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David Newman (political geographer)
Encyclopedia
David Newman is a British
-Israel
i scholar in political geography
and geopolitics
. He serves as professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Department of Politics and Government and editor of the academic journal Geopolitics. In March 2010, Newman was elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for the period 2010-2013.
in Geography from Queen Mary College
at the University of London
(1978) and a PhD in geography from the University of Durham
, England
(1981). In 1982 he was appointed as lecturer in the Tel Aviv University
Department of Geography and immigrated to Israel. In 1987 he became a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1996 to 1998 he served as Director of its Hubert Humphrey Institute for Social Research. In 1988 he founded the Ben-Gurion University Department of Politics and Government, and served as its first chairperson until 2003. That year he facilitated the founding of the BGU Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (CSEPS), with which he is affiliated.
From 1997 to 2003, Newman published a weekly op-ed column in the Jerusalem Post. Newman also published essays and opinion columns in newspapers and magazines, such as the New York Times, the Guardian
, and Tikkun Magazine. His political activities have focused on the Israeli peace camp, strongly arguing for territorial withdrawal and the establishment of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.
Since 1999 he has been co-editor, together with Professor John Agnew
from UCLA, of the international journal Geopolitics, published quarterly by Taylor and Francis
(Routledge
). The present co-editor is Professor Simon Dalby from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
Newman played a leading role in the defence of Israeli universities and the academic community in the face of a proposed academic boycott of Israel during 2006-2008.
a) territorial dimensions of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
. Newman has analysed the impact of the West Bank
settlement network and the settler movement Gush Emunim
. He has also carried out research on the changing territorial configurations of a Two State solution to the conflict with a particular emphasis on the Green Line
boundary which separates Israel from the West Bank. During the early 1990s, Newman undertook joint work with Arab geographer, Ghazi Falah
looking at the territorial and border implications of a Two State solution, some of earliest collaborative work between Israeli and Palestinian scholars to have been undertaken in. This resulted in a series of four published articles as well as a retrospective look at the problems of undertaking collaborative research of this nature.
b) a conceptual discussion relating to the functions and significances of borders in the contemporary period of globalization. Newman has published a counter narrative to globalization notions of a borderless and deterritorialized world, arguing that borders retain their significance in the contemporary world and that there is no such thing as deterritorialization
, only reterritorialization in which spatial configurations of power are constantly being reconfigured. Not only does territory and, by association borders, retain their significance, but Newman emphasizes the need to focus on the symbolic dimensions of territory and the ways in which this feeds into the formation of national identity and attachment to place and space, in addition to the more traditional discussions which focus on the tangible and physical characteristics of territory, such as size, shape and physical resources. In the study of borders, Newman has moved beyond the study of international boundaries as it has been analysed within the Geographical and Political Science disciplines, to a multi-dsciplinary discourse involving sociologists, anthropologists, jurists and other scholars in an attempt to reshift the focus away from borders as lines on the map, to the more dynamic and functional processes of bordering within the wider realms of society and space, including the unseen and invisible borders which separate groups from each other.
in the UK, the Association of Borderland Studies in the USA, the Border Regions in Transition (BRIT) network, and as the Secretary of the Commission on the World Political Map (WPM) of the International Geographical Union. He has facilitated and attended as keynote speaker at international gatherings dealing with geopolitical and border related issues. Newman has spent periods of time as visiting professor and research fellow at a number of universities and research institutions throughout Europe and North America. In 2006, Newman was the Leverhulme Professor in Geopolitics at the University of Bristol
in the UK.
Newman has been involved in peace-related activities and in a variety of Track II discussions and negotiations. This includes joint Israeli-Palestinian projects looking at territorial and border issues, funded by the Ford Foundation
, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (both with Ghazi Falah
, the United States Institute of Peace
in a project examining potential cross-border cooperation between Israel and a future Palestinian State, a European Union consortium project looking at the role of the EU in intervening in border conflicts, and a European Union Partnership in Peace programme, facilitating peace related workshops for religious teachers in Israel and Palestine.
David Newman is the Chair of the International Editorial Board of Journal of Borderland Studies, edited by Emmanuel Brunet Jailly
(University of Victoria, BC, Canada).
regard us as a band of traitors, criminals and leftists. In actual fact, we are a faculty of 250 members from all parts of the political spectrum."
In response, NGO Monitor wrote that Newman was "wrong and irrelevant" since just "as he disagrees with the sweeping characterization of the Ben Gurion University faculty as 'traitors, criminals, and leftists,' Newman's attempts to discredit individuals and groups who do not share his ideology are unethical. Political witch hunts from all parts of the spectrum have no place in the academic search for knowledge."
In an article published in TotallyJewish.com News in March 2010, Newman refers to NGO Monitor as a "right-wing think tank...working with right-wing members of the Knesset
to legislate against further funding by these organisations." In response, Yishai Hughes writing for NGO Monitor says that "NGO Monitor is an independent research organization, providing detailed, systematic, and source-based analysis and publications regarding the activities of NGOs in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The ideological label employed by Newman, 'right wing,' is neither accurate nor relevant."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i scholar in political geography
Political geography
Political geography is the field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures...
and geopolitics
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
. He serves as professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....
Department of Politics and Government and editor of the academic journal Geopolitics. In March 2010, Newman was elected Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for the period 2010-2013.
Biography
David Newman was born in London. He holds an Honours Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Geography from Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(1978) and a PhD in geography from the University of Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(1981). In 1982 he was appointed as lecturer in the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
Department of Geography and immigrated to Israel. In 1987 he became a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1996 to 1998 he served as Director of its Hubert Humphrey Institute for Social Research. In 1988 he founded the Ben-Gurion University Department of Politics and Government, and served as its first chairperson until 2003. That year he facilitated the founding of the BGU Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (CSEPS), with which he is affiliated.
From 1997 to 2003, Newman published a weekly op-ed column in the Jerusalem Post. Newman also published essays and opinion columns in newspapers and magazines, such as the New York Times, the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and Tikkun Magazine. His political activities have focused on the Israeli peace camp, strongly arguing for territorial withdrawal and the establishment of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.
Since 1999 he has been co-editor, together with Professor John Agnew
John A. Agnew
John A. Agnew is a prominent British-American political geographer. Agnew was educated at the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool in England and Ohio State in the United States.-Life and career:...
from UCLA, of the international journal Geopolitics, published quarterly by Taylor and Francis
Taylor and Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
(Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
). The present co-editor is Professor Simon Dalby from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
Newman played a leading role in the defence of Israeli universities and the academic community in the face of a proposed academic boycott of Israel during 2006-2008.
Research
Newman's published work focuses on two main areas of research:a) territorial dimensions of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. Newman has analysed the impact of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
settlement network and the settler movement Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim was an Israeli messianic and political movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank. While not formally established as an organization until 1974 in the wake of the Yom Kippur War, Gush Emunim sprang out of the conquests of the Six-Day War in 1967, encouraging...
. He has also carried out research on the changing territorial configurations of a Two State solution to the conflict with a particular emphasis on the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
boundary which separates Israel from the West Bank. During the early 1990s, Newman undertook joint work with Arab geographer, Ghazi Falah
Ghazi Falah
Ghazi-Walid Falah is a Bedouin Israeli-Canadian geographer, who is currently a tenured professor at the University of Akron, Ohio, USA.Ghazi Falah is an expert on political, social and urban geography of the Middle East and the Arab World, with special emphasis on Israel. He has published over 45...
looking at the territorial and border implications of a Two State solution, some of earliest collaborative work between Israeli and Palestinian scholars to have been undertaken in. This resulted in a series of four published articles as well as a retrospective look at the problems of undertaking collaborative research of this nature.
b) a conceptual discussion relating to the functions and significances of borders in the contemporary period of globalization. Newman has published a counter narrative to globalization notions of a borderless and deterritorialized world, arguing that borders retain their significance in the contemporary world and that there is no such thing as deterritorialization
Deterritorialization
Deterritorialization is a concept created by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in Anti-Oedipus , which, in accordance to Deleuze's desire and philosophy, quickly became used by others, for example in anthropology, and transformed in this reappropriation...
, only reterritorialization in which spatial configurations of power are constantly being reconfigured. Not only does territory and, by association borders, retain their significance, but Newman emphasizes the need to focus on the symbolic dimensions of territory and the ways in which this feeds into the formation of national identity and attachment to place and space, in addition to the more traditional discussions which focus on the tangible and physical characteristics of territory, such as size, shape and physical resources. In the study of borders, Newman has moved beyond the study of international boundaries as it has been analysed within the Geographical and Political Science disciplines, to a multi-dsciplinary discourse involving sociologists, anthropologists, jurists and other scholars in an attempt to reshift the focus away from borders as lines on the map, to the more dynamic and functional processes of bordering within the wider realms of society and space, including the unseen and invisible borders which separate groups from each other.
Affiliations and public activities
Newman is associated with a number of border and boundary related institutions, such as the International Boundaries Research UnitInternational Boundaries Research Unit
The International Boundaries Research Unit at Durham University in the United Kingdom integrates theory and practice in an academic setting. The research center provides practical expertise in boundary-making, border management and territorial dispute resolution.-History:IBRU was established in...
in the UK, the Association of Borderland Studies in the USA, the Border Regions in Transition (BRIT) network, and as the Secretary of the Commission on the World Political Map (WPM) of the International Geographical Union. He has facilitated and attended as keynote speaker at international gatherings dealing with geopolitical and border related issues. Newman has spent periods of time as visiting professor and research fellow at a number of universities and research institutions throughout Europe and North America. In 2006, Newman was the Leverhulme Professor in Geopolitics at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
in the UK.
Newman has been involved in peace-related activities and in a variety of Track II discussions and negotiations. This includes joint Israeli-Palestinian projects looking at territorial and border issues, funded by the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (both with Ghazi Falah
Ghazi Falah
Ghazi-Walid Falah is a Bedouin Israeli-Canadian geographer, who is currently a tenured professor at the University of Akron, Ohio, USA.Ghazi Falah is an expert on political, social and urban geography of the Middle East and the Arab World, with special emphasis on Israel. He has published over 45...
, the United States Institute of Peace
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...
in a project examining potential cross-border cooperation between Israel and a future Palestinian State, a European Union consortium project looking at the role of the EU in intervening in border conflicts, and a European Union Partnership in Peace programme, facilitating peace related workshops for religious teachers in Israel and Palestine.
David Newman is the Chair of the International Editorial Board of Journal of Borderland Studies, edited by Emmanuel Brunet Jailly
Emmanuel Brunet Jailly
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly is a Canadian politics and public policy scholar at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where he is Associate Professor, co-director of the Local Government Institute, and director of the European Studies Program...
(University of Victoria, BC, Canada).
Criticism
In an article in Haaretz in July 2010 discussing the relationship between academic appointments and one's political views, Newman said "Persons from groups like Im Tirtzu and NGO MonitorNGO Monitor
NGO Monitor is a non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem, Israel whose stated aim is to generate and distribute critical analysis and reports on the output of the international NGO community for the benefit of government policy makers, journalists, philanthropic organizations and the...
regard us as a band of traitors, criminals and leftists. In actual fact, we are a faculty of 250 members from all parts of the political spectrum."
In response, NGO Monitor wrote that Newman was "wrong and irrelevant" since just "as he disagrees with the sweeping characterization of the Ben Gurion University faculty as 'traitors, criminals, and leftists,' Newman's attempts to discredit individuals and groups who do not share his ideology are unethical. Political witch hunts from all parts of the spectrum have no place in the academic search for knowledge."
In an article published in TotallyJewish.com News in March 2010, Newman refers to NGO Monitor as a "right-wing think tank...working with right-wing members of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
to legislate against further funding by these organisations." In response, Yishai Hughes writing for NGO Monitor says that "NGO Monitor is an independent research organization, providing detailed, systematic, and source-based analysis and publications regarding the activities of NGOs in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The ideological label employed by Newman, 'right wing,' is neither accurate nor relevant."