Negotiating a Historic Compromise: The Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Photo credit: Justin Ide, Harvard News Office
Speaker: Herbert Kelman, the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics, Emeritus, at Harvard University, USA
Time: 6.30-8.00 pm
Date: 20 May 2008
Venue: The Great Hall, Queen’s University Belfast
This event is open to the public.
Abstract
I start with the proposition that in the Israeli-Palestinian case--unlike some other cases of divided societies--a two-state solution is the most likely formula for ending the conflict at this historical juncture in a way that meets the basic needs of both peoples, is considered just and acceptable by both, and is conducive to stable peace, mutually enhancing cooperation, and reconciliation between them. The Annapolis conference of November 2007 created an opportunity to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations of a two-state solution. To grasp this opportunity, the leaderships need to frame the final agreement in terms of a principled peace, based on a historic compromise that allows each people to achieve its national aspirations in an independent state within the land they agree to share, and offers them a vision of a positive future in that land. The address examines components of such a principled peace and reasons why it can overcome the mutual distrust of the two publics and elicit their enthusiastic support.
Herbert Kelman
Professor Kelman is a social psychologist and was Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He has been engaged for many years in the development of interactive problem solving, an unofficial third party approach to the resolution of international and intercommunal conflicts, and in its application to the Arab-Israeli, Northern Ireland and Cyprus conflicts. His talk will discuss the similarities and differences between these three conflicts. Professor Kelman is past president of the International Studies Association, the International Society of Political Psychology, the Interamerican Society of Psychology, and several other professional associations. He is a recipient of many awards, including the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest and the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.