ABSTRACT
Quite a few states have a contested past and on-going conflicts about their borders, identity and present realties. Israel is also not the only ‘new’ state around, and will probably not be the last. New states are emerging out of the civil wars that engulf the nation states of Sudan, Iraq and possibly Syria. However, it is one of the few states whose legitimacy is still questioned and its future affects the future of the Middle East as a whole and probably the stability of the international system all together. The reasons for this unique reality lie in Israel’s past and the particular historical circumstances of its birth.
