ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the interplay of the problems in the making of the foreign policy of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO represents Palestine in the League of Arab States, and the United Nations has granted the PLO an observer status. The PLO is also recognized by 112 countries as the representative of the Palestinian people, sometimes with full diplomatic status, and maintains official bureaus in almost 90 countries. The establishment of the PLO in 1964 was a function of two converging trends: the resurgence of Palestinian national feelings in the 1960s and the inter-Arab consensus to draft a common strategy against Israel. An examination of the subsequent evolution of the PLO reveals certain elements of change and continuity that have played a crucial role in PLO foreign policy. By virtue of its character as a nonstate actor, the PLO is vulnerable to the manipulations of Arab regimes.
