Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Ian Explains: Why Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at Camp David came close but failed in 2020
The last best chance at peace between Israel and Palestine included bowling and baseball at a wooded retreat in rural Maryland.
Twenty-three years ago at Camp David, US President Bill Clinton welcomed Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for a two-week summit in a bucolic setting. The goal: find an enduring solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis.
But as Ian Bremmer explains, as the three leaders strolled together down a leafy Camp David road, they couldn’t have been further apart in their expectations for the summit. Ehud Barak, the young, leftist Israeli Prime Minister—fresh off a series of failed negotiations with Syria—had pushed hard for the summit, arguing that it was the “pressure cooker” that would require him and Arafat to make real progress on a two-state solution. His strategy was to either secure a deal or expose Arafat as an unreliable partner.
Meanwhile, Yasser Arafat was treading water of his own. Given his constituency’s mistrust of Israel and his resentment of Barak’s recent focus on Syria, Arafat was in no hurry to reach an agreement. He had warned Clinton ahead of the summit that his side was not ready to come to the table. Nor did he trust Barak to follow through on his promises.
This is the story of what happened at those talks and why the best chance in a generation for peace in the Middle East failed.
Watch the episode: Is an Israel-Palestine two-state solution possible?
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week online and on US public television. Check local listings.
- Ian Bremmer: Understanding the Israel-Hamas war ›
- Ian Explains: How Israel & Iran went from friends to enemies ›
- Hamas: What is it? ›
- The Graphic Truth: Where do Palestinian refugees live? ›
- Viewpoint: How Israel-Palestine conflict became a real “Holy War” ›
- From tragedy to resilience: The story of Israel according to former PM Barak ›
- Ehud Barak interview: Israeli democracy on the chopping block ›
Populism vs. moderate politics
For Tony Blair three challenges will define geopolitics in the near future: the Western relationship with China, making democracy more effective, and harnessing the tech revolution.
How can we address them? The former British PM — who along with then-US President Bill Clinton led the centrist "Third Way" of politics in the 1990s — says that we need to return to the center to match challenges that'll be more practical than ideological.
Speaking to Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, Blair acknowledges that populism wins when voters believe that centrism can't solve their problems.
His solution? More politicians with experience beyond politics who can "understand the world, embrace it, and then change it."
The video above is an excerpt from the weekly show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US public television. Watch the episode on "upheaval in UK" here.
- Authoritarian alliances & the future of the free world ›
- The “authoritarian honeymoon” is over, says John Kerry - GZERO ... ›
- The politics of resentment & how authoritarian strongmen gain ... ›
- Liz Truss' unenviable new gig - GZERO Media ›
- Upheaval in UK: the sobering challenges facing new PM Truss ... ›
- Podcast: "United" Kingdom? Tony Blair on Truss, Charles, Brexit ... ›
- Extremists vs. moderates: The real divide in US politics - GZERO Media ›
Does alcohol help bring the world together?
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer takes a look at the yin and the yang of alcohol's role in high-level diplomacy and society at large. Alcohol can bring people together just as easily as it can tear them apart. From a 1995 Clinton/Yeltsin Summit where a drunk Yeltsin almost derailed Bosnian peace talks, to Obama's Beer Summit and the recent G7 Summit, booze plays a part in how world leaders interact. Globally, alcohol consumption has been steadily increasing, by over 70 percent between 1990 and 2017, according to one report. . Low and middle-income nations like Vietnam, India, and China are a driving force behind that trend, with drinking in Southeast Asia rising by over 34 percent between 2010 and 2017. And yet, amidst this global booze boom, the world has only grown more and more divided.
Watch the episode: The (political) power of alcohol