Book Reviews : Daniel Heradstveit, Arab and Israeli Elite Perceptions, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo—Bergen— Tromsø/Humanities Press, New York 1974
| Author | Alexander L. George |
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/001083677400900135 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
324
eign policy. Trends of this nature in the past
As expected, Heradstveit found much greater
decade are briefly outlined by Anckar in an
(though not complete) consensus on these mat-
article entitled ’Nytolkningar av Finlands
ters among Israeli respondents than among
neutralitet’ (New Interpretations of Finnish
his Arab respondents. What we have in this
Neutrality) in Hufvudstadsbladet, 20 March
part of the study is a rich analytic-descriptive
1974.
account of the perceptual dimensions of the
conflict. What distinguishes it from the politi-
cal reporting of sophisticated journalists is the
additional quality of systematic and explicit
(though not quantitative) analysis, and also
the unusual objectivity that disciplines Herads-
tveit’s effort to empathize with each actor’s
point of view in order to identify his per-
ceptions.
The author’s analysis of actor perceptions
is enriched in several ways. He differentiates
ALEXANDER L. GEORGE
respondents from each country according to
whether they favored a military solution, a
Daniel Heradstveit, Arab and Israeli Elite
political solution, or a continuation of the
Perceptions, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo—Bergen—
status quo. He shows that preferences for one
Tromsø/Humanities Press, New York 1974.
or another of these ‘solutions’, in turn, is
accompanied by rather distinctive perceptions
Although published in 1974, Arab and Israeli
of the opponent and tends to be linked, more-
Elite Perceptions was written before the ’Yom
over, with a preference either for direct Arab-
Kipper’ War of October 1973 and the ensuing
Israeli negotiations or for indirect negotiations
Arab oil embargo. These developments altered
via strong interference by a third party (UN
the strategic context of the Arab-Israeli con-
and the Great Powers).
flict: they led to Great Power mediation and
Drawing upon cognitive dissonance theory,
the beginnings. at least, of serious efforts at
Heradstveit finds that the persistence of the
negotiation....
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