Field:
    International Relations, Comparative Politics and Public Policy

Dissertation Title:
    How Radicalization Leads to Peace: Explaining the Timing of Negotiations in Enduring Intra-state Conflicts

Committee:
    Deborah Larson (Co-Chair), Steve Spiegel (Co-Chair), Robert Trager, Barry O’Neill, and David Myers

Date of Completion: August 2009

Contact Information:
    Or Honig
    Centre for Military and Strategic Studies
    University of Calgary
    MacKimmie Library Tower 701
    2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta
    Canada T2N 1N4
    Phone: 403-870-1445
    Fax: 403-210-7310

 Curriculum Vitae:
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Dissertation Summary:
    When do occupying governments decide to negotiate with the mainstream groups in national liberation movements? My dissertation "How Radicalization Leads to Peace: Explaining the Timing of Negotiations in Enduring Intra-state Conflicts," argues that the process of radicalization which occurs within the insurgent national liberation movement determines the timing of negotiations between the parties. The occupying governments fear of the prospect of the extremist nationalist faction taking over the neighboring nationalist society causes it to decide to negotiate with the relatively more moderate mainstream nationalist group in order to install it as the new ruler of the occupied territories and empower it at the expense of the extremists. Thus, the government hopes to prevent the extremists growth and takeover. It is this need to politically defeat the extremist faction, rather than increasing trust towards the mainstream nationalist group, which drives the government to open negotiations. This de-radicalization thesis is innovative since it argues that leaders interpret increasingly indiscriminate terrorist attacks not as signals of intentions or resolve, but as part of the political process of radicalization. This study implications for both the conflict resolution and the terrorism literatures. I test my theory using a large-N database as well as three case studies: the Oslo peace agreement between the Israel and the PLO, the Anglo-Irish Agreement in Northern Ireland and the end of Apartheid in South Africa.

Research Interests:
    IR theory, terrorism and sub-state violence, intra-state conflicts and conflict resolution, decision-making theories, Middle East politics

Teaching Interests:
    I am an enthusiastic instructor who can teach introductory survey courses in international relations (international relations theory, international law and organizations), more specialized courses on popular subjects for advanced undergraduate (American foreign policy, terrorism and counter-terrorism, Middle East politics), and methodology courses for graduate students (qualitative methods and research design, diplomatic history for political scientists).