Unpacking Unofficial Normalization: Israel’s Unofficial Relations with the UAE and the Abraham Accords

Abstract

The study aims to unpack the concept of unofficial normalization and how it can facilitate the resolution of interstate conflicts. Drawing on Kriesberg’s typology of conflict management strategies as constructive or destructive, we define constructive unofficial normalization as a new type of coengagement reward inducement in the context of United Arab Emirates (UAE)–Israel relations. Disciplined configurative and heuristic modes of case study analysis are employed. The paper argues that unofficial relations between the UAE and Israel in the decades preceding the Abraham Accords in 2020 was a necessary element in the transition from conflict management to conflict resolution.