Alan Dowty - Böcker

When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Some discussions focus on the 1967 war, some go back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and others look to the beginning of the British Mandate in 1922. Alan Dowty, however, traces the earliest roots of the conflict to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, arguing that this historical approach highlights constant clashes between religious and ethnic groups in Palestine. He demonstrates that existing Arab residents viewed new Jewish settlers as European and shares evidence of overwhelming hostility to foreigners from European lands. He shows that Jewish settlers had tremendous incentive to minimize all obstacles to settlement, including the inconvenient hostility of the existing population. Dowty's thorough research reveals how events that occurred over 125 years ago shaped the implacable conflict that dominates the Middle East today.

When did the Arab-Israeli conflict begin? Some discussions focus on the 1967 war, some go back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and others look to the beginning of the British Mandate in 1922. Alan Dowty, however, traces the earliest roots of the conflict to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, arguing that this historical approach highlights constant clashes between religious and ethnic groups in Palestine. He demonstrates that existing Arab residents viewed new Jewish settlers as European and shares evidence of overwhelming hostility to foreigners from European lands. He shows that Jewish settlers had tremendous incentive to minimize all obstacles to settlement, including the inconvenient hostility of the existing population. Dowty's thorough research reveals how events that occurred over 125 years ago shaped the implacable conflict that dominates the Middle East today.

Fashioning a working political structure in Israel that will bring together all aspects of society, from Jews to Arabs, ultra-Orthodox to assertively secular, has never been easy. However, two developments have intensified this challenge: demographic changes have sharpened the differences between the groups; and open challenges of legitimacy have undermined the previous de facto acceptance of pluralism. There has been no strong civic framework of Israeliness to replace Zionism as a shared identity that would override more parochial identities and interests. Added to these pressures are the collapse of the peace process in late 2000 and the influence of global developments on the Arab-Israel conflict and on Israeli domestic society.In this volume, twelve noted scholars of Israel present authoritative and analytic overviews of these important issues. The ability of the Israeli political system to bridge differences through a Jewish tradition of power-sharing has, in the past, managed to overcome enormous divisions, at least within the Jewish sector. Economic progress and globalization have brought Israel closer to other developed societies in many respects, while exposing Israel to pressures associated with these trends. Closer analysis of these critical issues reveals that there are also positive forces at work as the nation seeks a broader synthesis of its Jewish legacy and universal liberal values.

As the fiftieth anniversary of Israeli statehood approaches, along with the commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the World Zionist Organization, the question of what is meant by a 'Jewish' state is particularly timely. Alan Dowty takes on that question in a book that is admirable for its clarity and its comprehensive interpretation of the historical roots and contemporary functioning of Israel. Israeli nationhood, democracy, and politics did not unfold in a social or political vacuum, but developed from power-sharing practices in pre-state Jewish communities in Palestine and in Eastern Europe. Dowty elucidates the broad cluster of cultural, historical, and ideological tenets which came to comprise Israel's contemporary political system. He demonstrates that such tenets were not arbitrary but in fact developed logically from Jewish political habits and the circumstances of time. Dowty illustrates how these traditions are balanced with those of ideology and modernization, and he provides an integrated, sophisticated analysis of the Israeli nation's formation and present state.Dowty also proposes thoughtful answers to puzzles regarding the strengths and weaknesses of Israeli democracy in responding to the challenges of communal divisions, religious contention, the country's non-Jewish minority, and accommodation with the Palestinians. "The Jewish State" will be invaluable for anyone looking for that one book that gives an intelligent overview of both Israel today and of its origins.

Middle East Crisis: U.S. Decision-Making in 1958, 1970, and 1973 offers a comprehensive analysis of how the United States navigated pivotal international crises in the volatile Middle East region. Drawing on structured empiricism and a rigorous analytical framework, Alan Dowty examines decision-making processes across three critical episodes to uncover patterns in crisis behavior, information processing, and conflict resolution under stress. This scholarly contribution integrates a wealth of research materials—official documents, memoirs, and extensive interviews with key policymakers—providing fresh insights into the complexities of U.S. foreign policy during these crises. The work illuminates the psychological and institutional factors shaping American responses to Middle Eastern turmoil, making it an indispensable resource for understanding both historical events and broader crisis behavior.The book situates these crises within the broader goals of the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) project, an ambitious initiative designed to improve the management of global crises and contribute to a more stable world order. Dowty’s meticulous approach not only enriches the historical narrative of U.S. policy in the Middle East but also rigorously tests hypotheses about decision-making under stress. By comparing events across three decades, the study highlights the evolution of U.S. strategies and their implications for international relations. With its clarity and depth, Middle East Crisis is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of global crisis management.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.

Middle East Crisis: U.S. Decision-Making in 1958, 1970, and 1973 offers a comprehensive analysis of how the United States navigated pivotal international crises in the volatile Middle East region. Drawing on structured empiricism and a rigorous analytical framework, Alan Dowty examines decision-making processes across three critical episodes to uncover patterns in crisis behavior, information processing, and conflict resolution under stress. This scholarly contribution integrates a wealth of research materials—official documents, memoirs, and extensive interviews with key policymakers—providing fresh insights into the complexities of U.S. foreign policy during these crises. The work illuminates the psychological and institutional factors shaping American responses to Middle Eastern turmoil, making it an indispensable resource for understanding both historical events and broader crisis behavior.The book situates these crises within the broader goals of the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) project, an ambitious initiative designed to improve the management of global crises and contribute to a more stable world order. Dowty’s meticulous approach not only enriches the historical narrative of U.S. policy in the Middle East but also rigorously tests hypotheses about decision-making under stress. By comparing events across three decades, the study highlights the evolution of U.S. strategies and their implications for international relations. With its clarity and depth, Middle East Crisis is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the dynamics of global crisis management.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.

Introduction to any complex international conflict is enriched when the voices of the adversaries are heard. The Israel/Palestine Reader is an innovative collection, focused on the human dimension of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian confrontation. Its vivid and illuminating readings present the voices of the diverse parties through personal testimonies and analyses. Key leaders, literary figures, prominent analysts, and simply close observers of different phases of this protracted conflict are all represented—in their own words.From Mark Twain to Theodor Herzl, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Ezer Weizman, Ehud Barak, Marwan Barghouti, Mahmoud Abbas, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, and dozens of others, the firsthand narratives brought together in this Reader bring the conflict to life as seen by those closest to it. Though structured to complement Alan Dowty's introductory text Israel/Palestine (4th edition, Polity 2017), this Reader also stands on its own as a survey of "voices" in the conflict.  Each of the ten chapters is framed by an editorial introduction that sets the pieces in context. By juxtaposing contrasting viewpoints both between and within the opposed parties, these pieces underline the drama of the conflict, while final judgment is left to the reader. This lively volume will add color and texture to any study of Arab–Israeli issues or of the Middle East generally.

Introduction to any complex international conflict is enriched when the voices of the adversaries are heard. The Israel/Palestine Reader is an innovative collection, focused on the human dimension of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian confrontation. Its vivid and illuminating readings present the voices of the diverse parties through personal testimonies and analyses. Key leaders, literary figures, prominent analysts, and simply close observers of different phases of this protracted conflict are all represented—in their own words.From Mark Twain to Theodor Herzl, Gamal Abdul Nasser, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Ezer Weizman, Ehud Barak, Marwan Barghouti, Mahmoud Abbas, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, and dozens of others, the firsthand narratives brought together in this Reader bring the conflict to life as seen by those closest to it. Though structured to complement Alan Dowty's introductory text Israel/Palestine (4th edition, Polity 2017), this Reader also stands on its own as a survey of "voices" in the conflict.  Each of the ten chapters is framed by an editorial introduction that sets the pieces in context. By juxtaposing contrasting viewpoints both between and within the opposed parties, these pieces underline the drama of the conflict, while final judgment is left to the reader. This lively volume will add color and texture to any study of Arab–Israeli issues or of the Middle East generally.

How did a community of a few thousand Jewish refugees become, in little over a century, a modern nation-state and homeland of half the world's Jews?  Has modern Israel fulfilled the Zionist vision of becoming "a nation like other nations," or is it still, in Biblical terns, "a people that dwells alone"?Alan Dowty distils over half a century of study as an inside/outside analyst of Israel in tracing this remarkable story.  It begins in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, when Jews fleeing Russian persecution established a renewed Jewish presence in their historic homeland.  It continues through harsh struggle and in deep-rooted conflict with another people that sees Israel/Palestine equally as their homeland.  Immensely successful by most standards, Israel today remains a center of contention and is still torn between its hard-earned role as a "normal" nation and the call of its particularistic, and unique, Jewish history.

How did a community of a few thousand Jewish refugees become, in little over a century, a modern nation-state and homeland of half the world's Jews?  Has modern Israel fulfilled the Zionist vision of becoming "a nation like other nations," or is it still, in Biblical terns, "a people that dwells alone"?Alan Dowty distils over half a century of study as an inside/outside analyst of Israel in tracing this remarkable story.  It begins in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, when Jews fleeing Russian persecution established a renewed Jewish presence in their historic homeland.  It continues through harsh struggle and in deep-rooted conflict with another people that sees Israel/Palestine equally as their homeland.  Immensely successful by most standards, Israel today remains a center of contention and is still torn between its hard-earned role as a "normal" nation and the call of its particularistic, and unique, Jewish history.

What explains the peculiar intensity and evident intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of all the ""hot spots"" in the world today, the apparently endless clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution. Is this conflict really different from other ethnic and nationalist confrontations, and if so, in what way? In this fully revised and expanded fifth edition of his highly respected introductory text, Alan Dowty demystifies the conflict by putting it in broad historical perspective, identifying its roots, and tracing its evolution up to the current impasse. His account offers a clear analytic framework for understanding transformations over time, and in doing so, punctures the myths of an ""age-old"" conflict with an unbridgeable gap between the two sides. Rather than simply reciting historical detail, this book presents a clear overview that serves as a road map through the thicket of conflicting claims. Updated to include recent developments, such as the recent Israeli elections and the debate over the two-state solution, the new edition presents in full the opposed perspectives of the two sides, leaving readers to make their own evaluations of the issues. The book thus expresses fairly and objectively the concerns, hopes, fears, and passions of both sides, making it clear why this conflict is waged with such vehemence – and how, for all that, the gap between the two sides has narrowed over time.