In his article “Palestine Goes to the UN,” Khaled Elgindy outlines a series of cause-and-consequence scenarios for Palestine's latest attempt at statehood. The United Nations candidacy, which "marks a dramatic change in the Palestinians' approach to the conflict with Israel", will be brought to the table of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2011 (since that date has already passed, it will be assumed that we are still in the period preceding it for the purposes of the contribution). Following Elgindy's logic, the arguments of other authors and the assumptions of international relations theories, I will demonstrate how the UN option will most likely fail, but without underestimating the positive effect that a "failure" can have on the negotiation process. The main argument is that Palestine's new strategy of asking the UN for statehood is, in the long run, the more effective of the two possible policies, the other being, of course, direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine, which “does not they have succeeded in realizing Palestinian national aspirations and have helped prolong and deepen the Israeli occupation while weakening Palestinian political institutions.” The theory behind his statement is a cost-benefit analysis of using the UN; whether it succeeds (unlikely) or fails, there is something to gain from it. The best – and again, most unlikely – scenario for the Palestinian people is official recognition of the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders. The most important effect of recognition is that Israel would violate international law by deploying its forces in another state and would be “legally” obliged to withdraw. The term "legally" is used loosely here due to the debate over the existence of anarchy in...... middle of paper ...... September 2011. Web. November 13, 2011. Elgindy, Khaled. “Palestine goes to the UN”. Foreign Affairs 90.5 (2011): 102-113. Premier of academic research. Network. November 13, 2011. Khalidi, Rashid. The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. Print.Newman, Edward, Roland Paris, and Oliver P. Richmond. New perspectives on liberal peacebuilding. New York: United Nation University Press, 2009. Print.Pease, Kelly-Kate S. International Organizations: Perspectives on Governance in the Twenty-First Century. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.Rosen, Steven J. “Abbas vs. Obama." Middle East Forum 18.2 (2011): 53-58. Premier of academic research. Network. November 13, 2011.Scheuerman, William E. Hans Morgenthau: Realism and Beyond. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2009. Print.