The Political Science department cordially invites you to a Politalk special lecture: The Struggle for Palestinian Rights at the United Nations.
How did the international community come to recognize the Palestinian right to independent statehood as an indispensable element of a just peace in the Middle East? How did the United Nations try to reconcile this right to the existing norm of Israeli sovereignty? What is the relationship between Palestinian peace initiatives and Israeli military operations? Dr. Colter Louwerse’s lecture addresses the Palestine Question’s critical international dimension: Analyzing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mobilization of global opinion behind the now hegemonic ‘two-state’ settlement, it sheds critical light on both the prospects and obstacles for global efforts to terminate Israel’s protracted occupation and to realize Palestinian rights.
Speaker Profile:
Colter Louwerse is a PhD researcher focusing on the politics of Palestine and the Middle East. A graduate of the University of Exeter’s European Centre for Palestine Studies and the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies in the United Kingdom, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Middle East and Islamic Studies at Exeter in 2018, and in 2022 was awarded a doctorate in Palestine Studies. His PhD dissertation, The Struggle for Palestinian Rights: The Palestinian Campaign for Self-Determination and Statehood at the United Nations, 1967-1989, shed new evidentiary light on the relationship between Palestinian popular struggle, diplomacy, and development of UN proposals for ‘resolving’ the Israeli-Palestinian conflict under international auspices. He is also an alumnus of UFV, where he first obtained his deep passion for critical study of Middle Eastern history, politics and international relations while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science (2013-2017).
Louwerse’s trips to Israel, Palestine and Jordan have connected him with Palestinian and Israeli academics, civil society groups and human rights organizations. His research has brought him into contact with Palestinian activists and Western officials, which have played key roles in advocating and negotiating Palestine rights. His ongoing research and publications address the history and politics of Canadian, American, and British foreign policy in the Middle East, Palestinian nationalism on the global stage, the role of the United Nations in negotiating self-determination, sovereignty and human rights claims in the context of the Palestine Question, and the interrelationship between asymmetrical warfare, political violence and conflict resolution in Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East region. He currently lives in Chilliwack, B.C., with his wife.
Tues, Nov 29
4-5:30 pm
Abby A225
For more information, contact Natasha Tvete at natasha.tvete@ufv.ca
11/30/2022