Events in the second half of 1995 and the first months of 1996 dramatically illustrated the promise, and the pitfalls, of the Middle East peace process. On one hand, steps toward political, cultural, economic, and environmental cooperation among the parties continued, evidenced by the October...

Complex historical, ideological, political, and military factors have created a vicious circle of mutual threat perception in the Middle East, so that every action, whether political or military, by the protagonists contributes to a process that generates increased fear and suspicion among them....

Gulf of Aqaba environmental protection efforts are a model for conflict avoidance, confidence-building, and economic develop-ment throughout the greater region. The U.S. should encourage this process.

Since the inception of the Middle East Peace Process in 1991, arms control and regional security issues have been one of the most difficult areas to address. The establishment and functioning of the official multilateral Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) Working Group in the multilateral...

This paper reviews the achievements of Middle East environmental diplomacy under the multilateral track and lays out a feasible program to build on these achievements. It argues that negotiations should be informed by three lessons from the history of international water diplomacy. These are: 1)...

The Middle East peace process is now moving more rapidly than ever before. Many actors in the region have displayed a newfound willingness to adopt innovative approaches to resolving persistent conflicts. Though many obstacles remain, the end of the Cold War, the accord signed between Israel and...

This policy paper is part of the “Arms Control and Security Improvement in the Middle East†workshop series, sponsored by the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) of the University of California. The project is a Track II (unofficial) activity which indirectly supports...

Discussion of Middle East arms control has centered on weapons of mass destruction and confidence building measures, ignoring the possibility of a conventional arms control arrangement. Although the potential for such an agreement may be distant, the author argues that the changing environment...

The record of the Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) Working Group thus far is a mixed one. On the one hand, the very creation of a multilateral process for arms control and regional security in a region where no comparable process ever before existed is in itself a significant...

This paper examines the concept of maritime confidence building and suggests potential uses in the Middle East. It establishes that thinking and application of confidence building generally, but maritime confidence building specifically has traditionally focused on measures. It has ignored the...