Co-opting the PLO: A Critical Reconstruction of the Oslo Accords, 1993-1995

(Paperback)

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Co-opting the PLO analyzes the Oslo Accords, the interim self-government agreements signed between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), during the period 1993-1995. Author Peter Weinberger makes an argument that initially appears counterintuitive: that the Oslo Accords did not signal a change in Israeli attitudes towards the Palestinians but rather a continuation of old attitudes through a new politics of co-optation and control. In contrast to preceding analyses of Oslo, this study argues that the circumstances which developed out of the Oslo Accords cannot be wholly interpreted in Realist terms, as an instance of traditional power politics or an act of shrewd statecraft. It is undeniably true that the key Israeli leaders at the time, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, were manipulating the Oslo Accords to their own ends, but this deliberative process cannot be fully explained at the level of agency. It must instead be understood as reflecting a new logic of rule that has been explicated in the works of the theorists Gilles Deleuze and Michael Hardt. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict occupies a substantial share of academic and, indeed, of the general public interest in international affairs.Co-opting the PLO will appeal to academic audiences with interests in Conflict Resolution, Middle East Studies, Critical Theory, Post-Colonial Studies and Philosophy.

Reviews

By bringing contemporary theories of power, agency, and social control to bear on recent events, Peter Weinberger shows that the story of the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority might not be what we are so often told it is. Neither a first step in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish reciprocal recognition between equal partners nor a premeditated neo-colonial plot, it reflects more general trends in the development of modern and postmodern power. Weinberger's work shows us the need for a politics that remains staunchly critical and pluralist, a politics that recognizes how shifting power relations infiltrate all levels of political negotiation and governance and responds with creative reworkings of political identities and their relations to difference. -- Nathan Widder, University of Exeter
Peter E. Weinberger's book is a brilliant application of the theoretical application of the works of Gilles Deleuze and Michael Hardt to the concrete example of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the 1990s. He convincingly shows that the Oslo Peace Accords were part of an Israeli strategy to co-opt the Palestinian leadership and forestall the movement towards Palestinian statehood. This book is a must read for any scholar investigating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it serves as an important resource for scholars trying to analyze international events via critical social theories. -- Carlos L. Yordan, Drew University
[Peter Weinberger] argues that the works of Gilles Deleuze provide a critical key to unlocking the real meaning of the accords, notably in the notion of a "complex co-optation." * Choice Reviews *
[an] astute and serious book... -- 2008 * Journal of Palestine Studies *
Peter Weinbergers provocative analysis of the Oslo Process effectively combines theoretical sophistication, moral vision, and rigorous attentiveness to detail and nuance. His well-researched account provides a long-overdue challenge to conventional wisdom, and offers some daringly unconventional suggestions about the prerequisites for a just, generous, and lasting peace. This book should be required reading among students of international conflict resolution, area specialists, and policymakers.... -- Nathan C. Funk, The University of Waterloo
Peter Weinberger's provocative analysis of the Oslo Process effectively combines theoretical sophistication, moral vision, and rigorous attentiveness to detail and nuance. His well-researched account provides a long-overdue challenge to conventional wisdom, and offers some daringly unconventional suggestions about the prerequisites for a just, generous, and lasting peace. This book should be required reading among students of international conflict resolution, area specialists, and policymakers. -- Nathan C. Funk, The University of Waterloo

Author Bio

Peter E. Weinberger is assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC.