The Use of Intangible Benefits for Promoting Contested Policies

The Case of Geopolitical Benefits and the Israeli Gas Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID3120827
AuthorsItay Fischhendler (0000-0001-5355-9316, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume23
Issue4
Pages929-953
Publication date2018-10-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeopolitics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1465-0045 • E-ISSN: 1557-3028
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14650045.2017.1350842
OpenAlexW2736525876
LanguageEN
Citations received6

The evaluation of many contested projects and policies often includes intangible benefits. Geopolitics represents one type of intangible benefit. Despite a few examples on the use of geopolitics to promote contested projects, there is a gap in the literature on how geopolitical argumentation is constructed for the purpose of promoting resource-based policies. Hence, the aim of this study is to use an Israeli case study to examine how geopolitical constructs are used to promote competing energy policies concerning recent gas discoveries and to provide rudimentary insights on the implications for policy making. It was found that the geopolitical rationale was an appealing rhetorical device for all players as it is both unquantifiable and hence difficult to disprove and is rooted in the Israeli societal context. As a result, coalitions built their own geopolitical rationales, each with its own rhetorical tools. These literary tools were often embedded in narratives of power and geographical language with emotional resonance. Yet, the Israeli case demonstrates that geopolitical constructs come at a detrimental price as they promote censorship and exclusion of the public from the process

Argumentation theory · Epistemology · Geopolitics · Narrative · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Global Energy Security and Policy · History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Natural Resources and Economic Development