Israeli-Palestine Conflict

The conflict theory perspective in sociology divides people into two groups which fight for scarce resources. By analyzing this conflict, sociologists can gain a better understanding for how the two groups interact and the major factors that influence the conflict. The theory was conceived by Karl Marx, who saw how the industrial revolution had partitioned society into two groups, the workers and the business owners. This class conflict allowed Marx to better understand how individual members fit into society, and how their actions affect society as a whole. Since Marx, sociologists have expanded conflict theory's scope, applying to social problems other than class conflict. Feminist conflict theory focuses on the conflict between males and females, and how it affects different aspects of society. Another conflict that has made headlines recently is the battle between Israel and Palestine.

Since the late 19th century, the people of Israel and Palestine have been fighting over the land on the east bank of the Mediterranean Sea. A major point of contention is the city of Jerusalem, which has religious significance for both Jews and Muslims. Both sides believe that they are entitled to occupy the land and refuse to acknowledge the its significance for the other side. A resolution to this problem has been proposed that would create a Palestinian state, drawn from a small section of Israeli land. The argument from the Palestinian side is that the Israelis have driven out many Palestinians from their homes, and they demand that Israel let those people return. Israelis argue that Palestinian have been too violent and essentially doesn't trust them to peacefully occupy the land. Continual negotiations have taken place, but so far no side is willing to compromise. Palestine recently approached the United Nations with a proposal that would recognize Palestine as an official U.N. state. Even though the proposition has been predicted to fail, it marks an important development in the conflict.

Conflict theory can easily be applied to this conflict. The two groups are the Israelis and Palestinians. The resource they are fighting for is land, specifically Jerusalem. The major cause of the conflict is Palestinians feeling like they have been driven from their homes by the Israelis. The Israelis on the other hand argue that Palestinians are violating their national security and won't recognize the Palestine state until peace negations have been successful. From the conflict theory perspective, deviance (the violation of common human morals or social workings) is controlled by one side of the conflict through the law. In the Israeli-Palestine conflict, it seems that Israel controls the law, since they are officially recognized by the U.N. as their own country. Israel uses the law to prevent Palestinians from creating their own country. In this way, they are containing what they see as deviance from the Palestinian people.

Resources:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/world/meast/un-palestinian-statehood/index.html?hpt=wo_c2