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The Politics of Change in Palestine

The Politics of Change in Palestine

State-Building and Non-Violent Resistance

by Michael Bröning

Highlights the political activity in Palestine that is becoming a national movement challenging Israel
This book contradicts the dominant myth that incompetent, corrupt, and uncompromising Palestinian decision-makers are responsible for the lasting stalemate in the Middle-East Peace Process. It highlights recent political developments in Palestine that fundamentally redefine important parameters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Contrary to public perception, new political trends in the Palestinian Territories bolster prospects for the realisation of Palestinian national aspirations. Michael Broning identifies key indicators which fundamentally question dominant Israeli narratives and pose an unprecedented strategic challenge to the Israeli leadership. These include the reinvention of Hamas, the reform of the Fatah movement, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's state-building efforts and the surge of non-violent resistance against Israel.

This persuasive book forces us to reconsider the perceived wisdom that the Palestinians are powerless to influence events as they struggle for peace.

Michael Broning is Head of the International Policy Department of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a political foundation affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He has written on Middle East politics in Foreign Affairs, New Statesman, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. and the is the author of The Politics of Change in Palestine (Pluto, 2011).

'A must-read for those who want to comprehend the Israeli/Palestinian elephant in its totality, rather than be misled by a blind grasp of just the trunk, an ear, or the tail' - Khaled Hroub, director of the Arab Media Project, University of Cambridge 'A much-needed antidote to mainstream writing. He methodically sketches the arc of the Palestinian national movement in the Occupied Territories as it transforms itself from Fatah's secular nationalist approach to Hamas's Islamist nationalism' - Joost R. Hiltermann, Deputy Program Director Middle East and North Africa, International Crisis Group, Washington DC 'Brilliantly describes current changes and new perspectives emerging in the Palestinian landscape. At the same time, he has captured the stakes and the challenges of Palestinian nonviolent resistance' - Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of Palestinian National Initiative, Ramallah 'A lucid analysis of Palestinian politics and much needed food for thought on how to engage Hamas' - Gernot Erler, Minister of State in the German Federal Foreign Office 2005-2009, Deputy Chairman of social democrats in the German Parliament, Berlin. 'Few, if any, have spotted the subtle yet positive changes inPalestine as thoroughly' - Jordan Times 'Based on extensive research and on in-depth interviews with activistsand decision-makers. Politics of Change offers a well-informedinterpretation of often overlooked developments' - Maan News Agency 'An excellent contribution in times of political fermentation' - Israel-Palestine Journal 'Informed, well written, and impressively precise' - International Politics & Society 'Provides a new interpretation of recent developments and acomprehensive analysis of non-violence' - Al Hayat Al Jadida 'Strongly recommend[ed]' - Agenda
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1. Progress and Stagnation
2. The Myth of a Missing Palestinian Partner
3. Change in Palestine
II. HAMAS IN TRANSITION
1. “What is there to Talk About?”
2. Changing Hamas: On Theory and Pragmatism
3. Embracing Statehood: Hamas in Gaza
4. Tremors of Change: “Hamas 2.0”?
5. Prospects for Western Engagement with Hamas
III. CHANGING FATAH
1. Looking Back: Ambiguity, Symbolism and Stagnation
2. Re-inventing Fatah: The Sixth General Conference of 2009
3. Making Fatah Work: The Challenges Ahead
IV. PNA STATE-BUILDING: PUTTING PALESTINE ON THE MAP
1. The “Fayyad-Plan”: Parameters of a Technocratic Revolution
2. One Year into State-Building: A Preliminary Evaluation
3. Turning Wine into Water? The Ambiguities of Fayyadism
4. Fayyad: Palestinian Messiah or Traitor to the Cause?
V. BEYOND TERROR: POLITICISING NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE
1. Non-Violence: The Forgotten Resistance
2. Current Trends of Non-Violence
3. Non-violence: Does It Work?
4. A Hammer Looking for a Nail? Israeli Responses
5. Challenges of Non-Violence
VI. EPILOGUE
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Published by Pluto Press in Mar 2011
eBook ISBN: 9781783714308

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