Why the U.S. President Doesn't Matter for the Middle East Peace Process
480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
This event is free and open to the public.
The Israeli-Palestinian “peace process,” focused on the future of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has continued for almost three decades. But it is more of a carousel - lots of movement but no direction - than a process of moving the state of affairs in a particular direction. Ian Lustick will explain why the carousel continues when no one involved really believes a negotiated two-state solution is possible. In this view, whether the White House is occupied by a president named Bush, Clinton, Obama, or Trump makes no substantial difference for Israeli-Palestinian peace. He will also explain what to look for to know that real change is happening. Lustick is a world-renowned expert on Middle Eastern politics. His present research focuses on the demise of states and the implications of the disappearance of the option of a negotiated “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
If you have any questions about the event, please e-mail Julian Shendelman at juliansh@upenn.edu.
Since 2005, expert faculty from the University of Pennsylvania have shed a light on their research at the Penn Lightbulb Cafe. Lectures are free and open to the public. Each talk begins at 6 p.m. and is followed by an audience Q&A session. This lecture series is presented by the School of Arts & Sciences in partnership with the Office of University Communications.