeli military personnel in informal security discussions. Initiated in 1997,
Arms Control and Security Improvement in the Middle East series of dialogues assembles active and
retired military officers to study emerging global military trends, and examine
their possible role in arms control regimes and regional security cooperation.
This unique track two project creates a mechanism for ongoing communication between
key regional military players, especially important in the absence of formal
negotiations such as ACRS.
The scope of the project has expanded to include military, retired military,
and
government officials from the entire region.
The Mideast Regional Security and Cooperation Dialogues
After the Madrid Framework peace talks lost momentum in the 1990s, Professor Steven Spiegel (UCLA Center for Middle East Development) and IGCC filled the void by sponsoring a special series of "track two" meetings on vital Middle East topics. Over the years these meetings have expanded to include representatives from all countries in the region, bringing together business leaders, security experts, academics, journalists, and officials participating in their private capacities, creating dialogues that would otherwise be impossible because of frequent communication gaps among countries in the region.
An accord among the United States, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,
and Turkmenistan, pledging to construct a main export pipeline to deliver Caspian
oil to western markets, has been lauded a success in "pipeline diplomacy." Opting
for a route driven not only by economic efficiencies, but by strategic needs,
political ambitions, environmental concerns, and security considerations, the
signatories have agreed to pump oil over a 1,100-mile route from Baku, Azerbaijan,
through the Republic of Georgia, to Mediterranean tanker ports near Ceyhan. "Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan" aims
to spur economic development and unite, stabilize, and anchor new nations along
the western leg of the ancient trade route known as the Great Silk Road.
Water and Food Security in the Middle East
To complement its military focus, IGCC also researches ways to meet basic economic
needs of the Middle East and North Africa. In 1996, IGCC began the project "Water
and Food Security in the Middle East" to examine how meeting fundamental
resource requirements is crucial to the peace process. An extension of this
project took place on 15 December 1998 at the IGCC Washington, D.C., office.
Middle East Environmental Diplomacy
Expanding on IGCC's project on water and food security in the Middle
East, the conference "Environmental Diplomacy in the Middle East:
Past Efforts, Present Dilemmas and Future Options." was held in
Washington, D.C., in 1998. The conference had three objectives:
1) to examine past environmental diplomatic efforts in the Middle
East; 2) to draw implications for future regional and global environmental
policy; and 3) to develop an innovative research agenda to help guide
future multilateral efforts in the region.
In keeping with the structure of the Middle East Multilateral Working
Groups, the conference addressed both regional water issues and regional
environmental issues. The conference was attended by experts from the
U.S. government, research institutions, academia, the environmental
community, the Middle East policy community, and public and private
foundation representatives. The conference was funded by the new congressionally-authorized
Edmund S. Muskie Foundation, established to honor the former Secretary
of State's commitment to the preservation of the environment and global
affairs.
One route to stability on the borders of southern Europe may be revitalization
and integration of the Mediterranean region as a whole. At a conference held
November 1999 at UC Berkeley, participants considered how policy prescriptions
might best serve the aim of constructing a Mediterranean region, by assessing
recent attempts at Mediterranean integration and the cultural, economic, and
political implications of such a maneuver. Key issues included assessing the
role functional measures should play in regional integration and conflict prevention,
and identifying constraints and opportunities for building a Mediterranean
sense of identity.
In 1993, after a request from Israel's foreign minister, Profs. Susan
Shirk (IGCC) and Steven Spiegel (UCLA) created the project "Promoting
Regional Cooperation in the Middle East." This initiative commissioned
policy memos and proposals for improving the chances of the multilateral
talks on
arms control, economic cooperation, environmental issues, refugees, and water
resources.
Number: Policy Paper 42 Title:Environmental
Diplomacy and the Jordan Basin Author(s): Isha Ray, Gershon Baskin, Zakaria al
Qaq, W. Michael Hanemann Published by: IGCC Pages: 21 Year of Publication: 2001 Related PolicyPack:PolicyPack 42
Number: Policy Paper 14 Title:Promoting
Regional Cooperation in the Middle East Author(s): Fred Wehling, Lewis Dunn, Ali Ghezawi,
Yoram Avnimelech, Howard Adelman, Richard Rosecrance Published by: IGCC Pages: 42 Year of Publication: 1995
Number: Policy Paper 04 Title:Workshop
on Arms Control and Security in the Middle East Author(s): David J. Pervin Published by: IGCC Pages: 17 Year of Publication: 1993
Number: PolicyPack 61 Title:The
Great Silk Road Survey Author: Jennifer R. Pournelle Published by: IGCC Related Policy Paper: None Number of Slides: 26 Year of Publication: 2002
Number: PolicyPack 60 Title:International
Intervention in Civil Conflict Author: Barbara F. Walter, Phil Roeder, James Fearon Published by: IGCC Related Policy Paper: None Number of Slides: 31 Year of Publication: 2002
Number: Policy Brief 11-2 Title:Smoothing
the Waters: The Nile in Conflict Author: Robert O. Collins Published by: IGCC Pages: 4 Year of Publication: 1999
Number: Policy Brief 11-1 Title:Smoothing
the Waters: The Jordan Rift Author: Richard T. Carson, Nadja Marinova, David
Zilberman Published by: IGCC Pages: 4 Year of Publication: 1999<
Number: Policy Brief 04 Title:Middle
East Environmental Cooperation Author: Philip Warburg Published by: IGCC Pages: 4 Year of Publication: 1995
Title: The Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli Triangle:
Smoothing the Path to Peace Author(s): Joseph Ginat, Onn Winckler, eds. ISBN: 1-902210-03-4 (paper) Published by: Sussex Academic Press Year of Publication: 1998
Title: Being Israeli: The Dynamics of Multiple
Citizenship Author(s): Gershon Shafir, Yoav Peled Published by: Cambridge University Press Year of Publication: 2002
Title: The Dynamics of Middle East Nuclear Proliferation Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel, Jennifer D. Kibbe,
Elizabeth G. Matthews Published by: Edwin Mellen Press Year of Publication: 2001
Title: The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel Published by: University of Chicago Press Year of Publication: 1985
Title: Practical
Peacemaking in the Middle East Volume
I: Arms Control and Regional Security Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel, David J. Pervin, eds. ISBN: 0-8152-1999-1 Published by: Garland Publishing Year of Publication: 1995
Title: Practical
Peacemaking in the Middle East Volume II: The Environment, Water, Refugees,
and Economic Cooperation & Development Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel, David J. Pervin ISBN: 0-8153-2000-0 Published by: Garland Publishing Year of Publication: 1995
Title: The Arab-Israeli Search for Peace
Steven Spiegel ISBN: 1-55587-313-8 Published by: Lynne Rienner Publishers Year of Publication: 1992
Title: Soviet-American
Competition in the Middle East Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel, Mark A. Heller, Jacob
Goldberg, eds. ISBN: 0-669-15357-5 (out of print) Published by: Lexington Books Year of Publication: 1988
Title: Conflict Management in the Middle East Author(s): Steven L. Spiegel ISBN: 0-8122-8218-1 (out of print) Published by: Westview Press/Pinter Publishers Year of Publication: 1992
Return to top.
IGCC
is a non-profit, nonpartisan institute with official 501(c)(3) status. We welcome
your tax-deductible donations to help support our work, and encourage you
to contact
us about our programs and activities.
Copyright 2001–2008 by the Regents of the University of California on
behalf of IGCC.
The Middle East peace process continues to frustrate even the most optimistic of observers. What once seemed
the nearly inevitable "working out" of a decades-long conflict
is now seen more clearly as a contingent unfolding set of events that could
drive the region in more than one direction, including toward explicit conflict
and war, as it has between Israel and Lebanon and Hamas and Fatah in the past eighteen months. This presents unique theoretical, analytic, and policy opportunities.