Energy and Electricity in the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Dr. Lior Herman examines how and when energy is used as a punitive or rewarding measure to advance foreign policy ends under conditions of perpetual conflict. Drawing on hundreds of primary governmental and commercial documents, and extensive elite interviews, Dr. Herman examines and discusses Israeli–Palestinian relations over 50 years. Israeli-Palestinian energy relations are characterized by extensive instrumentalization of energy for foreign policy objectives. Electricity, a neglected area in international relations and conflict literatures, is a significant foreign policy tool. The findings emphasize four major variables that shape the timing and form of energy measures—politics, regime type, dependence level, and energy production chain. The talk will also discuss new and unexpected developments based on remote sensing analysis, which are of key geopolitical importance.

Dr. Lior Herman is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the Chair of the International Political Economy Graduate Program, and Chair of the Energy and Geopolitics Research Group. His research focuses on international political economy and the intersection of politics, economics and philosophy. His main research areas include international trade and trade in services, energy politics and political economy, European Union studies, international governance and the integration of markets and polities. His co-authored book with Dr. Gadi Heimann, “Israel’s Path to Europe” was recently published by Routledge and discusses Israel-EEC relations from 1957 to 1975 and the negotiations to conclude a preferential trade agreement. Prior to joining Academia, he served as a senior official at the Israeli Ministry of Finance where he held the positions of Director for international organizations and the EU, as well as Head of Department of Insurance Agents and Agencies.  He served as the Secretary of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the OECD, as well as a non-resident member of Israel’s delegation to the WTO.

This talk is open to the public and cosponsored by the Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies, the Israel Institute, and the Environmental Studies program.