The year 2017, as it happens, marks a variety of significant historical milestones from the hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, to the 50th anniversary of the occupation of the uprising in 1987. Yet we believe that it is more fruitful, against this backdrop to concentrate on what is new and transformative in the present era regarding Palestine amid the new configuration of power and priorities, after the collapse of the bipolar system and the end of the cold war in 1991.
Addressing the question of Palestine amid these regional and global changes cannot be approached without looking closely to the changes that took place in the international system, change of actors, and the rise of non-state actors. Palestine’s internal context within these changes cannot be ignored as well. The Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, the transfer of the leadership into Palestine, the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the demise of the PLO, and their socio-economic implications, can only make it possible to gauge the future prospects of achieving Palestine’s national goals.
The conferece will thus begin in characterizing of the global dyanmics, and the influence of the transition of power on the Palestinian context. It will focus on specific world powers such as the United States, the EU, China, Russia, Eastern Europe and the Arab States to define their attitudes towards the Palestinian cause, in addition to analyzing prospects for achieving breakthroughs in the quest for the realization of Palestinian national goals and the resolution of the Palestinian question.
