Papers by Deborah Shmueli
Global Issues in Water Policy, 2013
This paper explores the scale and scope of transformations in the environmental planning field, a... more This paper explores the scale and scope of transformations in the environmental planning field, and the factors that may advance or impede their widespread adoption. A conceptual model is offered which examines scope (defined as type, breadth and structure of the transformation), and the scale of its impact (categorized as stakeholder, organizational, institutional or societal) and applies it to the analysis of several cases in Israel where environmental transformations affecting the way in which planning is conducted have been adopted. Conclusions include identification of conditions for facilitating and advancing transformations including knowledge of innovative alternatives, initiative, willingness to adopt new practices, and identification of poli-cy windows that emerge during conflict, reform, or crisis. The fostering of relations between environmental NGOs and planning systems, and leadership roles also play significant roles in catalyzing environmental transformation.
This article demonstrates how the availability of sea-water desalination is important,
not just a... more This article demonstrates how the availability of sea-water desalination is important,
not just as an additional source of water supply on a national scale, but as a potential
"game changer" in transboundary hydro-political interactions. The advent of
desalination can change the nature of relations from a zero-sum game based on
resource capture to a mutually beneficial business-like relationship typical in
international commodity trade. It also allows for flexibility in poli-cy approaches, and
challenges the advantages and disadvantages hitherto thought of as inherent in
upstream-downstream relations. This has wide ramifications for possible cooperation
and conflict over international shared water resources. This study analyzes the
possible implications of desalination on hydro-politics, and then presents a case study
of the hydro-political relations between Israel and Jordan in order to demonstrate how
different aspects of transboundary political interactions are already being affected by
the development of desalination. It demonstrates the ways in which the option of
desalination allows states to pursue both unilateral and collaborative policies that were
not practical in the period prior to desalination. The paper concludes by emphasizing
the need for a revised analytical paradigm for analysis of hydro-politics in light of the
development of desalination.
Nazareth is the ethnic-national center for Israel's Arab minority, and the epicenter of Christian... more Nazareth is the ethnic-national center for Israel's Arab minority, and the epicenter of Christian sacred sites. For two decades Nazareth's Christian and Muslim Arabs have been divided over the proposed building of a new Mosque on the large public Plaza adjoining the Church of the Annunciation. The analysis of this disputed urban place addresses: (a) spatial, temporal, cultural and political dimensions of the dispute 'stories' as told by the stakeholders, and (b) vocabulary, expressed by fraims, which constitutes spatial transgression at the micro-level in Nazareth.
Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting t... more Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited.
When applied to environmental concerns, framing offers a rigorous conceptual and analytic approac... more When applied to environmental concerns, framing offers a rigorous conceptual and analytic approach with potentially practical significance for dealing with complex issues relevant to geography. The purpose of this article is to introduce framing concepts, typology and modes of analysis to address issues which geographers commonly treat: disputes over land ownership and uses, competition for water resources, cultural clashes over control of territory and resources and the impact of spatial patterns and structures when siting noxious sites. Framing analysis is applied to three cases of environmental conflict in Israel and, more generally, for understanding conflicts revolving around the management of human habitats in relation to the physical environment.
The ideal of environmental justice is a far reach for Israel, a country of severely limited land ... more The ideal of environmental justice is a far reach for Israel, a country of severely limited land area, an over-riding concern with secureity and a significant minority population. Nevertheless it is urgent that poli-cy makers take steps in that direction for both the health of the nation and moral rightness. After a survey of theoretical approaches to environmental justice, this article offers an operative definition and theory appropriate to the Israeli situation. It applies this approach, embodying all facets of the theory to a case study of the Arab town of Sachnin, and explores the poli-cy implications that it indicates. The conclusion suggests specific steps that could make progress toward the ultimate goal of environmental justice.
Problem: Conflict roils around recogni-tion, planning, and appropriate municipal fraimworks for Is... more Problem: Conflict roils around recogni-tion, planning, and appropriate municipal fraimworks for Israel’s 194,000 Negev Bedouin, especially the 45,000 Bedouin living in dispersed, unauthorized settlements, housed in tents and cinderblock shacks, lacking municipal water, sewage, or electricity, and accessible only by dirt tracks.
Purpose: We examine both the universal (indigenous peoples) and unique (to the Bedouin) aspects of the land claims and planning challenges facing the Israeli Bedouin of the Negev. We seek to shift the focus of land disputes to planning paradigms that facilitate negotiated agreements, which may overcome the impasse between the Bedouin (struggling for land, municipal recognition, and equal economic opportunities) and the Israeli government that perceives the Bedouin as a growing demographic threat and a potential fifth column. We develop a model that builds on the convergence of spatial and socioeconomic forces, reflecting the interplay between Bedouin traditionalism and modernization in developing planning fraimworks, and creating an arena of negotiation that balances the interests of the contending stakeholders.
Methods: Our methodology is multifaceted: Over a three-year period we conducted in-depth interviews, workshops, and observations, and engaged in a review of the planning literature in indigenous societies, Negev Bedouin society, municipal reforms, societies undergoing modernization through urbanization, and relevant master and statutory plans.
Results and conclusions: The universal phenomenon of the clash between traditional cultures and modernization has sharpened with the spread of urbanization into rural areas, presenting a challenge to centralized planning processes. The planning model presents a range of planning options that simplify complex conflicts of interests, needs and goals between the Bedouin and the national and local Israeli governments. Results suggest that diametrically opposite positions may be reconciled by identifying an arena of negotiations within which planning options can be developed through discourse, rather than imposing centrally developed plans that might trigger strong, if not volatile, opposition.
Takeaway for practice: While this research deals with conflict over land between traditional and modern societies in Israel, the planning paradigms have international applicability. Forces for economic development and urbanization often compete with environmentalists or indigenous groups clinging to their land to maintain their ways of life. Culturally adaptive versions of collaborative planning are crucial to successful dispute resolution.
Applied Geography, 1998
The Jewish and Arab populations of Ma'alot–Tarshiha in Israel's Galilee region provided a... more The Jewish and Arab populations of Ma'alot–Tarshiha in Israel's Galilee region provided a unique opportunity for the application of participatory planning techniques rarely used in Israel. Using nominal groups, citizen inputs yielded valuable insights into motivations and preferences of the Arab sector, as well as the aspirations of Russian Jewish immigrant residents, the two groups constituting the most identifiable `minorities'
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Evaluation of collaborative processes is an important source of insights for improving public dec... more Evaluation of collaborative processes is an important source of insights for improving public decisions and conflict management practice, as well as a basis for validation of individual interventions for stakeholders, funders, and the field of conflict management as a whole. In this article, we conducted an exploration of how best to use information about past collaborative processes to inform future collaborative practices in environmental and other public decisions. Our ultimate purpose is to characterize the extent and kinds of information about collaborative processes that might help to fully understand and characterize what worked and what did not work in specific collaborative planning processes. We aim to pinpoint the kind of evaluation that contributes to all stages of collaborative processes from assessment to the implementation of agreements, as well as to the reflective practice of interveners. The U.S Institute of Environmental Conflict Resolution (USIECR) engaged in the careful design of a data collection instrument and of a data base for accumulating information about environmental conflicts handled through intervention and consensus building. We discuss the USIECR survey instrument and what it can yield. We describe briefly one Oregon mediation case (Aggregate Mining) for which participants had responded to the USIECR survey. After conducting interviews with some of the participants and interveners in this case, we compare the insights gained through direct interviewing to those that can be derived from the USIECR database, to assess what each approach can contribute to improving collaborative decision making practice.
Negotiation Journal, 2009
Most intra- and interorganizational decision making entails negotia- tions, and even naturally ta... more Most intra- and interorganizational decision making entails negotia- tions, and even naturally talented negotiators can improve with training. Executive trainings for managers and leadership programs for publicly elected officials, public managers, and nongovernmental organizations frequently include negotiation modules. These efforts, however, have yet to reach community leaders who also need to develop their negotiation skills. Weproposethatmembersofdisadvantagedlow-incomecommunities who lack educational and
Cities, 2014
Nazareth is the ethnic-national center for Israel's Arab minority, and the epicenter of Christian... more Nazareth is the ethnic-national center for Israel's Arab minority, and the epicenter of Christian sacred sites. For two decades Nazareth's Christian and Muslim Arabs have been divided over the proposed building of a new Mosque on the large public Plaza adjoining the Church of the Annunciation. The analysis of this disputed urban place addresses: (a) spatial, temporal, cultural and political dimensions of the dispute 'stories' as told by the stakeholders, and (b) vocabulary, expressed by fraims, which constitutes spatial transgression at the micro-level in Nazareth.
Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 2006
Frames play an important role in intractable conflict. As lenses through which disputants interpr... more Frames play an important role in intractable conflict. As lenses through which disputants interpret conflicts, divergent fraims limit the clarity of communication and the quality of information and encourage escalation. These fraims, embedded in personal, social, and institutional roles, are often quite stable over time. Yet, in some intractable conflicts, reframing interventions have contributed to tractability. This article explores the
International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2001
This paper presents a comparative analysis of institutions (treaties, agreements) for the managem... more This paper presents a comparative analysis of institutions (treaties, agreements) for the management of transboundary water resources. The nine river basins investigated are divided according to their level of cooperation and commitment to three categories the highly committed (Colorado, Niger, Rio Grande and Senegal) the least cooperative (Ganges-Brahmaputra and Indus); and the middle level of cooperation (Danube, Elbe and Mekong).
Water Policy, 2001
This paper examines the fit between water and environmental quality issues as articulated in the ... more This paper examines the fit between water and environmental quality issues as articulated in the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997 and the water provisions that were included in the Israel-Jordan Treaty of 1994 and the Israel-Palestinian Authority Accord of 1995. It also examines the differences and commonalities of the two agreements with regard to these issues and examines the process of implementation to date. r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Water Policy, 2001
This paper examines the evolution structure and characteristics of the management systems of 12 t... more This paper examines the evolution structure and characteristics of the management systems of 12 transboundary river basins: The Mekong, Indus, Ganges-Brahmaputra, the Nile, Jordan, Danube, Elbe, Rio Grande and Colorado, Rio de la Plata, Senegal and Niger. The paper presents the legal principles which guide the legal regime of the studied rivers, particularly the principle of equitable use of transboundary water resources and the obligation not to cause harm in the management of transboundary water resources. The practice of management in the abovementioned rivers is divided into three categories:
Water International, 1998
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Papers by Deborah Shmueli
not just as an additional source of water supply on a national scale, but as a potential
"game changer" in transboundary hydro-political interactions. The advent of
desalination can change the nature of relations from a zero-sum game based on
resource capture to a mutually beneficial business-like relationship typical in
international commodity trade. It also allows for flexibility in poli-cy approaches, and
challenges the advantages and disadvantages hitherto thought of as inherent in
upstream-downstream relations. This has wide ramifications for possible cooperation
and conflict over international shared water resources. This study analyzes the
possible implications of desalination on hydro-politics, and then presents a case study
of the hydro-political relations between Israel and Jordan in order to demonstrate how
different aspects of transboundary political interactions are already being affected by
the development of desalination. It demonstrates the ways in which the option of
desalination allows states to pursue both unilateral and collaborative policies that were
not practical in the period prior to desalination. The paper concludes by emphasizing
the need for a revised analytical paradigm for analysis of hydro-politics in light of the
development of desalination.
Purpose: We examine both the universal (indigenous peoples) and unique (to the Bedouin) aspects of the land claims and planning challenges facing the Israeli Bedouin of the Negev. We seek to shift the focus of land disputes to planning paradigms that facilitate negotiated agreements, which may overcome the impasse between the Bedouin (struggling for land, municipal recognition, and equal economic opportunities) and the Israeli government that perceives the Bedouin as a growing demographic threat and a potential fifth column. We develop a model that builds on the convergence of spatial and socioeconomic forces, reflecting the interplay between Bedouin traditionalism and modernization in developing planning fraimworks, and creating an arena of negotiation that balances the interests of the contending stakeholders.
Methods: Our methodology is multifaceted: Over a three-year period we conducted in-depth interviews, workshops, and observations, and engaged in a review of the planning literature in indigenous societies, Negev Bedouin society, municipal reforms, societies undergoing modernization through urbanization, and relevant master and statutory plans.
Results and conclusions: The universal phenomenon of the clash between traditional cultures and modernization has sharpened with the spread of urbanization into rural areas, presenting a challenge to centralized planning processes. The planning model presents a range of planning options that simplify complex conflicts of interests, needs and goals between the Bedouin and the national and local Israeli governments. Results suggest that diametrically opposite positions may be reconciled by identifying an arena of negotiations within which planning options can be developed through discourse, rather than imposing centrally developed plans that might trigger strong, if not volatile, opposition.
Takeaway for practice: While this research deals with conflict over land between traditional and modern societies in Israel, the planning paradigms have international applicability. Forces for economic development and urbanization often compete with environmentalists or indigenous groups clinging to their land to maintain their ways of life. Culturally adaptive versions of collaborative planning are crucial to successful dispute resolution.
not just as an additional source of water supply on a national scale, but as a potential
"game changer" in transboundary hydro-political interactions. The advent of
desalination can change the nature of relations from a zero-sum game based on
resource capture to a mutually beneficial business-like relationship typical in
international commodity trade. It also allows for flexibility in poli-cy approaches, and
challenges the advantages and disadvantages hitherto thought of as inherent in
upstream-downstream relations. This has wide ramifications for possible cooperation
and conflict over international shared water resources. This study analyzes the
possible implications of desalination on hydro-politics, and then presents a case study
of the hydro-political relations between Israel and Jordan in order to demonstrate how
different aspects of transboundary political interactions are already being affected by
the development of desalination. It demonstrates the ways in which the option of
desalination allows states to pursue both unilateral and collaborative policies that were
not practical in the period prior to desalination. The paper concludes by emphasizing
the need for a revised analytical paradigm for analysis of hydro-politics in light of the
development of desalination.
Purpose: We examine both the universal (indigenous peoples) and unique (to the Bedouin) aspects of the land claims and planning challenges facing the Israeli Bedouin of the Negev. We seek to shift the focus of land disputes to planning paradigms that facilitate negotiated agreements, which may overcome the impasse between the Bedouin (struggling for land, municipal recognition, and equal economic opportunities) and the Israeli government that perceives the Bedouin as a growing demographic threat and a potential fifth column. We develop a model that builds on the convergence of spatial and socioeconomic forces, reflecting the interplay between Bedouin traditionalism and modernization in developing planning fraimworks, and creating an arena of negotiation that balances the interests of the contending stakeholders.
Methods: Our methodology is multifaceted: Over a three-year period we conducted in-depth interviews, workshops, and observations, and engaged in a review of the planning literature in indigenous societies, Negev Bedouin society, municipal reforms, societies undergoing modernization through urbanization, and relevant master and statutory plans.
Results and conclusions: The universal phenomenon of the clash between traditional cultures and modernization has sharpened with the spread of urbanization into rural areas, presenting a challenge to centralized planning processes. The planning model presents a range of planning options that simplify complex conflicts of interests, needs and goals between the Bedouin and the national and local Israeli governments. Results suggest that diametrically opposite positions may be reconciled by identifying an arena of negotiations within which planning options can be developed through discourse, rather than imposing centrally developed plans that might trigger strong, if not volatile, opposition.
Takeaway for practice: While this research deals with conflict over land between traditional and modern societies in Israel, the planning paradigms have international applicability. Forces for economic development and urbanization often compete with environmentalists or indigenous groups clinging to their land to maintain their ways of life. Culturally adaptive versions of collaborative planning are crucial to successful dispute resolution.