Palestine Ltd. (neoliberalism And Nationalism In The Occupied Territory)

By (author) Haddad Toufic
Description
Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been the subject of extensive international peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts coordinated by Western donor states and international finance institutions. Despite their failure to yield peace or Palestinian statehood, the role of these organisations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is generally overlooked owing to their depiction as tertiary actors engaged in technical missions. In Palestine Ltd., Toufic Haddad explores how neoliberal frameworks have shaped and informed the common understandings of international, Israeli and Palestinian interactions throughout the Oslo peace process. Drawing upon more than 20 years of policy literature, field-based interviews and recently declassified or leaked documents, he details how these frameworks have led to struggles over influencing Palestinian political and economic behaviour, and attempts to mould the class character of Palestinian society and its leadership. A dystopian vision of Palestine emerges as the by-product of this complex asymmetrical interaction, where nationalism, neo-colonialism and `disaster capitalism'' both intersect and diverge. This book is essential for students and scholars interested in Middle East Studies, Arab-Israeli politics and international development.
Table of contents
Introduction Part I: Background Neoliberal Approaches to Conflict Building and Statebuilding Getting to Peace: Survey of Historical Political Economic Factors Leading to the Oslo Peace Process Part II: Peacebuilding? 1993-2000 3. Modeling a Resolution 4. The Voyage: Neoliberal Peacebuilding in Practice 1993-2000 5. The Enforcer: Structural Determinants of Palestinian Political Economy – The Israeli Contribution 6. The Guestimate: Structural Determinants of Palestinian Political Economy – International Aid Contributions 7. Palestinian Political Actors Negotiate Neoliberal Peacebuilding 8. Rents, Rent-Seeking and the Political Settlement of the Oslo Years Part III: Statebuilding? 9. Reform and Statebuilding 10. ‘Fayyadism’ 11. Incentivizing De-Development Conclusion
Biographical note
Toufic Haddad holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London. He is co-author of Between the Lines: Israel, the Palestinians and the US War on Terror (2007) and previously worked for different UN bodies in Jerusalem.
Promotional headline
The first study to examine the failure of the two-state solution as the result of neoliberal peace and state building policies by Western donors in Palestine.
Description for collection
Series Editors: Dina Matar, PhD, Chair, Centre for Palestine Studies, and Reader in Political Communication, Centre for Global Media and Communications, SOAS Adam Hanieh, PhD, Reader in Development Studies and Advisory Committee Member for Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS The question of Palestine is one of the most complex and protracted issues of our time. A country under military occupation with the largest body of refugees in the world, Palestine is a topic of tremendous political and cultural significance, involving regional and international players as well as an army of humanitarian and non-governmental organisations. Seeking to contribute to this ever-more intricate picture, the SOAS Palestine Studies series publishes innovative research in the study of Palestine, Palestinians and the Israel-Palestine conflict all as a ‘crucial component’ of Middle Eastern and world politics. The first Western academic series entirely dedicated to this topic, SOAS Palestine Studies draws from a variety of disciplinary fields, including history, politics, economics, media, social anthropology and development studies. Key areas of focus will include: ¨ Political economy of Palestine and the Israel-Palestine conflict ¨ International relations and diplomacy ¨ Regional politics and social movem