28/10/2020, noon (12pm)
An online lecture by Mor Sobol, Tamkang University
Negotiating the ultimate deal? Trump’s Middle East policy and its effect on China and EU’s involvement in the peace process
Presentation Abstract:
On January 20th 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as 45th President of the United States. Just a few months after his inauguration, he stated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years.” To a great extent, this comment marks the beginning of a rather bumpy road for Trump’s administration in its pursuit to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Against this background, this lecture aims to examine Trump’s approach and key policy initiatives while analysing how the American policies affect China and the European Union’s (EU) involvement in the peace process. Principally, the argument put forward is that Trump’s unilateral and highly controversial approach has been counterproductive at best and damaging at worst. In the context of the EU and China’s involvement in the region, it appears that the EU’s already weak position has marginalized even further, whereas China, under President Xi Jinping, has increased its involvement.
Now, while the weak position of the EU and China’s greater involvement could be viewed as a result of Trump’s unilateral policies, it is essential to highlight the broader geopolitical context. Specifically, it seems that given the EU’s internal divisions, the EU and its member states are unable to provide an adequate response. As for China, one should see China’s growing involvement as a part of its emerging global approach in general, and as a way to protect its economic and security interests in particular.
Finally, the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems to be further away than ever since there is currently no international actor who is viewed by both Israelis and Palestinians as a legitimate and neutral mediator
Bio:
Mor Sobol is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Diplomacy and International Relations at Tamkang University, as well as an Affiliated Research Fellow at the European Union Centre in Taiwan (EUTW). He received his PhD in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of European & American Studies at Academia Sinica. His main research interests center on European and Chinese foreign policy, Mediterranean politics, Taiwan/China–Israel relations, and institutionalist theories.
Moderator of the event: Professor Zlatko Šabič, Director-General, EARL
Invite for the event:
Ljubljana, Raziskovalno središče za Vzhodno Azijo (East Asia Resource Library)
https://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/knjiznica/earl E-mail: earl@fdv.uni-lj.si
Zoom Meeting
https://uni-lj-si.zoom.us/j/98081864937?pwd=eXVpTnVsNzUrZE1YaDM0NWU4N1dXQT09
Meeting ID: 980 8186 4937
Passcode: 776728