Political geography and grassroots conflict resolution

Abstract

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is well known and understood within the intricacies and intractability that it possesses. The political geography of the region known as the Holy Land has been debated by elites since before the establishment of the state of Israel. Demographic realities have altered the geopolitical definitions of what is defined as Israel and Palestine. Currently, there is a fresh push by political elites to achieve new political resolutions that will respect the aspirations of both the Israelis and Palestinians. This process has been bogged down by new demographic realities specifically in the West Bank. An alternative mode of negotiations known as the ‘Minds of Peace’ experiment or MOPE uses a grassroots approach to try the overcome stumbling blocks in the current Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The MOPE experiment provided fresh and valuable perspectives on the conflict. This article discusses reflections of the author on this new and innovative approach to peacemaking.

Keywords:

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
• foreign affairs
• Middle East peace process
• conflict resolution

Notes

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