ABSTRACT
Beginning in 1950, one can detect a shift away from calls for conflict resolution to a more modest concern for conflict management. Our choice of 1950 is somewhat earlier than other scholars. Taking the late-1951 Paris talks (below, Chapters IX-X) as a turning-point, Nathan Pelcovits wondered why the UN 'shift[ed] its focus so early in the game - about 1952 - from securing a peace settlement to "keeping" the peace of a long armistice'. 1 But the shift was already discernible in the shadow of the PCC's mid-19 50 setback at Geneva. Against the backdrop of speculation about its possible reform or dissolution, the PCC continued to function, but only with scaleddown activities in Jerusalem and New York. The UN and the Western powers became weary of promoting initiatives aimed at breaking the political deadlock, while the Arab-Israeli conflict, as an inter-Arab issue, was put onto a 'low burner'.2
