Jerusalem and the Riparian Simile
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Date
2002
Authors
Cohen, Shaul
Frank, David A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Science Ltd.
Abstract
Many see the city of Jerusalem as an intractable religious political issue, beyond the pale
of negotiation and problem solving. This view reflects a set of problematic assumptions, including
beliefs that Jerusalem produces a contest between maximalist claims that only power can
resolve. In this article, we conduct a conceptual exercise designed to rethink Jerusalem as an
issue of political geography open to needs-based bargaining. Drawing from evidence in the
Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database, we suggest that riparian negotiations offer an
analogue that might be used to restructure the discourse used in the negotiations about Jerusalem.
We propose the use of a riparian simile in which negotiators begin with the assumption
that “the conflict over Jerusalem is like international water disputes.” Riparian negotiations
encourage movement from sovereign rights to functional needs, the use of time as a flexible
variable, a focus on beneficial uses, and the creation of language recognizing local contingencies.
Description
16 p.
Keywords
Analogic thinking, Conflict, Jerusalem, Metaphor, Riparian simile, Territory
Citation
Political Geography 21 (2002): 745-760