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Last update - 08:17 07/01/2008 Peace and the nation-state By Eyal Chowers Tags: nationalism, Palestinians  President George W. Bush arrives in the region this week in an attempt to revive the peace process, as Israelis and Palestinians have failed to make significant headway since the Middle East summit in Annapolis, Maryland. Many believe that this lack of progress is due to Israel's opaque settlement policy, the violence in Gaza, and the fact that the gaps and the mistrust between the parties are essentially too great. The Bush administration itself appears hesitant to exert the necessary pressure for an agreement, perhaps because past agreements were violated anyway by one or both parties (notably the Oslo Accords, the Wye Agreement and the road map). But something deeper, it seems, clouds the air and prevents genuine progress: a lack of a new political imagination. The idea of the nation-state was the foundation of the UN General Assembly's decision in 1947 to divide the country between Palestinians (Arabs) and Jews. The establishment of two such distinct states was considered a fair and workable solution. Six wars later, with a vast refugee problem, two intifadas, dramatic changes in territory and ongoing conflict, the political imagination behind the current peace talks is surprisingly still the same. President Bush envisions "two states, living side by side, in peace and security"; Israelis demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Yet the two main lessons of the conflict's history are perhaps these: Both Palestinians and Jews undeniably think in national terms, do not see their collective units as artificial concoctions and wish to express these identities politically through states of their own; yet left to its own devices, the nationalism of both peoples has proven dangerous and tragic. The rationale behind the nation-state often propelled both peoples to think of their conflict as a harsh zero-sum game over scarce resources, to espouse exclusionary and chauvinistic policies, to ignore the other side and dehumanize it, and to slide into violence with ease. (Leading intellectuals such as Hannah Arendt, Gershom Scholem and Martin Buber predicted these phenomena well before 1947.) While the two nation-states are apparently inevitable, they should be neither the sole political framework nor the unadulterated source of identity. Advertisement If the fragility of nation-state politics is to be overcome - and if Hamas and its fundamentalist supporters (Iran and Hezbollah) are to be prevented from benefiting from this fragility - the alternative must be both inspiring and realistic. More wide-ranging political and civic relationships could evolve if the nation-state were to relax its grip. The two independent states could begin by establishing a shared body of representatives, to be elected by districts comprising citizens of both states. These delegates would have to take into consideration interests and concerns (such as environmental policy, regional economic development and labor conditions) that are not purely national. The authority and powers of such a deliberative (and possibly legislative) body would be limited to those delegated by the two states, but even this type of "weak confederacy" would allow a less nationally dominated politics and language to emerge. But perhaps the key to transforming the prevalent political imagination is Jerusalem (especially the Old City). No other place fosters such trenchant national identities, and no other place offers such potential for transcending them. A division of the city and the holy places between two sovereign states would perhaps allow clarity and effective governance, but would also vanquish the only space where Israelis and Palestinians can meet each other free of the weight of their national personas. The UN resolution of 1947 in fact designated Jerusalem as an international city, and its citizens as a distinct category - both local and cosmopolitan citizens, if you like. Would Jerusalemites ultimately be able to practice such citizenship? Ask the children, most of whom live below the poverty line (56.6 percent as of 2005). They have already paid dearly for mirroring the national conflict in their midst, and may be willing to try something new. Jewish and Palestinian nationalism have both proven to be virulent and overbearing. Any agreement that does not aim to reduce this nationalism - and does not create the dams and levees necessary to halt its gushing flow - might be nothing more than a very temporary modus vivendi. This is a time for creative complexity. A stable and enduring peace will emerge only with the crafting of new, shared political spaces where modest forms of a-national identities could evolve. Eyal Chowers is a senior lecturer in political science at Tel Aviv University. Bookmark to del.icio.us   'Body of 2008' A U.K. men's magazine pays homage to Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli. Echoes of Thessaloniki A book on Sarkozy's Greek-Jewish roots goes on sale in Greece.   1.   One State = Lebanon. No Thanks! 08:43  |  ATLAS 07/01/08   2.   KEEP IN MIND 08:51  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/01/08   3.   But Eyal, it will still be an outpost of Wall Street 09:04  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   4.   this reads like an american grad school essay circa 1990 09:17  |  Serge 07/01/08   5.   talking of capitalism and the laborites 09:22  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   6.   Israel wants only the Palestinian land, not the Palestinains 09:24  |  Natallie Durson 07/01/08   7.   Trendy Academic Flights of Fancy 09:53  |  David 07/01/08   8.   There is no moral equivalency - Jews were not allowed to pray at 10:00  |  Marwan مروان خوري 07/01/08   9.   the roundabout keeeps turning and turning 10:01  |  victor hardman 07/01/08   10.   Its obvious that the "partition" failed! 10:05  |  Mark Hamil 07/01/08   11.   I second the motion! 10:20  |  Khaled 07/01/08   12.   Good fences make good neighbours 10:29  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/01/08   13.   Internationalise Jerusalem? 10:39  |  Joseph 07/01/08   14.   putting the carriage before the horse 10:58  |  roberto 07/01/08   15.   bravo! another article by a visionary; two in one day!!! 11:04  |  eric 07/01/08   16.   Sounds good on paper,but is a last ditch effort(no matter how 11:05  |  lakshmi 07/01/08   17.   nationalism isn`t the same as Facism!!!! 11:08  |  Ben 07/01/08   18.   whoops seems I annoyed your censor 11:30  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   19.   the context for that having vanished 11:38  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   20.   I`d rather be in Israel than in England 11:55  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   21.   Pal Nationalism is False , Fabricated and Incited 11:56  |  Joseph E . post 1 07/01/08   22.   Pal Nationalism is False , Fabricated and Incited 11:57  |  Joseph E . post 2 07/01/08   23.   Pal Nationalism is False , Fabricated and Incited 11:58  |  Joseph E . Post 3 07/01/08   24.   Pal Nationalism is False , Fabricated and Incited 11:58  |  Joseph E . Post 4 07/01/08   25.   atlas 12:07  |  A.M. 07/01/08   26.   Eyal Chowers` un-nationalism `pie-in-the-sky 12:19  |  Jak 07/01/08   27.   Hebrew Classes for Rowan 12:21  |  David 07/01/08   28.   #5 Poor Rowan Berkeley - kicked out of Hebrew class. 12:24  |  Jak 07/01/08   29.   h`mm now the comment is there again 12:36  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   30.   Rowan Berkeley 13:44  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 07/01/08   31.   #20 Rowan berkeley 14:13  |  Chris Linthwaite 07/01/08   32.   I am a squatter welfare rat 14:24  |  Joseph E 07/01/08   33.   Partition is the culprit 14:29  |  The Other Alan 07/01/08   34.   Lakshmi (second attempt) 14:49  |  Nik "Banned" Miller 07/01/08   35.   Margie : what do I love about it? 16:16  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   36.   #13 joseph 16:20  |  danny 07/01/08   37.   Nazillie Durson (third attempt) 16:35  |  Nik "BANNED" Miller 07/01/08   38.   Lakshmi 16:36  |  Nik "BANNED" Miller 07/01/08   39.   UN General Assembly divided nothing and created nothing 17:39  |  Jake 07/01/08   40.   In response to `keep in mind` 17:41  |  Dorothy 07/01/08   41.   Dorothy (allegedly of Herzliyah) 20:00  |  Nik "Banned" Miller 07/01/08   42.   The liberal trap 20:01  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08   43.   #40, Dorothy 22:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 07/01/08   44.   Wrong understanding 01:24  |  Frank 08/01/08   45.   Westianity 07:38  |  Rowan Berkeley 08/01/08   46.   If you could do just one thing 08:58  |  Rowan Berkeley 08/01/08   47.   In the meantime though I want to read "Nekudah" 09:48  |  Rowan Berkeley 08/01/08   48.   utopia or not quite 10:04  |  richi 08/01/08   49.   As for the Labour Party 10:05  |  Rowan Berkeley 08/01/08   50.   I`m doing a `pulsa di nura` on nitza spiro 11:16  |  Rowan Berkeley 09/01/08   51.   My replacement course has now been cancelled 16:37  |  Rowan Berkeley 12/01/08

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