Study of regional cooperation in the social sciences in the Near East

The document provides three separate reports. The report on Egypt treats population problems and government efforts in family planning. Also examined are the social ramifications of technology in rural development. Social science research capabilities, including a description of major research institutions, are described. The report on Israel focuses on the activities of the Division of International Cooperation and the Foreign Ministry, and on the development social science capabilities within the universities of Tel Aviv, Hebrew, Haifa, Bar Ilan, and Ben Gurion. A report on the West Bank considers regional cooperation, conflict with Israel, and the developmental social science capabilities of the universities of Al-Najah, Bethlehem, and Birzeit. The study concludes that research capabilities in Egypt and Israel proper are substantial, but that West Bank capabilities are diminished by weak staffing. Additional funding and greater mobility are needed in Egypt because most research facilities are centered in independent institutions outside the university structure. Israel has failed to approach development comprehensively and has failed to pay attention to public administration. Also discussed are the political impossibility of Palestinian cooperation with Israel and the unfeasibility of cooperation with Jordan. The study recommends creation of a West Bank Development Institute, increasing salaries of Jordanian faculty who teach on the West Bank, starting West Bank university programs in agriculture and public administration, encouraging social cooperation among West Bank universities, and strengthening the university policy role of the Council for Higher Education of Gaza.