IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/intstu/v53y2016i2p136-152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is the Israeli Democracy a Hindrance to Peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority?

Author

Listed:
  • Yakub Halabi

Abstract

Scholars of Israeli politics have overestimated the role of the Israeli military generals in shaping Israel’s security policy and the peace process with the Palestinian Authority (PA). They also underestimated the role of the Knesset in the process. This article claims that not only the Knesset has a final say in ratifying any peace agreement with the PA but the Knesset has become a hindrance to peace. The structure of Israeli democratic system, that is, the proportional representation (PR) system, has boosted the power of small parties beyond their relative size, while the party primaries bestowed autonomy on the party candidates from their party leadership. Under these circumstances, the Israeli government has become a weak actor, where a small party could break down the governing coalition and topple the government. The article claims that the weak Israeli government operates within a strong State, both domestically vis-à -vis society and internationally. While the State security institutions are able to enforce the rule of law and dissolve settlements for the sake of peace, the government cannot guarantee that the legislative branch could approve such a decision.

Suggested Citation

  • Yakub Halabi, 2016. "Is the Israeli Democracy a Hindrance to Peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority?," International Studies, , vol. 53(2), pages 136-152, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:intstu:v:53:y:2016:i:2:p:136-152
    DOI: 10.1177/0020881717727628
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0020881717727628
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0020881717727628?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Doyle, Michael W., 1986. "Liberalism and World Politics," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(4), pages 1151-1169, December.
    2. Dixon, William J., 1994. "Democracy and the Peaceful Settlement of International Conflict," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 14-32, March.
    3. Putnam, Robert D., 1988. "Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(3), pages 427-460, July.
    4. de Mesquita, Bruce Bueno & Morrow, James D. & Siverson, Randolph M. & Smith, Alastair, 1999. "An Institutional Explanation of the Democratic Peace," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 93(4), pages 791-807, December.
    5. Yaniv, Avner & Pascal, Fabian, 1980. "Doves, Hawks, and other Birds of a Feather: The Distribution of Israeli Parliamentary Opinion on the Future of the Occupied Territories, 1967–1977," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(2), pages 260-267, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Conconi, Paola & Sahuguet, Nicolas & Zanardi, Maurizio, 2018. "Electoral incentives, term limits, and the sustainability of peace," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 15-26.
    2. David Brulé, 2006. "Congressional Opposition, the Economy, and U.S. Dispute Initiation, 1946-2000," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 50(4), pages 463-483, August.
    3. Michael Mousseau, 2000. "Market Prosperity, Democratic Consolidation, and Democratic Peace," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 44(4), pages 472-507, August.
    4. Ely Ratner, 2009. "Reaping What You Sow," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 53(3), pages 390-418, June.
    5. Sahuguet, Nicolas & Zanardi, Maurizio & Conconi, Paola, 2008. "Democratic Peace and Electoral Accountability¤," CEPR Discussion Papers 6908, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. William J. Dixon & Paul D. Senese, 2002. "Democracy, Disputes, and Negotiated Settlements," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 46(4), pages 547-571, August.
    7. Lingyu Lu & Cameron G. Thies, 2010. "Trade Interdependence and the Issues at Stake in the Onset of Militarized Conflict," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 27(4), pages 347-368, September.
    8. Idean Salehyan, 2010. "The Delegation of War to Rebel Organizations," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 54(3), pages 493-515, June.
    9. David Carment & Patrick James, 1995. "Internal Constraints and Interstate Ethnic Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 39(1), pages 82-109, March.
    10. Stephen L. Quackenbush & Michael Rudy, 2009. "Evaluating the Monadic Democratic Peace," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 26(3), pages 268-285, July.
    11. James Lee Ray, 2001. "Integrating Levels of Analysis in World Politics," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 13(4), pages 355-388, October.
    12. Sally Anderson & Mark Souva, 2010. "The Accountability Effects of Political Institutions and Capitalism on Interstate Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 54(4), pages 543-565, August.
    13. Terrence L. Chapman, 2007. "International Security Institutions, Domestic Politics, and Institutional Legitimacy," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 51(1), pages 134-166, February.
    14. Alastair Smith, 2009. "Political Groups, Leader Change, and the Pattern of International Cooperation," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 53(6), pages 853-877, December.
    15. Brian Lai & Dan Reiter, 2000. "Democracy, Political Similarity, and International Alliances, 1816-1992," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 44(2), pages 203-227, April.
    16. David H. Bearce & Eric O'N. Fisher, 2002. "Economic Geography, Trade, and War," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 46(3), pages 365-393, June.
    17. Paola Conconi & Nicolas Sahuguet & Maurizio Zanardi, 2014. "Democratic Peace And Electoral Accountability," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 997-1028, August.
    18. Michael Mousseau, 2005. "Comparing New Theory with Prior Beliefs: Market Civilization and the Democratic Peace," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 22(1), pages 63-77, February.
    19. Xinyuan Dai, 2006. "The Conditional Nature of Democratic Compliance," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 50(5), pages 690-713, October.
    20. Paul F. Diehl, 1996. "Territorial Dimensions of International Conflict: An Introduction," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 15(1), pages 1-5, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:intstu:v:53:y:2016:i:2:p:136-152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.