Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements

Elisa Cavatorta; Ben Groom; Gilead  Sher

doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581

Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements

Elisa Cavatorta^*, Ben Groom, Gilead Sher

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

After Hamas’ attack on 2023 October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war, a pressing question is the nature of a postwar peace agreement. Peace negotiations often become deadlocked due to difficulties in identifying mutually advantageous agreements. A large-scale survey task and method is developed to identify the strength of preference for components of potential peace deals and changes to the status quo. Analyzing pre-October 7 representative samples of Israelis and Palestinians reveals a Zone of Possible Agreement, demonstrating shared preferences for deals that improve daily life. Violence exposure hampers compromise among Israelis, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from violence for conflict resolution.

Original language	English
Article number	pgae581
Pages (from-to)	581
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus
Volume	4
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581
Publication status	Published - 21 Jan 2025

Keywords

peace agreements, zone of possible agreement, Israelis and Palestinians

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{4a637406785548a3988a9a4025d7ac9b,

title = "Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements",

abstract = "After Hamas{\textquoteright} attack on 2023 October 7 and Israel{\textquoteright}s subsequent war, a pressing question is the nature of a postwar peace agreement. Peace negotiations often become deadlocked due to difficulties in identifying mutually advantageous agreements. A large-scale survey task and method is developed to identify the strength of preference for components of potential peace deals and changes to the status quo. Analyzing pre-October 7 representative samples of Israelis and Palestinians reveals a Zone of Possible Agreement, demonstrating shared preferences for deals that improve daily life. Violence exposure hampers compromise among Israelis, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from violence for conflict resolution.",

keywords = "peace agreements, zone of possible agreement, Israelis and Palestinians",

author = "Elisa Cavatorta and Ben Groom and Gilead Sher",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of National Academy of Sciences.",

year = "2025",

month = jan,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581",

language = "English",

volume = "4",

pages = "581",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements

AU - Cavatorta, Elisa

AU - Groom, Ben

AU - Sher, Gilead

PY - 2025/1/21

Y1 - 2025/1/21

N2 - After Hamas’ attack on 2023 October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war, a pressing question is the nature of a postwar peace agreement. Peace negotiations often become deadlocked due to difficulties in identifying mutually advantageous agreements. A large-scale survey task and method is developed to identify the strength of preference for components of potential peace deals and changes to the status quo. Analyzing pre-October 7 representative samples of Israelis and Palestinians reveals a Zone of Possible Agreement, demonstrating shared preferences for deals that improve daily life. Violence exposure hampers compromise among Israelis, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from violence for conflict resolution.

AB - After Hamas’ attack on 2023 October 7 and Israel’s subsequent war, a pressing question is the nature of a postwar peace agreement. Peace negotiations often become deadlocked due to difficulties in identifying mutually advantageous agreements. A large-scale survey task and method is developed to identify the strength of preference for components of potential peace deals and changes to the status quo. Analyzing pre-October 7 representative samples of Israelis and Palestinians reveals a Zone of Possible Agreement, demonstrating shared preferences for deals that improve daily life. Violence exposure hampers compromise among Israelis, emphasizing the importance of abstaining from violence for conflict resolution.

KW - peace agreements, zone of possible agreement, Israelis and Palestinians

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85217108485&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581

DO - 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae581

M3 - Article

VL - 4

SP - 581

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus

IS - 1

M1 - pgae581

ER -

Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this