The United Nations & Palestine: The Impact of UN Recognition

Join us in welcoming Nadav Shelef, Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Modern Israel Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison in speaking about the impact of UN recognition on Palestinian public opinion.In the fall of 2012, the United Nations General Assembly recognized Palestine as a “nonmember observer state.” his talk will present research showing that the UNGA recognition shaped Palestinian mass attitudes towards both territorial compromise and the use of violence to achieve national aims. Specifically, international recognition simultaneously increased support for partition as a strategy of conflict resolution and decreased support for compromise on the territorial terms of partition. With respect to attitudes towards the use of violence, we find that international recognition significantly reduced popular support for violence, but only among Palestinians who did not identify with any of the existing Palestinian political parties.Co-sponsored by WUD Society & Politics