(Non)acknowledgment of rights as a barrier to conflict resolution: Predicting Jewish Israeli attitudes towards the Palestinian demand for national self-determination

Abstract

A major barrier to resolution of asymmetric conflicts is the unwillingness of the stronger side to see the out-group as having the right to national self-determination. In the context of the conflict between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, we investigate psychological factors related to this barrier. We first review the threat and dehumanization two-factor model that was developed by Maoz and McCauley to explain Jewish Israeli support of aggressive acts towards Palestinians that hinder the resolution of the conflict. Using this model, we then explore the extent to which perceived threat and dehumanization also predict -together with other ideological and demographic variables -Jewish Israeli attitudes towards Palestinian demands for national self-determination. Implications of the findings for the "barriers" approach in settings of asymmetrical conflict are discussed.

The effect of perceived threat on human rights: A meta-analysis

“…The Western vs. Middle Eastern samples comparison showed significant effects of threat on SRCL (see Table 2), with the effect being significantly higher for Middle Eastern samples (b dif = 0.32, SE = 0.07, z = 4.72, p < .001). However, of the Middle Eastern samples, 11 out of 13 were studies of Israeli citizens, with eight of those 11 explicitly examining the threats between Palestinians and Israeli populations Canetti-Nisim et al, 2009;Maoz & McCauley, 2008;Nagar & Maoz, 2014;Raijman & Hochman, 2011;. Only and Raijman & Hochman (2011) examined the threats between the Israeli population and "foreigners" generally, and Obaidi et al (2018) was the only non-Israeli Middle Eastern population, having examined a sample of Turkish Muslims and their attitudes towards Europeans.…”