Back Channel Negotiation: Secrecy in the Middle East Peace Process (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution) - Hardcover

Wanis-St. John, Anthony

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815632754 ISBN 13: 9780815632757

Publisher: Syracuse University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Wanis-St. John takes on the question of whether the complex and often perilous, secret negotiations between mediating parties prove to be an instrumental path to reconciliation or rather one that disrupts the process. Using the Palestinian-Israeli peace process as a frame­work, the author focuses on the uses and misuses of "back channel" negotiations. Wanis-St. John discusses how top level PLO and Israeli government officials often resorted to secret negotiation channels even when they had designated, acknowledged negotiation teams already at work. Intense scrutiny of the media, pressure from con­stituents, and the public’s reaction, all become severe constraints to the process, causing leaders to seek out back channel negotiations. The impact of these secret talks on the peace process over time has largely been unexplored. Through interviews with major negotia­tors and policymakers on both sides and a detailed history of the conflict, the author analyzes the functions and consequences of back channel negotiations. Wanis-St. John reveals the painful irony that these methods for peacemaking have had the unintended effect of inflaming the conflict and sustaining its intractability.

About this title

About the Author

Anthony Wanis-St. John is assistant professor at American University in Washington, D.C. He is an advisor to the United States Institute of Peace and has consulted with the World Bank. He has facilitated several workshops for Palestinian and Israeli official negotiation staff and advisors.

Edition details

• Publisher: Syracuse University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0815632754
• ISBN 13: 9780815632757
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352