The Background of Oslo: An Analysis of the Context and Choices of the Palestinian Leadership

After three decades, it can be safely said that the Oslo Process has been abandoned, and it is unlikely to be resumed, considering the current Israeli government and the violence we see daily in Gaza and the West Bank. Therefore, it would be interesting to analyse the context that led to the negotiations and their context. Specifically, this thesis aims to explore the context and factors that pushed the PLO to engage in the negotiation process that would lead to the Oslo Accords, and how the choices made by these actors impacted the negotiations, their outcomes and the overall Process. To do so, the thesis will firstly examine the context of the region in the ‘80s and early ‘90s and the events that directly impacted the decisions of the PLO. This section is not intended to be a complete examination of this period, but rather an analysis of how these events impacted the PLO and its position in relation to its allies and especially to the US and Israel. Given this context, it will try to analyse which factors, interactions and decisions pushed the PLO leadership to enter bilateral negotiations with the Israelis. The last part of the thesis will be focused, in light of the findings of the previous section, on exploring the Oslo Process, trying to link specific aspects of its provisions to the motivations and decisions of the PLO before and during the negotiations phase. Furthermore, I think that these factors could also help explain some of the shortcomings of the Oslo Accords, which I will also focus on in the latter part of the thesis. The thesis will utilise both secondary and primary sources, the former more to illustrate the historical context, while the latter will be used in the second part regarding the motivations and decisions of the PLO leadership. The thesis will employ a constructivist point of view, which is well-suited to explore the ideas and beliefs of the actual people behind the beginning of the Oslo Process.