Notable Essay:

Civil Society at The Second Draft by Richard Landes and Pedro Zúquete.

An introduction to the concept of civil society (and its relationship to pre-modern / traditional / aristocratic / agricultural / hiearchical societies). The Second Draft website has many insightful essays, many of a general nature providing a philosophical framework for understanding political disputes, in addition to those particularly related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. See also Richard Landes' blog Augean Stables.