Why Emerging “Peace Processes” Risk Recycling War

Each time diplomacy returns to the Middle East, it promises de-escalation, stability, perhaps even peace. Yet for those in Gaza, such promises have become part of a familiar cycle—violence, pause, and violence again. In the current confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, the language of peace is once again gaining ground. Envoys are active, backchannels are open, and cautious optimism is being carefully staged. But what is emerging may not be peace at all. It may be another way of managing war. The region has seen this script before. Escalation produces urgency, urgency produces diplomacy, and diplomacy produces agreements that promise stability. For a moment, tensions recede. Then they return. Not because peace failed, but because it was […]