Who owns “the spring” in Palestine? Rethinking popular consent and resistance in the context of the “Palestinian State” and the “Arab Spring”

The Palestinian Authority's (PA) claim to embody the spirit of the “Arab Spring”, through its recent “state-building” agenda – including its elevation to “non-member observer status” at the United Nations – is disingenuous. This conclusion rests on three key arguments outlined in this article. First, this article identifies a continuation of broader patterns of authoritarianism represented by the PA's lack of adherence to democratic practices, the deprivation of access for the Palestinian population to basic resources and the wider issue of the continued absence of Palestinian sovereignty. Second, it identifies the intensification of some authoritarian practices within Palestine, particularly in the areas of security and policing, for example by the use of force against protestors. Finally, this article identifies that civil-society groups and opposition supporters throughout 2011–2012 have more genuinely embodied evidence of resistance to authoritarianism in popular demonstrations against the PA.

[1]  M. Hallward,et al.  Hamas as a Political Party: Democratization in the Palestinian Territories , 2013 .

[2]  Sarah F. Salwen.  Violence, nonviolence and the Palestinian national movement , 2012 .

[3]  Eva Bellin,et al.  Reconsidering the Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Lessons from the Arab Spring , 2012 .

[4]  Katerina Dalacoura.  The 2011 uprisings in the Arab Middle East: political change and geopolitical implications , 2012 .

[5]  Adam Hanieh.  The internationalisation of Gulf capital and Palestinian class formation , 2011 .

[6]  Ana Paula Silva.  Barriers to Democracy: the other side of social capital in Palestine and the Arab world , 2010 .

[7]  Raja J. Khalidi,et al.  Neoliberalism as Liberation: The Statehood Program and the Remaking of the Palestinian National Movement , 2010 .

[8]  Jim Zanotti,et al.  U.S. Security Assistance to the Palestinian Authority , 2009 .

[9]  Loren D. Lybarger.  Hamas in politics: Democracy, religion, violence , 2009 .

[10]  Wendy Pearlman.  Spoiling Inside and Out: Internal Political Contestation and the Middle East Peace Process , 2009, International Security.

[11]  J. Post.  Hamas: The Islamic Resistance Movement , 2009 .

[12]  Mc Wilson.  The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood , 2009 .

[13]  Neve Gordon,et al.  Israel's Occupation , 2008 .

[14]  Yezid Sayigh.  Inducing a Failed State in Palestine , 2007 .

[15]  Gregory S. Mahler.  The Palestinian National Movement: Politics of Contention, 1967-2005 , 2007 .

[16]  Z. Chehab.  Inside Hamas: the untold story of militants, martyrs and spies , 2007 .

[17]  Robert Satloff,et al.  THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY , 2007 .

[18]  Mary Cardaras.  Media Politics and Democracy in Palestine: Political Culture, Pluralism, and the Palestinian Authority , 2006 .

[19]  Haim Malka.  Forcing choices: Testing the transformation of Hamas , 2005 .

[20]  Amal Jamal.  The Palestinian National Movement: Politics of Contention, 1967-2005 , 2005 .

[21]  Amaney A. Jamal.  The Palestinian national movement , 2005 .

[22]  Amaney Jamal.  Media Politics and Democracy in Palestine: Political Culture, Pluralism, and the Palestinian Authority , 2005 .

[23]  Jamil Hilal,et al.  State Formation under the PNA: Potential Outcomes and their Viability , 2004 .

[24]  E. Bellin.  The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Exceptionalism in Comparative Perspective , 2004 .

[25]  Laura Kalmanowiecki.  Irregular Armed Forces and Their Role in Politics and State Formation: Policing the People, Building the State , 2003 .

[26]  Yezid Sayigh.  Arafat and the Anatomy of a Revolt , 2001 .

[27]  Sara M. Roy.  Palestinian Society and Economy: The Continued Denial of Possibility , 2001 .

[28]  C. Henry,et al.  Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East: References , 2001 .

[29]  Adel Samara.  Globalization, the Palestinian Economy, and the "Peace Process" , 2000 .

[30]  Sara M. Roy.  The crisis within: The struggle for Palestinian society , 2000 .

[31]  Michael Barnett,et al.  Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993, by Yezid Sayigh , 2000 .

[32]  Yezid Sayigh.  Armed Struggle and the Search for State , 1999 .

[33]  Sara M. Roy.  De-development Revisited: Palestinian Economy and Society Since Oslo , 1999 .

[34]  L. Brown,et al.  Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1948-1993 , 1998 .