The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a case study of social factors in conflict resolution

Abstract

Given the nature of conflict it is not surprising that they are widely presented in terms of security or military issues. This is understandable and not in and of itself problematic, because in any conflict there will be aspects which must be dealt with through security measures. However, restricting understanding of conflict to its security aspects overlooks the inherent social factors which are always present in a conflict. However, focusing on security factors at the expense of social ones seriously compromises the possibility of resolution. This study will examine conflict from the perspective of social factors inherent to its root causes, outbreak, influences, and requirements for resolution. While security measures are appropriate for dealing with elements of a conflictual relationship, efforts aimed at addressing the underlying social factors hold the strongest prospect for reaching a lasting resolution to a conflict. The Palestine conflict will be used as a case study.