Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780190095864)

After the 1994 Oslo Accords, Palestinians were hopeful that an end to the Israeli occupation was within reach, and that a state would be theirs by 1999. With this promise, international powers became increasingly involved in Palestinian politics, and many shadows of statehood arose in the territories. Today, however, no state has emerged, and the occupation has become more entrenched. Concurrently, the Palestinian Authority has become increasingly authoritarian, and Palestinians ever more polarized and demobilized.

Palestine is not unique in this: international involvement, and its disruptive effects, have been a constant across the contemporary Arab world. This book argues that internationally backed authoritarianism has an effect on society itself, not just on regime-level dynamics. It explains how the Oslo paradigm has demobilized Palestinians in a way that direct Israeli occupation, for many years, failed to do. Using a multi-method approach including interviews, historical analysis, and cutting-edge experimental data, Dana El Kurd reveals how international involvement has insulated Palestinian elites from the public, and strengthened their ability to engage in authoritarian practices. In turn, those practices have had profound effects on society, including crippling levels of polarization and a weakened capacity for collective action.

Author: Dana El Kurd
ISBN-10: 0190095865
ISBN-13: 9780190095864
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 01/01/2020
Pages: 226
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.60w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2020