EU and the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict 1971–2013

Anders Persson is lecturer of political scientist at Linnaeus University, Sweden.

• Chapter One: IntroductionChapter Two: Just Peace in the Context of PeacebuildingChapter Three: The EU and Just PeaceChapter Four: Defining a Just Peace in the ConflictChapter Five: Securing a Just Peace: the EU and Security Sector Reform in the Palestinian TerritoriesChapter Six: Building a Palestinian StateChapter Seven: Conclusions

Anders Persson raises critical questions about the ‘notion of just peace’ in EU diplomacy. Though the notion ‘just peace’ has been used consistently in the EU’s declaratory diplomacy over decades, it received only sparse attention. Previous research predominantly focused on the cumbersome process of forging internal political compromise on the EU’s conflict resolution policy. This book shifts focus by elaborating on the intersubjective nature of just peace and the way the EU’s own notion of a just peace has evolved over time. While the book touches on several important issues and is empirically rich, it is its particular conceptual focus on the notion of ‘just peace’ that makes it unique and will stimulate the reader’s thinking. It almost seems paradoxical, but at a time when the feasibility of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel is more and more questioned, the EU’s own view of a just solution to the longstanding conflict has crystalized into an increasingly elaborated vision of a two-state settlement.