The Palestinian National Movement: Politics of Contention, 1967-2005 / Edition 1

by Amal Jamal

Overview

"A comprehensive, up-to-date account of the dynamics in the Palestinian political arena." —Ann M. Lesch, Villanova University

This innovative study examines the internal dynamics of the Palestinian political elite and their impact on the struggle to establish a Palestinian state. The PLO leadership has sought to prevent the rise of any alternative in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that can challenge its authority to represent Palestinian aspirations for self-determination. Drawing on Palestinian sources and interviews with Palestinian political leaders, Jamal argues that the Fatah leadership has attempted to mobilize new social forces—local secular-nationalist and Islamist movements—while undermining their ability to develop independent power structures. This policy has served to radicalize the younger local elites, contributing to the tensions that precipitated the first and second intifadas. Israel's policies have undermined the legitimacy of the national elite, while enhancing the Islamist opposition's ideological legitimacy. In this way, internal elite disunity and growing political differentiation have worked against development of a common Palestinian strategy of state-building.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253217738
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	06/08/2005
Series:	Middle East Studies
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Amal Jamal is Lecturer in Political Science at Tel Aviv University.

Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Structural and Historical Context
2. From Dissension to Coordination: The PLO Leadership and the National Elite in the Occupied Territories
3. Mobilization under Control: The Political Economy of Steadfastness
4. Engineering Compliance: New Modes of Political Entrepreneurship and the Co-optation of Contenders
5. Seizing Structural Opportunities: The Islamist Elite and the Framing of Authenticity Discourse
6. The Politics of Symbolic Capital and the Institutionalization of Neopatrimonial Power
7. The Second Intifada and Its Impact on Elite Structures
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

"Amal Jamal's Palestinian National Movement is a very good introductionto the modern history of a very important actor in the Middle East. For thosewho have never studied the topic in any detail, it will do a very good job ofhelping to explain the goals of the Palestinian people and the strategy of thevarious parts of the Palestinian leadership over the years."

Shofar 25:4 Summer 2007

Amal Jamal’s Palestinian National Movement is a very good introductionto the modern history of a very important actor in the Middle East. For thosewho have never studied the topic in any detail, it will do a very good job ofhelping to explain the goals of the Palestinian people and the strategy of thevarious parts of the Palestinian leadership over the years.

Shofar 25:4 Summer 2007

Amal Jamal's Palestinian National Movement is a very good introductionto the modern history of a very important actor in the Middle East. For thosewho have never studied the topic in any detail, it will do a very good job ofhelping to explain the goals of the Palestinian people and the strategy of thevarious parts of the Palestinian leadership over the years.

Editorial Reviews

". . . a contribution to the study of the Palestinian movement's structure and internal issues, including the power struggles within it.Vol. 39 2007"—Barry Rubin, Global Research in International Affairs Center, Israel

"Amal Jamal's Palestinian National Movement is a very good introductionto the modern history of a very important actor in the Middle East. For thosewho have never studied the topic in any detail, it will do a very good job ofhelping to explain the goals of the Palestinian people and the strategy of thevarious parts of the Palestinian leadership over the years."—Shofar 25:4 Summer 2007

From the Publisher

. . . a contribution to the study of the Palestinian movement's structure and internal issues, including the power struggles within it.Vol. 39 2007

Global Research in International Affairs Center, Israel - Barry Rubin

"Amal Jamal’s Palestinian National Movement is a very good introductionto the modern history of a very important actor in the Middle East. For thosewho have never studied the topic in any detail, it will do a very good job ofhelping to explain the goals of the Palestinian people and the strategy of thevarious parts of the Palestinian leadership over the years." —Shofar 25:4 Summer 2007

Shofar 25:4 Summer 2007

"... a contribution to the study of the Palestinian movement's structure and internal issues, including the power struggles within it." —Barry Rubin, Global Research in International Affairs Center, Israel, INTNL JRNL MID EAST STD - IJMES, Vol. 39 2007

— Barry Rubin, Global Research in International Affairs Center, Israel

International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES)