Palestinian Refugees: Mythology, Identity and the Search for Peace - Hardcover

Encompassing history, politics, and political culture, Robert Bowker explores the impact that Palestinian refugee mythologies have (and have had) on the potential settlement of the conflict with Israel. Bowker examines the nature of Palestinian refugee mythologies and their social and political underpinnings. He also discusses how these mythologies - and the manipulation of them - are key elements in the complex relationship between the refugees and UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). A fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, Palestinian Refugees grapples with fundamental issues of Palestinian identity in the context of the peace process, as well as equally core questions about the role and identity of international governmental organizations.

Robert Bowker is on the directing staff of the Australian Defence College's Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, on secondment from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He has served as Australian ambassador to Jordan, senior adviser, policy research, to UNRWA in Gaza and Jerusalem, and director of the Middle East Section of DFAT. Dr. Bowker is author of Beyond Peace: The Search for Security in the Middle East.