Ten leading scholars and practitioners of politics, political science, anthropology, Israel studies, and Middle East affairs address the theme of continuity and change in political culture as a tribute to Professor Myron (Mike) J. Aronoff whose work on political culture has built conceptual and methodological bridges between political science and anthropology. Topics include the legitimacy of the two-state solution, identity and memory, denationalization, the role of trust in peace negotiations, democracy, majority-minority relations, inclusion and exclusion, Biblical and national narratives, art in public space, and avant-garde theater. Countries covered include Israel, Palestine, the United States, the Basque Autonomous Region of Spain, and Poland. The first four chapters by Yael S. Aronoff, Saliba Sarsar, Yossi Beilin, and Nadav Shelef examine aspects of the conflict and peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, including alternative solutions. The contributions by Naomi Chazan, Ilan Peleg, and Joel Migdal tackle challenges to democracy in Israel, in other divided societies, and in the creation of the American public. Yael Zerubavel, Roland Vazquez, and Jan Kubik focus their analyses on aspects of national memory, memorialization, and dramatization. Mike Aronoff relates his work on various aspects of political culture to each chapter in an integrative essay in the Epilogue.
Yael S. Aronoff is director of the Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel and is the Serling Chair in Israel Studies at Michigan State University and teaches in James Madison College. Ilan Peleg is founding editor-in-chief of Israel Studies Forum, the scholarly journal of the Association for Israel Studies. Saliba Sarsar is professor of political science at Monmouth University.
Introduction Yael S. Aronoff, Ilan Peleg, and Saliba Sarsar Section I: Conflict and Peace Pathways to Peace: Legitimation of a Two-State Solution Yael S. Aronoff Memory, Identity, and Peace in Palestinian-Israeli Relations Saliba Sarsar Denationalization in the Israel-Palestinian Context Nadav G. Shelef The Ecological Fallacy: "Trust" in International Relations The Case of the Settlement Freeze in the Oslo Process Yossi Beilin Section II: Challenges to Democracy Israel's Democracy at a Turning Point Naomi Chazan Majority-Minority Relations in Deeply Divided Democratic Societies: The Israeli Case in a Globalized Context Ilan Peleg Creating the Public in a Society of Strangers: Inclusion and Exclusion in American Cities Joel Migdal Section III: National Memory, Memorialization, and Dramatization The Bible Now: Political Satire and National Memory Yael Zeruvabel Victim Sculpture and an Aesthetic of Basque Politics Roland Vazquez Tadeusz Kantor's Theater as an Antidote Against the Excesses of Nationalism and Idiocy of State Socialism Jan Kubik Epilogue Myron J. Aronoff Index About the Contributors
How fitting is it that a volume in tribute to Professor Myron Aronoff-one of the academic giants in the field of culture and politics-is itself a vital resource for understanding Israeli culture, politics and the peace process. Aronoff's work has inspired scholars for several generations; that influence has also been personal: for example, his 2009 analysis of the Camp David Summit-'Camp David Rashomon'-was a building block for my own work on lessons learned and unlearned in peace negotiations. This volume is truly a living legacy to a leading American professor. -- Daniel C. Kurtzer, Princeton University Continuity and Change in Political Culture: Israel & Beyond recalls Myron J. Aronoff's innovative re-inventing of political culture over the course of his illustrious career, allowing him to uncover how power is exerted and legitimacy earned. The contributors to this festschrift elaborate and extend his insistent reimagining of a re-democratized Israel at peace with a viable Palestinian state. -- David D. Laitin, Stanford University
