Abrahamic brothers – for better and for worse? -A qualitative study of the ideas in the Abraham accords

Abstract: A normalization agreement between Israel and Bahrain became the starting point for a number of accords to be signed, promoting peace, normalization and cooperation – all based upon the idea of the prophet Abraham being the common ancestor of Jews and Muslims. Since then, United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan has joined the Abraham accords as well. But upon what grounds is this peace plan based? Which ideas are presented, how can we interpret them, and what role does the mediator play? Most of all, how is the concepts trust, security and cooperation presented?With the help of a qualitative text analysis investigating ideas and ideological content, this thesis analyses the ideas of Abraham accords from two different theoretical perspectives – neorealism and commercial liberalism. The peace treaties that Israel signed with Egypt in 1979, and with Jordan in 1994, are subject to the same analysis, which allows a comparison between the agreements.The results show that even though many of the ideas in the Abraham accords are similar to those presented in the peace treaties, there seem to be a stronger commercial liberalist influence in the former. The role of the mediator is also stronger in the Abraham accords, where the earlier peace treaties rely more upon international law and security council resolutions. Even though trust, security and cooperation appear to be important in all the agreements, the views and methods seem to differ.