This Study Group will result in a book that provides an alternative to the prevailing wisdom that the thwarted self-determination of the Palestinian people is the primary cause of Arab anti-Western sentiment: The Great Powers, so the argument goes, have historically supported an aggressive Israel, thereby undermining their Arab friends and providing sustenance to their enemies. Doran counters that Arab states have used the conflict with Israel as a means of pursuing agendas wholly unrelated to the cause of Palestine. He describes the Arab-Israeli conflict as a proxy war that the Arab states have fought against each other and against the Great Powers.

In addition to reinterpreting the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Doran provides policy makers with tools for analyzing the complex crosscurrents that blur the lines between the Palestine question, inter-Arab politics, and relations between the Western powers and Middle Eastern states.