Conflict intervention and human needs satisfaction
: exploring nonviolent approaches to the Israel-Palestine protracted social conflict 1993-2014

  • William Wallace Thomson

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis (PhD)

Abstract

This thesis explores the Israel‐Palestine conflict and the extent to which nonviolent intervention initiatives satisfy the human needs of actors in the dispute. Edward E. Azar’s theory of protracted social conflict provides the theoretical foundation for this thesis, framing the conflict’s contextual processes and outlining the framework to investigate three cases of nonviolent intervention from 1993‐2014. The first case, a conflict resolution approach, examines mediation and the efforts related to the Norwegian‐led Oslo Peace Process. It explores the problem solving approach to mediation and discusses the importance of this method for uncovering underlying human needs issues. The case goes on to examine the effects of spoilers on mediated processes while discussing the overall impact of the Norwegian engagement in relation to human needs satisfaction. The second case, a conflict management approach, explores Israel’s Security Wall, which the state has defined as a nonviolent act to enhance their human security needs. The case discusses whether Israel’s Wall is a method of nonviolence and is compared to the theoretical literature on nonviolent action in relation to blockades and land seizures. The case goes on to explore the literature on structural violence and dehumanisation to frame Israel’s Wall policies towards security which also impact upon Palestinian human needs. The third case, a conflict transformation approach, explores the work of the ‘Parents’ Circle Family Forum’, an NGO made up of Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families who engage in peace education. Based on extensive fieldwork observing the PCFF’s Dialogue Encounters in schools, the chapter explores the extent to which their peace education initiative is able to assist in conflict transformation and respond to the negative psycho‐political needs that can develop through protracted social conflict. By engaging with Giroux’s critical pedagogy theory, the case attempts to enhance the work of the bereaved families and peace education more generally. The conclusion discusses whether these interventions are nonviolent and to what extent they satisfy the human needs of Israelis and Palestinians.
Date of Award1 Dec 2014
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of St Andrews
SupervisorPatrick Hayden (Supervisor)

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