Economic and Political Impediments to Middle East Peace: Critical Questions and Alternative Scenarios (International Political Economy Series)

This series of essays looks at economic approaches to Middle East diplomacy. The peace process has gone through various stages of development, but has been impaired at each step by an inability to overcome economic problems in the region. This book both chronicles this process and offers critical insights into the factors that impede progress toward the region's peace, including analysis of lack of global participation, poor financial flows, and shifting civil society networks in both Palestine and Israel. The volume includes contributions from thirteen specialists who hold senior positions at universities, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Tables......Page 10 List of Figures......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 Notes on the Contributors......Page 16 Foreword: The Face of Daunting Challenges......Page 20 Map of the Middle East......Page 25 Introduction: Economic and Political Impediments to Middle East Peace......Page 26 1 Implementing Netanyahu’s Political and Economic Programme: What are Israel’s Strategic Objectives for the Current Historical Phase?......Page 35 2 What are the Prospects for Modernizing the Middle East Economies?......Page 57 3 The Arab–Israeli Peace Process: Can the Region Benefit from the Economics of Globalization?......Page 71 4 Is MENA a Region? The Scope for Regional Integration......Page 95 5 Will an Arab–Israeli Peace Bring a Trade Dividend?......Page 112 6 The Budgetary Consequences of Middle East Peace: What are the Economic Impacts and Causal Linkages?......Page 124 7 Would Islamic Banks Help Lessen the Decline of Palestinian Banking?......Page 144 8 Will the Arab–Israeli Peace Process Generate Increased Portfolio Investment in the Middle East?......Page 166 9 The Middle East Peace Process: How is it Affecting Planning in the Cities and Regions in Jordan?......Page 182 10 External Assistance to the Palestinian Economy: What Went Wrong?......Page 199 11 The (Very) Political Economy of the West Bank and Gaza: What Lessons Should We Learn about Peace-building and Development Assistance?......Page 214 12 Civil Society Organizations in the Middle East: Can they Facilitate Socio-Economic Development during a Time of Transition?......Page 238 13 From Front State to Backyard? Syria and the Risks of Regional Peace......Page 250 Epilogue: Critical Questions and Alternative Scenarios......Page 266 D......Page 272 H......Page 273 K......Page 274 O......Page 275 S......Page 276 W......Page 277 Z......Page 278 The accords and protocols that underlie the Arab and Israeli peace agreements set into place economic policies and political processes so flawed that they are bound to fail. The chapters in this volume look at the diplomatic and historical precedents that have led to this situation and they debate - some cynically and some sympathetically - the reasons why the institutional structures and trade regimes the process has created are so weak. But for whatever reason, the structural flaws built into the Middle East peace process are not only biased toward the dominant players but against the people who most want peace. "Economic and Political Impediments to Middle East Peace presents a series of chapters on economic approaches to Middle East diplomacy." "This book chronicles this process and offers critical insights into the factors that impede progress towards regional peace, including analysis of the lack of global participation, poor financial flows and shifting civil society networks in both Palestine and Jordan. The contributors come from senior positions at universities, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union."--Jacket Edited By J.w. Wright, Jr. And Laura Drake ; Foreword By Queen Noor Of Jordan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.