Waging Peace, Israel and the Arabs, 1948–2003
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000133 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
Prirnakov'sfervour for international cooperation is driven byaggriev-
ed nationalist pride. He is struggling to fashion a foreign policy role for
acountryweakened by loss
of
empire, embarrassed by corruption, reel-
ing-until
recently-from
economic disasters, and, most importantly,
undermined
by the disintegration
of
its governing ideology. His
resentment at the manner in which Russia was relegated
to
second-
rank status after the fall
of
the Berlin Wall is thinly concealed. He is
frank and objective about the Soviet Union's past failings
but
overlooks
shortcomings in Russia's current foreign
and
domestic policies. For
example, he acknowledges both the urgency
of
ensuring that nuclear
material does
not
fall into the hands
of
al Qaeda
and
the possibility
that this has already occurred,
but
then turns ablind eye to Russia's
dilatoriness in getting control
of
the problem. He professessupport for
democratic rights and civil liberties,
but
Vladimir Purin's authoritarian
approach, at the expense
of
rights and liberties, escapes critical exami-
nation.
Harking back to the wooden commentaries on international affairs
of
the Soviet era, western readers may be wary
of
A
World
Challenged.
Primakovs book, however, is the product
of
awide-ranging intellect,
provides useful ideas for combating terrorism, and enables the reader
to see into a psyche scarred by the buffeting
of
the last 20 years. From
all this springs the determination that Russia
will
once again command
the respect due a power
of
the first rank.
Gerald Wright/National Electricity Round Table, Ottawa
WAGING
PEACE
Israel and the Arabs, 1948-2003
Itamar Rabinovich
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004. x,
326pp,
us$16.95
paper
(ISBN
0-691-11982-1)
Israel's urbane, erudite,
and
witty former foreign minister, Abba
Eban, was reported to have once said that "the Arabs never miss an
opportunity
to
miss an opportunity." This bon motwas matched in its
time by
one
attributed
to
an anonymous Arab source:
"The
Israelis
want
peace-a
piece
of
Egypt, a piece
of
Jordan, a piece
of
Syria
and
a
piece
of
Lebanon." Whatever the merits
of
these quips, they underline
)14
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Winler2004-2005
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