The subject of this dissertation is the impact of social conditions on the
creation and implementation of social rights in Serbia, at the turn of the
20th in 21st century. In the last few decades ...laws and public policies in the
field of social rights are in the process of deep changes with far-reaching
social consequences. The aim of this dissertation is to identify the impact
of social factors on the creation and implementation of social rights in the
social context marked by two global processes (globalization and
post-socialist transformation). Social factors (determinants) whose effect we
analyze are the state, the market and values, while elites and middle classes
are the actors whose activities and interests we analyze. Globalization is a
complex social process of increasing interdependences between societies and
states. Globalization has significant social consequences– for example,
increased global economic competition leads to the emergence of some of the
so called new social risks. In addition to profound social change,
globalization brings with it a new ideology, to which we refer as a mixture
of (neo)liberalism and globalism. The new ideology is based on the ideas of
individual responsibility for personal welfare, reduced role of social
solidarity, changing roles of government, individuals and private sector in
social policy and subordination of social process to economic logic. State
capacities and powers of national states are weakened due to globalization,
especially in the world periphery. Many responsibilities are moved to the
supranational (e.g. integration within the EU) and regional and local levels
of government (as part of the process of decentralization). Vacant space that
emerged after the retreat of the state was filled in by international actors.
Among them, in the field of social rights important roles are played by the
World Bank, the UN with its agencies, bilateral donors, international NGOs,
and the European Union. They actively influence the creation of public
policies and laws through technical and financial assistance (in the form of
loans and grants) offered to developing countries, including Serbia. The
social context that frames our analysis is also composed of the postsocialist
transformation. This term denotes the process of structural changes of former
socialist societies: transition from command to market economy and one-party
system to democracy and their reintegration into the world system.
Post-socialist transformation was marked by the decline in GDP, and growing
poverty and inequalities. In many countries, these negative effects were soon
minimized, while in Serbia, after a decade of blocked and then decade of slow
transformation, they are still present. For our discussion the following
consequences are important: widespread poverty (which poses a great social
pressure for public policies and legislative solutions) and collapsing
institutions and changing social values (which have a negative impact on
reestablishing the rule of law and restoring confidence in the laws and their
ability to effectively regulate social processes). In Serbia, as well as in
other former socialist countries, post-socialist transformation is also
marked by the conversion of public resources into private, which helped the
old "socialist" elites transform into the new political and economic elite.
Support for social changes was limited mainly to the middle classes and
slowly spread across society. This set of social and political factors was
the impetus for the development of a series of redistributive policies
(economic, monetary etc.). Within this context and under the influence of
these determinants laws and public policies were formulated. The
transformation of social rights and public policies is in line with global
trends that we analyze: marketization (growing share of private sector in
services in the field of social policy, commercial strategies of the public
sector and outsourcing services to private sector), undermining mechanisms of
social solidarity and shifting responsibility to individuals and their
individual strategies (public services designed to support individual
proactive strategies rather then to reduce the negative effect market
mechanisms) and, finally, the subordination of social sphere of the economy
(e.g. education system is understood primarily as a tools for preparation for
entering the labor market). Here we notice ideological dominance of
neoliberal ideas and residualism in social policy. In Serbia, important role
was played by international actors such as international organizations,
transnational corporations, EU etc. They have contributed to the economic
(e.g. tax) policies and concrete solutions in the field of social rights.
International development partners (international organizations and bilateral
donors) have played a vital role in the creation of laws and public policies
in the field of pension insurance, health and social care, etc. by providing
financial and technical assistance directly or conditioning recipient state
to adopt certain policies. The space for the international influences was
relatively large due to collapsed institutions and a large outflow of skilled
personnel (as a consequence of postsocialist transformation) and reduced role
of the state (which is either a consequence of real political and legal
processes or it is based on influence of neo-liberal ideology and the
assumption that the declining of the power of the state is inevitable and
that political and management processes ought to internationalized). The new
government and elites had to reinforce social support they received through
generous redistributive policies (in economic policy, labor market policies,
monetary policies, etc.). Social rights and social policies have been created
to respond to the interests of the middle class, rather than lower social
classes. This is consistent with trends we have documented: social reforms
require the consent of more influential middle class. Public policies in the
fields of education, health and labor market contain very few mechanisms to
support the most vulnerable residents. Specific institutional environment
influenced certain laws and public policies in the fields of education,
health and social protection. For example, the structure of public
administration and political system does not support multi-sectoral programs.
Or, a network made up of professional experts, ministry officials and
representatives of international organizations influenced the decision-making
process in the case of Law on social protection (they are characterized as
sub-elite because of their influence on the shaping of social institutions
and processes). The implementation of laws is also affected by the variety of
social conditions. Our analysis was conducted on the example of the Law on
Social Protection and points to differences in interpretation of laws that
influence its application in a particular social (that is, local) context.
After the consensus about specific law is reached by the local community or a
network of experts, politicians and officials, the degree of implementation
depends on a number of non-legal factors. Developed municipalities have more
welfare services, which indicate that a process of relativization and
contextualization of social rights is underway. To what extent some social
rights will be realized also depends on the political influence of the group
(so there are more services for the elderly than for Roma) and the degree of
organization of groups (so there are more services for people with
disabilities than for Roma). The implementation of law takes place in a
social environment characterized by regulatory informalism and legal and
moral cynicism. The regulatory informalism refers to a major role of informal
networks, informal channels of communication, negotiation and decision
making, prominent roles of distinguished individuals as opposed to
institutions in decision-making and law enforcement. The legal cynicism
refers to rejection of the validity of legal norms, willingness to justice
violations of laws and lack of expectations that the law will be applied.
These are the characteristics of social and political networks within which
application of law takes place but also a feature of legal culture in Serbia.
In the context of western societies, analysis of the process of application
of laws is based on the assumption that laws are valid, hey ought to be
applied and there is a rule of law (positive myth of the rule of law). In
Serbia, this is not the case and according to many indicators (level of law
enforcement, judicial independence, control of public authorities, etc.)
there are shortcoming in establishing and maintaining the rule of law. All
formal preconditions for the rule of law are in place, but their full
implementation is difficult due to the strong social and political interests.
Similarly to democracy, establishing and maintaining the rule of law requires
a balance of powers and interests that is also framed by a set of meta-legal
ideas (on natural law and human rights). Establishing and maintaining the
rule of law requires specific social preconditions, that is, specific social
interests that will support and maintain the rule of law. Detailed analysis
shows that Serbia does not have it and that in the recent history it has
failed as well in establishing powerful capitalist classes and numerous and
influential middle classes.
Predmet ove doktorske disertacije je uticaj društvenih uslova na stvaranje i
primenu socijalnog prava u Srbiji, na prelasku iz 20. u 21. vek. U nekoliko
poslednjih decenija u oblasti socijalnog prava menjaju se zakoni i javne
politike sa dalekosežnim društvenim posledicama. Cilj ovog rada je da u
društvenom kontekstu oličenom u dva globalna procesa (globalizacija i post-
socijalistička transformacija) identifikuje uticaj društvenih faktora na
stvaranje i primenu socijalnog prava. Društ
U radu se istražuje koncept nordijskog kapitalizma i načini funkcioniranja socijalne države u nordijskim zemljama. Takozvani „srednji put“ između kapitalizma i socijalizma u nordijskim zemljama ...uspješno opstaje već desetljećima unatoč pritiscima i izazovima koje je globalizacija stavila na održivost države blagostanja. U radu se analizira razina ekonomske razvijenosti i blagostanje građana mjereno monetarnim i nemonetarnim pokazateljima u Danskoj, Finskoj, Norveškoj i Švedskoj te se te četiri nordijske zemlje uspoređuju sa zemljama Europske unije. Analiziraju se i temeljne pretpostavke koje leže u pozadini nordijskog kapitalizma, kriza nordijskog kapitalizma i socijalne države u vrijeme uspona globalizacije, ali i njihova ponovna reafirmacija nakon izbijanja Velike recesije. Analiza makroeokonomskih podataka i pregled dosadašnjih radova upućuju na zaključak da je moguće spojiti visok stupanj državne intervencije u tržišne ishode s visokim stupnjem razvoja i efikasnim funkcioniranjem slobodnog tržišta.
Rad prikazuje i analizira Vladara Niccolòa Machiavellija na 500. obljetnicu njegova nastanka. Nakon potrebnoga iznošenja konteksta nastanka ovoga znakovitoga djela o političkim odnosima u Italiji ...XVI. stoljeća te o teorijskim uvidima u fenomen politike, pokazuje se kako je najveća zasluga Machijavellijeva djela formulacija i razradba pojma države kao specifičnoga oblika političke zajednice nastaloga u XVI. stoljeću. Pored temeljnoga razmatranja pojma države, rad analizira Machiavellijevu tipologiju oblika vladavina, dijalektički odnos fortuna–virtù te pojam građanske monarhije kao Machiavellijeva idealna tipa države.
Članak prikazuje neke značajke prisutnosti 1. kozačkedivizije njemačke vojske u Slavoniji tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Ova postrojba je u Nezavisnu Državu Hrvatsku (NDH) stigla krajem 1943. godine. ...Ona je bila popunjena Kozacima koji su se, tijekom njemačkog napada na Sovjetski Savez, stavili na njemačku stranu, kao i sovjetskim ratnim zarobljenicima koji su odlučili pristupiti njemačkoj vojsci. Zapovjednik 1. kozačke divizije bio je njemački generalHelmuth von Pannwitz. Postrojbe te divizije su, nakon dolaska u NDH, sudjelovale u borbama protiv partizana na različitim područjima (Banija, Bosna, Srijem). Ovaj članak ipak se usredotočuje na prisutnost 1. kozačke divizije u Slavoniji, pri čemu pokušava opisati posebnosti te postrojbe, kao i kako su te posebnosti utjecale na držanje vlasti NDH prema njoj.
Kurdski faktor ima dugoročan potencijal za promjenu umjetno konstruiranih granica Bliskog istoka, koje ih već preko jednog stoljeća drže u okovima nacija kojima ne pripadaju. "Siročad svijeta", kako ...su ih više puta oslovljavali, s kaosom koji je donijelo Arapsko proljeće, dobila su priliku da na razvalinama Sirije i Iraka započnu borbu za svoja prava i učvrste svoje političke položaje. Za razliku od iračkih Kurda, koji su nakon dva rata protiv Sadama Huseina dobili i dalje konsolidirali svoju autonomiju, Kurdi u Siriji tek s eskalacijom građanskog rata stupaju u borbu za ostvarenje određenog stupnja samostalnosti.
At the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, Israel participated in talks that included not only its immediate Arab neighbors of Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians but also Arab states from the Persian Gulf ...and North Africa who had never before participated in such talks. Why? What changed to enable such cooperation?;Challenging conventional conceptions about the meaning and nature of international cooperation, Dalia Dassa Kaye argues that multilateral co-operation in the Middle East must be understood as a process of interaction rather than a set of outcomes. This comprehensive study of the Middle East multilateral process contributes both empirical knowledge about the development of Arab-Israeli relations after the Gulf War and theoretical insights into international relations in the post-Cold War world.;Drawing upon myriad primary documents, secondary analyses, and interviews with many of the key players, Kaye highlights the long-range multinational scope of the peace talks - from arms control and regional security to regional economic development.
The dissertation seeks to address and to explain comprehensive processes of extending the space of citizenship. Suffrage is seen as a means and a symbol of this extension. In order to highlight the ...gradual, processual and complex nature of enfranchisement, my research was focused on 19th century England. The text is organized around three focal points (1832, 1867 and 1884), when Reform Acts, Acts which extended the suffrage, were passed. These Acts and their reformative frame form an interpretative matrix for the processes which conditioned the understanding of citizenship. This matrix is also used to explain how this understanding fitted into wider normative frameworks, and how the requirements for the extension of suffrage were made to include those dispossessed of it. The substantial question of this study is therefore what normative requirements were presented to those who were not entitled to citizenship, i.e. what were the inherent limits of citizenship itself. In this light, the centrality of the categories of class and sex for this research becomes understandable. In terms of epistemological and methodological framework, this study links issues, insights and methods of different disciplines. It is conceived as an attempt to write the history of the present, because its elaboration of the development of citizenship as an institution in 19th century has an emphatic relevance for us today. This form of understanding of history, as well as the modalities of discursive analyses (legal, reformative, medical, scientific etc.), owes to the genealogical method devised by Michel Foucault. On the other hand, the idea that guided this research, revolving around the need to demonstrate that sex has a history and to show the specific political impact of this fact – comes from contemporary feminist theory, particularly from work of Judith Butler. In order to elucidate the broader aspects of citizenship, this study relied greatly on archival material (from pamphlets and newspaper articles to scholarly studies and books by renown authors still widely read today), and texts in political philosophy, social, political and cultural history, as well as feminist theory. This methodological approach should justify why a canonical topic was addressed in a non-canonical way. The concept of citizenship is interpreted in conjunction with several other key concepts. Above all, those are the concepts of individual, sex and class. The specific frame within which these concepts are positioned, which engenders its particular meanings and enables norms of its appearance and circulation, is the system of private and public. The appearance of of private and public as a system is inextricably related to the transformation of political that occurred in 19th century. The processes through which the transformation of political is revealed are reform and the emergence of the state, the apparatus that ceases to function as a commonwealth and becomes the state in contemporary sense of the term. The claims for the extension of suffrage are thus understood as the requests made in reformative spirit, aimed at the state, and formulated with an assumption that transformation of political had already occurred. The way the claims are made is intrinsically related to the contents of the concept of individual. In other words, it serves not only as a framework within which the right to entitlement is assigned to an individual, but also as a matrix which limits the assignment of this apparently universal right. The aim of this research is to show how systemic production of knowledge and norms, according to which the right to entitlement was assigned, assumed parallel production of those who did not have the right to be entitled individuals. Those entities are summarily defined as sex and class. Individual chapters of this study show how situatedness in sex, or class, precluded or impeded the processes of extension of citizenship. This study aims to confirm the thesis according to which an ostensibly neutral category of the individual (neutral in terms of sex and class), and a fortiori citizen, is inherently selective. This selectivity needs to be understood not only as something which defined limits of citizenship in the 19th century, but also as having the effects on modalities of development of this institution in times to come. In addition, this study posits the issue of sex and women’s suffrage in the midst of the process of becoming a citizen, thereby showing that this is not a marginal question for understanding citizenship, a question that can be examined separately from key political, social and economic processes.
Ova studija nastoji da razmotri i objasni obuhvatne procese osvajanja prava glasa kao širenja prostora građanstva. Pravo glasa se uzima kao sredstvo i simbol uvećanja tog prostora. Da bi se istakla složenost, procesualnost i postepenost osvajanja prava glasa, ovo istraživanje se usredsređuje na Englesku u XIX veku, koja predstavlja paradigmatski reformski prostor. Tekst se organizuje oko tri središnje tačke (1832, 1867. i 1884. godine), kada su donošeni reformski zakoni (Reform Acts, zakoni kojima se širilo pravo glasa u Engleskoj), jer se posredstvom tih zakona i njihovog reformskog okvira tumače procesi koji su uslovljavali način na koji se razumelo građanstvo, način na koji se ono uklapalo u šire normativne okvire, i način na koji se formulisao zahtev da se pravo glasa proširi da bi obuhvatilo one koji ga nisu posedovali. Ključno pitanje koje ova studija postavlja jeste kakvi su normativni zahtevi postavljani pred one koji nisu polagali pravo na zvanje građanina, odnosno kakva su bila inherentna ograničenja samog građanstva. Zbog toga se u središtu ovog istraživanja nalaze entitet pola i entitet klase. U epistemološko-metodološkom smislu, ova studija spaja pitanja, uvide i metode različitih humanističkih disciplina i nauka. Da bi bilo moguće pisati o razvoju građanstva kao institucije u XIX veku u Engleskoj, ali tako da taj proces ima značaj i za nas danas, ovaj tekst je koncipiran kao pokušaj pisanja istorije sadašnjosti. Taj oblik razumevanja istorije, ali i način na koji su analizirani raznovrsni diskursi (pravni, reformatorski, medicinski, naučni, itd.), u najvećoj meri duguje genealoškoj metodi Mišela Fukoa. Jedan od ključnih zahteva kojim je rukovođeno ovo istraživanje – da se ustanovi da li pol ima istoriju i na koji je način ta istorija politički relevanta – dolazi iz savremene feminističke teorije, i to posebno iz radova filozofkinje Džudit Batler. Da bi se, dakle, u ovom svetlu čitalo široko postavljeno pitanje građanstva, ova se studija najvećim delom oslanjala na arhivsku građu (od pamfleta i novinskih članaka, do strogih studija i danas opštepriznatih velikana XIX veka) i na sekundarnu literaturu iz oblasti političke filozofije, društvene, političke i kulturne istorije, i feminističke teorije. Ovakav metodološki pristup treba da opravda nastojanje da se jedna kanonska tema čita na nekanonski način. Pojam građanstva se ovde posmatra u konjunkciji s nekoliko ključnih pojmova oko kojih ova studija gravitira. To su, pre svega, pojmovi pojedinca (shvaćen kao sastavni deo kategorijalnog aparata XIX veka), pola i klase. Okvir unutar kojeg se ti pojmovi smeštaju, koji generiše njihova specifična značenja i omogućava norme njihovog pojavljivanja i cirkulisanja, jeste sistem privatnog i javnog. Pojava sistema privatnog i javnog u nerazlučivoj je vezi s transformacijom političkog koja se smešta u XIX vek. Procesi u kojima se ta transformacija pokazuje jesu reforma i nastanak države, države koja prestaje da funkcioniše kao commonwealth i postaje država u savremenom smislu reči (state). Zahtev za proširenjem prava glasa utoliko se posmatra kao zahtev koji je upućen u reformskom duhu, namenjen državi, i formulisan pod pretpostavkom transformacije političkog. Način na koji se taj zahtev upućuje u neraskidivoj je vezi sa sadržajem pojma pojedinca. Normativni okviri koji omogućavaju sadržaje ovog pojma sa svoje su strane na unutrašnji način povezani sa sistemskom i sistematičnom distribucijom prava na zvanje pojedinca, odnosno sistemom privatnog i javnog. Sistem privatnog i javnog funkcioniše kao podloga za reformske politike i nastanak savremenog modela države, koja se istovremeno javlja i kao „noćni čuvar“ i kao „univerzalni staratelj“. Drugim rečima, ne samo da se unutar tog okvira dodeljuje pravo na zvanje pojedinca, već on funkcioniše i kao matrica koja dodelu tog naizgled univerzalnog prava iznutra ograničava. Cilj je ovoga rada da pokaže kako je sistemska proizvodnja znanja i normi, u skladu s kojima se ovo pravo na zvanje dodeljivalo, podrazumevala i paralelno proizvođenje onih koji na to zvanje nisu mogli imati pravo. Ti entiteti skupno su određeni kao pol i klasa. Pojedinačna poglavlja ove studije posvećena su tome da pokažu kako je smeštanje u pol, odnosno u klasu onemogućavalo ili otežavalo proces širenja građanstva. Ova studija treba da potvrdi tezu prema kojoj je naizgled (polno i klasno) neutralna kategorija pojedinca, a samim tim i građanina, iznutra selektivna. Tu selektivnost treba razumeti kao ono što definiše granice građanstva ne samo u XIX veku, već ima i učinke po način na koji se ta institucija razvijala u potonjim vremenima. Takođe, ovaj rad postavlja pitanje pola i prava glasa žena u sàmo središte procesa postajanja građaninom, pokazujući da to nije sporedno pitanje za razumevanje građanstva, takvo da se može izučavati odvojeno od ključnih političkih, društvenih i ekonomskih procesa.
Autor se u ovoj studiji o Benjaminovome političkome mišljenju, s obzirom na njegove spise o nasilju, pravu, pravednosti i državi iz 1920-ih godina, posebno bavi analizom spornog pojma „božansko ...nasilje”. Pojam je krajem 20. stoljeća i još više danas postao iznimno teoretski komentiran, i to ponajprije zaslugom predstavnika tzv. postfundacionalističkoga obrata u filozofiji politike i političkome mišljenju kao što su Derrida, Nancy, Agamben, Critchley i drugi. Budući da se Benjaminovo mišljenje političkoga izravno i neizravno odnosi na teorije suverenosti i moći Carla Schmitta te na anarhističku kritiku države, u ovom se radu iscrpno tematizira kako je u suvremenom kontekstu promijenjene uloge države i društva u globalnome poretku korporativnog informacijskoga kapitalizma pitanje subjekta otpora i kritike „sustavnoga nasilja” države postalo zastarjelo. Čitava se novost i lucidnost Benjaminove mesijansko-političke kritike autoritarne države i njezinih mehanizama izvršenja moći otuda može razumjeti kao kritika sustavnoga nasilja države u ontologijskome značenju kao sredstva/svrhe politike izvan njezine klasične antičke izvedivosti u kategorijama slobode i pravednosti. Nije stoga slučajno da se pravednost, koja ima svoje podrijetlo u židovskoj eshatologiji, postavlja ispred slobode i to očito danas u doba ideologijsko-političke krize legitimnosti liberalne države postaje pitanjem razloga zašto se ideje o vladavini „ljudskih prava”, „pravne države” i „normativizma prava” nužno sučeljavaju sa zahtjevima za „stanjem iznimke” i „izvanrednim stanjem”. Benjamin se, dakle, pojavljuje uz Schmitta, ali na posve drugi način, prethodnikom jedne nove „političke teologije” koja se odvija u logici inkluzivne isključenosti subjekta moderne politike („narod”) u demokratskim procesima oblikovanja nove moći s onu stranu države i društva.
The departure point of this work is the thesis that Hegel´s problem of ethics
can be understood as an attempt to solve the crucial issue of the modern age,
that is as an answer to the problem of ...separation which represents the
essence of the modern age and which manifests itself in modern life in
various forms. The evidence for the thesis is at first deduced through a
reconstruction of the evolution of the problem of ethics itself in the most
important of Hegel´s writings. The main points of the evolution of the
concept are the following: Hegel´s understanding of Greek popular religion,
the criticism of positive Christianity and its institutions, and an attempt
to find the media of integration in concepts of love. Hegel´s writings and
life from the Jena period show important changes in Hegel´s understanding of
the problem of ethics and for the first time introduce the distinction
between these notions. Yet, the complete speculative and conceptual
articulation of the problem of ethics is to be found in Hegel´s systematic
writings: The Phenomenology of Mind, The Encyclopedia of philosophical
Sciences and The Philosophy of Right. In this part of the work crucial
controversies of Hegel´s problem of ethics (the criticism of morality from
the standpoint of ethics) which influenced various aspects of the reception
of Hegel´s philosophy of objective spirit in 19. And 20. century are
discussed. This work shows that Hegel, facing the fundamental issues of the
modern civil society, provided a reconstruction of the concept of ethics and
that he proved thet, unlike the ancient notion of ethos, the modern reflexive
concept of ethics has to include the concept of subjectivity which ruined the
ancient ethics.
U ovom radu polazi se od teze da se Hegelov problem običajnosti može razumeti
kao pokušaj rešenja jednog od ključnih pitanja moderne epohe, tj. kao odgovor
na problem razdvajanja koji predstavlja signaturu moderne epohe i koji se u
modernom svetu života javlja u različitim vidovima. Dokaz za tezu najpre se
izvodi kroz kritičku hronološku rekonstrukciju evolucije samog pojma
običajnosti u najvažnijim Hegelovim filozofskim i političkim spisima. Glavne
tačke u evoluciji ovog pojma u ranom periodu Hegelove filozofske misli
predstavljaju njegovo shvatanje grčke narodne religije, kritika pozitivnosti
hrišćanstva, i pokušaj da se, u frankfurtskom razdoblju, kao medijumi
sjedinjenja iskoriste pojmovi ljubavi i života. Do značajnih promena u
Hegelovom shvatanju problema običajnosti dolazi u njegovim jenskim spisima u
kojima je prvi put uvedena distinkcija između ovih pojmova. Ipak, potpuna
artikulacija problema običajnosti izvedena je u Hegelovim ključnim
filozofskim spisima; Fenomenologiji duha, Enciklopediji filozofskih nauka i
Osnovnim crtama filozofije prava. U ovom delu rada razmatrane su
najznačajnije kontroverze kritika moralnosti sa stanovišta običajnosti kao i
druga ključna pitanja koja su obeležila različite aspekte najnovije recepcije
Hegelove filozofije objektivnog duha u dvadesetom veku, u doba tzv. renesanse
praktičke filozofije. U radu se ističe da je Hegel suočen s problemima
modernog građanskog društva izvršio rekonstrukciju pojma običajnosti i, za
razliku od antičkog pojma etosa, u moderni pojam običajnosti uključio pojam
subjektivnosti, koji je doveo do propasti antičke običajnosti.
Israel Undercover focuses on the execution of paramilitary counterterrorist operations against Palestinian guerrillas and the behind-the-scenes negotiations carried out among Arab statesmen, ...Israeli leaders, and American officials.
Intelligence agencies like the CIA and the KGB are often viewed as tools for carrying out dirty tricks, covert operations that lead to government coups, illegal bombings, political killings, and Iranscam. In the Middle East, undercover operatives are frequently called upon to serve a dual purpose: to wage clandestine warfare behind enemy lines and to help public officials carry out secret diplomatic moves that would be impossible if carried out under the glare of the world press.
This book successfully portrays the cold objectivity that governs the life-and-death foreign policy of a country like Israel-the need to view friend and foe alike with resolute realism.
The book is divided into four sections: (1) Inside Beirut describes Israel's use of its intelligence network in Lebanon during the 1970s to conduct military reprisals and its impact on the Israeli-Egyptian peace process; (2) Across the River Jordan examines the decades-old secret relationship between Israeli leaders and Jordan's King Hussein; (3) American Dreams reveals the quiet alliance between the Christian Phalangist militia and Washington's back-door channel to the PLO; and (4) The Mysterious Middle East provides a glimpse of the region's special mix of conspiracy and animosity.
In order to provide a historical setting and a political context for the events described in the book, material is included from widely published sources, integrated with information gathered from private informants, some of whom have chosen to remain anonymous.
