Resources & Tools

The widely discussed Syrian-Israeli peace park concept is rooted in the assumption that Syrian and Israeli "good will" for cooperation is sufficient to mobilize a long- lasting, firm peace treaty between the two countries. The current discussions on a layout for a peace park provide a description of the mechanisms that will control and maintain the park, but fail to provide the insights for how to keep these mechanisms functioning in one, five or ten years into the future.

This publication documents faith-based efforts by Muslim, Jewish, and Christians to achieve a just peace in the Arab/Israeli conflict. The publication argues forcefully that religious leaders and interests must be engaged in the peace process in order to assure a sustainable, inclusive, and comprehensive settlement. The report includes the perspectives of clergy, lay, facilitators of inter-faith dialogue, religious educators, and participants in the historic Alexandria Summit in January 2002, which convened high-level clergy to voice a religious commitment to and strategy for achieving peace in the region.

Over the last decade, USIP has produced a definitive series of books on culture and negotiating styles. Described as "profoundly useful," this series is essential reading for diplomats, trade negotiators, policymakers, business leaders, and students. Books have been produced on French, Russian, German, North Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Israeli, Palestinian, and Indian negotiating styles. American, Pakistan, and Iranian negotiating styles are currently under development.

USIP also published Negotiating Across Cultures: International Communication in an Interdependent World (by Raymond Cohen). Orbis describes this resource as "a masterwork of cultural analysis applied to international politics...An insightful and entertaining narrative...on what can, but need not, go wrong in cross-cultural negotiations."

As the international community continues to debate humanitarian assistance to Gaza, USIP examines “Reconstructing Gaza – Lessons from Lebanon” by Beirut-based Alistair Harris, a Deployable Civilian Expert for the British Government’s Stabilisation Unit. Harris argues that donors should avoid the temptation to adopt a mechanistic, one size fits all solution. “In the rush to rebuild what was destroyed, it should be remembered,” writes Harris, “that the major catalysts for this conflict were political and economic. As such, the reconstruction effort must ensure that viable employment initiatives form part of the post-conflict stabilization plan. This was very much a man-made humanitarian disaster,” concludes the report. “If the underlying issues are not addressed, unfortunately renewed conflict would seem inevitable.”