The Lingering Conflict: Israel, the Arabs, and the Middle East 1948-2012 by Itamar Rabinovich
His book is a shrewd assessment of the past and current state of affairs in the Middle East, as well as a sober look at the prospects for a peaceful future. While Rabinovich explains the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians -a classic dispute between two national movements claiming the same land - The Lingering Conflict also considers the broader political, cultural, and increasingly religious conflict between the Jewish state and Arab nationalism. He approaches the troubled region in an international context, offering provocative analysis of America's evolving role and evaluation of its diplomatic performance.
This book builds on the author's previous seminal work on geopolitics in the Middle East, particularly Waging Peace . As Rabinovich brings the Arab-Israeli conflict up to date, he widens the scope of his earlier insights into efforts to achieve normal, peaceful relations. And, of course, he takes full account of recent social and political tumult in the Middle East, discussing the Arab Spring uprisings -and the subsequent retaliation by dictators such as Syria's al-Asad and Libya's Qaddafi -in the context of Arab-Israeli relations.