Norrin M. Ripsman

On September 30th, 1938, the Munich Agreement was reached. It has since become synonymous with appeasement to tyranny. Of course, “appeasement” itself has become a dirty word in international relations, especially in the United States. Although the U.S. had nothing to do with the agreement between Britain, France, Italy, and Nazi Germany, “Munich” has nonetheless entered the American political lexicon.

As Donald Trump’s administration takes power, it is appropriate to consider which approach it should take to resolve the festering Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Former Israeli defense minister Moshe Ya’alon argues in a recent Foreign Affairs piece that peace between Israel and the Palestinians can only come about through bottom-up measures that change the Palestinian people’s attitudes toward Israel and Israelis.

This is a good early analysis of globalization and the enormous transformations it is reputed to have brought about. Its contributions are many, including a conceptualization of globalization that goes beyond economic exchange to include cultural, social, and political dimensions of global interactions. Overall, Mittelman sees the immense, unsettling tensions in globalization that are likely to give rise to contestation and conflict. Why should I read it?