The 'Annapolis Process': A chronology of failure

The analysis indicates three sets of factors through which parties' willingness to achieve a consensual solution can be assessed: the contextual factors that contribute to adversaries' decision to proceed to official negotiations, the functions of the pre-negotiations and the changes that occur in the parties' perceptions during the pre-negotiations. A simultaneous exploration of these factors provides a more complete assessment of the parties' intentions and their willingness to proceed to negotiations directed at a win-win solution. This, in turn, enables a better understanding of the factors that undermine de-escalation initiatives, not only between Israel and the Palestinians but in other intractable conflicts as well.