Abstract
This chapter examines how existing democracies can foster the development of democratic norms in neighboring, former non-democratic enemies. Such a process of democratization should, in turn, reduce the chances of renewed hostilities in the region. The question this chapter analyzes is whether the current European model of institutional cooperation between established democracies and emerging ones, which comprised the opposing sides of the Cold War, can serve as a model for Israeli cooperation with the Palestinians.
Support for this research was provided by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. I am grateful to David Blackman, Director of the Division for Central and Eastern Europe, DG IV, European Parliament; to Gianni Palmieri, Head of the Unit for the Cooperation with Central and Eastern European Countries, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe; to Jörn Stegen, Head of the Division for Interparliamentary Relations, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe; and to Member of the Israeli Knesset Yossi Katz, the former Head of the Israeli delegation to the Council of Europe, for their assistance and cooperation in providing information on the various inter-parliamentary projects, and for answering continuous queries. An earlier version of this chapter appeared as “Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation: Fostering Democracy in Europe as a Model for the Middle East?”, Institute for European Studies of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Working Paper #2.
While Western attention and assistance has been focused largely on the creation of market economies in the Central and Eastern European countries, support is also required to help establish the political, legal and civic institutions, which are crucial to achieving the political consensus and stability required for economic reform (European Commission announcement launching the Democracy Program, 1992).
Our ultimate goal is the creation of a regional community of nations, with a common market and elected centralized bodies, modeled on the European Community (Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, The New Middle East, 1993)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Agh, A. (1993). The Comparative Revolution and the transition in Central and Southern Europe. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 5, 231–252.
Benda, S.R. & Johnson K. (1996). A report on the first twelve months of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Washington: National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
Blackman, D. (1995). The European Parliament’s Aid Initiatives in support of democratic development in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Legislative Studies, 1, No. 2.
Brown, M.E., Lynn-Jones, S.M., & Miller, S.E. (Eds.) (1996). Debating the democratic peace. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Diamond, L. (1995). Promoting democracy in the 1990s: Actors and instruments, issues and imperative. New York: Carnegie Corporation.
Eberwein, W.-D. & Groenen, W. (1992). Transformation processes: The political dimension. In W.-D. Eberwein (Ed.), Transformation processes in Eastern Europe: Perspectives from the modelling laboratory (pp. 9–62 ). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Garnham, D. & Tessler, M. (Eds.) (1995). Democracy, war and peace in the Middle East. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hazan, R.Y. (1996). Presidential parliamentarism: Direct popular election of the Prime Minister, Israel’s new electoral and political system. Electoral Studies, 15, 21–37.
Hazan, R.Y. (1997). Executive-legislative relations in an era of accelerated reform: Reshaping government in Israel. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 22, 329–350.
Kegley, C.W. & Hermann, M.G. (1995). The political psychology of peace through democratization. Cooperation and Conflict, 30, 5–30.
Kramer, H. (1993). The European Community’s response to the New Eastern Europe. Journal of Common Market Studies, 31, 213–244.
Lee, J.M. (1995). British aid to parliaments overseas. Journal of Legislative Studies, 1, No. 1.
Levy, J.S. (1989). The causes of war: A review of theories and evidence. In P.E. Tetlock, J.L. Husbands, R. Jervis, P.S. Stern, & C. Tilly (Eds.), Behavior, society and nuclear war (pp. 209–333 ). New York: Oxford University Press.
Liebert, U. (1990). Parliament as a central site in democratic consolidation: A preliminary exploration. In U. Liebert & M. Cotta (Eds.), Parliament and democratic consolidation in Southern Europe: Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey (pp. 249–272 ). London: Pinter.
Mansfield, E. & Snyder, J. (1995a). Democratization and war. Foreign Affairs, 74, 79–97.
Mansfield, E. & Snyder, J. (1995b). Democratization and the danger of war. International Security, 20, 5–38.
Miguel, M.M. & Berland, M.J. (1992). The future of democracy in Eastern Europe. In T. Vanhanen (Ed.), Strategies of democratization (pp. 77–88 ). Washington: Crane Russak.
O’Donnell, G., Schmitter, P.C., & Whitehead, L. (Eds.) (1986). Transitions from authoritarian rule: Prospects for democracy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Robinson, W.H. & Miko, F. (1993). Parliamentary development assistance in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union: Some lessons from experience. In L. Longley (Ed.), Working Papers on Comparative Legislative Studies (pp. 409–430 ). Research Committee of Legislative Specialists: International Political Science Association.
Rothstein, R.L. (1993). Cooperation across the lines: Constraints and opportunities. In E. Kaufman, S.B. Abed, & R.L. Rothstein (Eds.), Democracy, peace, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (pp. 289–306 ). Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Schmitter, P.C. (1988). The consolidation of political democracy in Southern Europe. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Sorensen, G. (1992). Kant and processes of democratization: Consequences for neorealist thought. Journal of Peace Research, 29, 397–414.
Tsingos, B. (1996). Underwriting democracy: The European Community and Greece. In L. Whitehead (Ed.), The international dimensions of democratization: Europe and the Americas (pp. 315–355 ). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Whitehead, L. (Ed.) (1996). The international dimensions of democratization: Europe and the Americas. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zielonka, J. (1994). New institutions in the old East Bloc. Journal of Democracy, 5, 87–104.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag GmbH, Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hazan, R.Y. (2003). Fostering Democracy through Parliamentary Cooperation: European Lessons for the Middle East?. In: Boehnke, K. (eds) Israel and Europe. Deutscher Universitätsverlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-81262-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-81262-9_6
Publisher Name: Deutscher Universitätsverlag
Print ISBN: 978-3-8244-4392-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-322-81262-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive