Sharon Pardo - Böcker

Uneasy Neighbors: Israel and the European Union presents a concise and thorough analysis of significant aspects of Israeli-European relations from the late 1950s to the present day. Its primary concern is to examine major facets of the troubled Israeli-European relations, which are characterized by a love-hate relationship fueled by economic passion and occasional political hostility. This study of Israeli-European relations is important not only because it explores this unusual relationship, but also because it offers insights into how the European Union (E.U.) is actually judged by Israelis as well as serves as an important indicator of how well European intentions have been translated into observable actions in both Israel and the Middle East. In addition, Israeli-European relations reflect what has been faced by the E.U. in the process of setting-up its foreign policy instruments. In other words, the book offers both an analysis of Israeli-European relations, and an observation on the Union's emerging role as an international actor, especially in the Middle East. Despite the importance of Israeli-European relations, the subject has received relatively little attention in the fields of Israeli, European and Middle East studies, outside the context of the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A review of the academic literature reveals a limited number of studies on Israeli-E.U. relations. This book attempts to fill this academic gap in our grasp of major aspects of this relationship. Each of the chapters reflects on different dimensions of this relationship. The emphasis is on across-the-board observations and crucial areas for the understanding of Israeli-European relations. In this regard, while the chapters were designed to add up to an inclusive study, each of them can also be read individually.

Israel's relations with the European Union stretch back to the early days of the European Community and the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. From that point onward, Israel and Europe have developed an increasingly strong network of political, economic, scientific, and cultural ties. These relations have, however, consisted of a number of conflicting trends. Indeed, even while the EU has become Israel's most important trading partner, the political relationship has been marked by disappointment, frustration, and, at times, even anger.Israel and the European Union: A Documentary History, by Sharon Pardo and Joel Peters, traces the history of these complex relations by bringing together over two hundred documents in one volume. The documents contained in this book are divided into five time periods: i) 1957–1966, Israel Looks to Europe; ii) 1967–1979, Between War and Peace; iii) 1980–1991, From Venice to Madrid; iv) 1992–2003, From Oslo to Barcelona; and v) 2004–2011, A Renaissance Cut Short?. Each section is preceded by a short essay outlining the major themes of Israeli-European Relations during those years. The authors have not added any commentary to the documents themselves and instead have allowed the documents to speak for themselves. The aim of this book is to offer a public record for future researchers and students of the dynamics of European-Israeli relations—as well as of Europe's relationship with the Middle East—over the past fifty years. Israel and the European Union is designed to serve as a companion volume to Pardo and Peters' Uneasy Neighbors: Israel and the European Union (Lexington Books, 2010).

Israel's relations with the European Union stretch back to the early days of the European Community and the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. From that point onward, Israel and Europe have developed an increasingly strong network of political, economic, scientific, and cultural ties. These relations have, however, consisted of a number of conflicting trends. Indeed, even while the EU has become Israel's most important trading partner, the political relationship has been marked by disappointment, frustration, and, at times, even anger.Israel and the European Union: A Documentary History, by Sharon Pardo and Joel Peters, traces the history of these complex relations by bringing together over two hundred documents in one volume. The documents contained in this book are divided into five time periods: i) 1957–1966, Israel Looks to Europe; ii) 1967–1979, Between War and Peace; iii) 1980–1991, From Venice to Madrid; iv) 1992–2003, From Oslo to Barcelona; and v) 2004–2011, A Renaissance Cut Short?. Each section is preceded by a short essay outlining the major themes of Israeli-European Relations during those years. The authors have not added any commentary to the documents themselves and instead have allowed the documents to speak for themselves. The aim of this book is to offer a public record for future researchers and students of the dynamics of European-Israeli relations—as well as of Europe's relationship with the Middle East—over the past fifty years. Israel and the European Union is designed to serve as a companion volume to Pardo and Peters' Uneasy Neighbors: Israel and the European Union (Lexington Books, 2010).

The book draws on some of the scholarship in perception studies and “Normative Power Europe” theory. The study of perceptions, although dating back to the mid-1970s, is gaining renewed currency in recent years both in international relations, in general, and in European Union studies, in particular. And yet, despite the significance of external perceptions of the European Union, there is still a lack of theoretical forays into this area as well as an absence of empirical investigations of actual external role conceptions. These lacunae in scholarly work are significant, since how the European Union is perceived outside its borders, and what factors shape these perceptions, are crucial for deepening the theory of “Normative Power Europe.” The book analyzes Israeli perceptions towards “Normative Power Europe,” the European Union, and NATO through five themes that, the book argues, underscore different dimensions of key Israeli conceptions of “Normative Power Europe” and NATO. The book seeks to contribute to the existing research on the European Union’s role as a “normative power,” the Union’s external representations, and on Israeli-European Union relations more broadly.