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The establishment of a Palestinian state has long been a strategic objective of EU and Russian foreign policy in the Middle East. However, over a decade after the creation of the road-map, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state has still not been achieved.
Palestine in EU and Russian Foreign Policy uses the school of constructivism to provide a new understanding of EU and Russian foreign policy. It explores the failure of these global actors to speed up the process of establishing a Palestinian state, despite this being a strategic objective and top priority of their involvement in the Middle East peace process. The book then analyses the role of identity and self-other perception in the making of EU and Russian foreign policy towards the Middle East peace process. It is argued that Palestinian statehood provides a telling empirical example of how, and to what extent, the search for global actorness, as a matter of international identity, informs foreign policy-making by global actors. The book then proceeds to discuss why the EU and Russia are so eager to be involved in initiating a peace settlement.
Offering a new understanding of foreign policy-making by global players in Middle Eastern politics, this book will appeal to students, scholars and policymakers working in International Relations and European, Russian and Middle Eastern studies.
List of contents
Introduction 1. Understanding Palestine: A Historical Context 2. The EU and Russia: Identity-Building and the Search for Global Actorness 3. The Middle East in the EU and Russian Foreign Policy: The Importance and Challenges 4. Peace-making and Actorness: Promoting the EU and Russia's Role in the Establishment of Palestinian Statehood 5. Findings and Constructivist Reflection Conclusion
About the author
Malath Alagha is a Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom
Summary
This book uses the school of constructivism to provide a new understanding of EU and Russian foreign policy, and the countries’ failure to speed up the process of establishing a Palestinian state, despite its designation as a priority in their involvement in the Middle East peace process. Palestinian statehood provides a telli
Report
"The author competently untangles the various facets of diplomacy, exposing key actors and their intentions while showing what is routinely unacknowledged in favour of pretence and false hopes. Palestine does not have an ally in either entity - it is being exploited for influence in the region, which is where EU and Russian interests lie."
Ramona Wadi, Middle East Monitor
