Daniel Levin verbrachte seine Kindheit als Sohn eines Diplomaten im Nahen Osten und in Afrika. Er studierte Recht in Zürich und New York und doktorierte anschliessend in Israel. Neben seiner Tätigkeit als Anwalt in New York begann er in den 1990er-Jahren, eine Wissensplattform aufzubauen, um Regierungen und Institutionen bei politischen Reformen und bei der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung zu unterstützen. Zur Weiterführung dieser Plattform gründete das Liechtensteiner Fürstenhaus 2009 die Stiftung «Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance», deren Direktor Daniel Levin seither ist. Da die Stiftung besonderes im Nahen Osten und in Afrika über viele wertvolle Kontakte verfügt, wird sie auch in Friedensverhandlungen involviert und hat auch schon geholfen, im Ausland entführte Personen zu finden. Daniel Levin, der auch als Autor tätig ist, ist 61 Jahre alt und lebt in New York.
News & Interviews
Daniel Levin: President Biden Should Jettison Netanyahu and Focus on the American Hostages
We are fast approaching the one-year anniversary of the horrific Hamas assault on October 7, 2023. Almost a full year of death, destruction, and displacement, of failed negotiations with meaningless utterances of “cautious optimism” about cease-fires and hostage releases. Meanwhile, Gaza and Gazans have been pulverized, residents of Israel’s South and North have had to leave their homes, and the hostages’ chance of survival shrivels by the day.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel
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Whale Hunting: Covert Diplomacy: Diplomacy, Death Threats and Hostage Negotiations
If your loved one was kidnapped by a terror group like ISIS, your first instinct might be to scream for help from the rooftops. This, Daniel Levin says, would not be a good move. Daniel has spent years working on all kinds of conflict resolution, from freeing hostages to bringing political adversaries to the table or helping countries recover after civil war. This week on Whale Hunting, host Tom Wright talks to Daniel about his remarkable experience in the art of track three diplomacy. Together, they discuss how off-the-record dialogues can shape the fate of nations, and how Daniel’s work with the Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance is taking an innovative approach to society building and global crises.
Is war with Iran inevitable?
The world is holding its breath following Israel’s targeted assassination of senior officers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in an airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. As expected, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has vowed revenge.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel
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Is there a way to achieve peace in Israel and Palestine?
From the article:
“In 1948, my father was severely wounded in the final days of the Arab-Israeli war, referred to by Israelis as the War of Independence, and by Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic. The left side of his body was blown away, including his left arm. When I was a little boy, he often told me about his friends who had died in battle, and said that he dreamed of the day when there would be peace between Israelis and Palestinians, so that my generation would no longer have to fight these wars. In 1990, during the first intifada, I served in an Israel Defense Forces combat unit in Gaza. And here we are, all these decades later. So much for my father’s dreams.”
Read the full article on The Guardian
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Former IDF and Hostage Negotiator Talks Israel/Palestine War, Iran, Saudi Peace Deal, Biden/Trump
Daniel Levin spent his early years as the son of a diplomat in the Middle East and in Africa, which exposed him to many cultures, languages, and religions. Following his law studies and an initial academic career, he has spent the last twenty-five years working with governments and development institutions worldwide, focusing on economic development and political reform through financial literacy, political inclusion, and constitutional initiatives. He is also engaged in track 3 diplomacy and mediation efforts in war zones.
Daniel Levin has worked with think tanks on novel constitutional models and on anticorruption and political reform initiatives. Over the past ten years, he has helped monarchies as they consider ways to increase the democratic legitimization of their monarchic systems. Daniel Levin is currently a member of the board of the Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance. He is married with two children, and lives outside New York City.
Recovering Hostages with Armed Conflict Negotiator Daniel Levin
Recovering Hostages with Armed Conflict Negotiator Daniel Levin
foXnoMad Podcast, March 10, 2023
Ep.86: Daniel Levin has spent the last twenty years working with governments and development institutions worldwide.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mhOXgITnDulrR12kypRCp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHwiPl03RqA
Menschen werden gehandelt wie Kaffee oder Waffen
From the article:
Im neuen Buch «Zwanzig Tage» von Daniel Levin geht es um eine Geiselnahme in Syrien – der Autor berichtet über seine geheime Mission.
tachles: Sie leben als Anwalt in den USA und leiten parallel dazu die Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance. In welchen Bereichen ist die Foundation tätig?
Daniel Levin: Die Foundation wurde als gemeinnützige Stiftung im Jahr 2009 vom Fürsten von Liechtenstein ins Leben gerufen mit dem ursprünglichen Ziel, ein Wissensinstrumentarium an Entwicklungsländer zu vermitteln. Es geht darum, Tools zu entwickeln und weiterzugeben, mit denen die Verantwortlichen der betroffenen Länder dort selbst agieren können. In den letzten Jahren hat sich der Wirkungsbereich der Stiftung auch in Richtung Mediation in Kriegszonen wie Libyen, Syrien oder im Jemen entwickelt.
Conducting Negotiations: An Interview with Daniel Levin
Kalavinka Viewpoints, October 19, 2022
Daniel has spent the last twenty-five years working with governments and development institutions worldwide, focusing on economic development and political reform through financial literacy, political inclusion, and constitutional initiatives. He is also engaged in track 3 diplomacy and mediation efforts in war zones. He is currently a member of the board of the Liechtenstein Foundation for State Governance and the author of several books including his most recent, Proof of Life.
The Craft by Openspace: Daniel Levin on Negotiation
Daniel Levin spends his days negotiating behind the scenes, resolving Southeast Asian hostage situations, mediating waring nations, and writing books. We asked our Head of ESG & Impact, Jaclyn Seow, to have a discussion with him on the craft of negotiation.