The EU, Hamas and the 2006 Palestinian Elections

The EU, Hamas and the 2006 Palestinian Elections
Author: Catherine Charrett
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2019-08-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351611798

This book addresses how institutional and diplomatic rituals shaped the European Union’s sanction of Hamas after the latter’s success in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections. Through a lens of performance and performativity it explains how socialisation and the duress of performative rituals shapes agency and prevents the possibility of being creative with policy initiatives when confronted with difficult decisions. Interviews with senior Hamas representatives, EU bureaucrats, members of the European External Action Service, and electoral observers from Palestine and Europe, in addition to ethnographic research in Gaza and in Brussels, recreate the details of the failed diplomacy between Hamas and the EU. The book explores the social and visual cultures and discourses that shape the recognition of contemporary subjects, and it presents Hamas’s response to being treated as a terrorist movement. It advances queer and postcolonial understandings of European-Palestinian political encounter by interrogating the bureaucratic and professional pressures that shape the political agency of EU civil servants and the recognition of Palestinian politics. This is a performative and interdisciplinary text; it juxtaposes empirical investigation, with critical theory, performance art and everyday experiences. It will appeal to students of International Relations, Interdisciplinary Studies, Middle-East Area Studies, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Analysis and Gender Studies.

Hamas in Politics

Hamas in Politics
Author: Jeroen Gunning
Publisher: Hurst Publishers
Total Pages: 434
Release: 2023-11-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1805261533

In January 2006, Hamas, an organisation classified by Western governments as terrorist, was democratically elected to govern the Palestinian territories. The inherent contradictions in this situation have left many analysts at a loss. Hamas uses terror tactics against Israel, yet runs on a law and order ticket in Palestinian elections; it pursues an Islamic state, yet holds internal elections; it campaigns for shar'iah law, yet its leaders are predominantly secular professionals; it calls for the destruction of Israel, yet has reluctantly agreed to honour previous peace agreements. In "Hamas in Politics", Jeroen Gunning challenges the assumption that religion, violence and democracy are inherently incompatible and shows how many of these apparent contradictions flow from the interaction between Hamas' ideology, its local constituency and the nature of politics in Israel/Palestine. Drawing on interviews with members of Hamas and its critics, and a decade of close observation of the group, he offers a penetrating analysis of Hamas' own understanding of its ideology and in particular the tension between its dual commitment to 'God' and 'the people'. The book explores what Hamas' political practice says about its attitude towards democracy, religion and violence, providing a unique examination of the movement's internal organisation, how its leaders are selected and how decisions are made.

When Victory Is Not an Option

When Victory Is Not an Option
Author: Nathan J. Brown
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2012-03-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801464366

Throughout the Arab world, Islamist political movements are joining the electoral process. This change alarms some observers and excites other. In recent years, electoral opportunities have opened, and Islamist movements have seized them. But those opportunities, while real, have also been sharply circumscribed. Elections may be freer, but they are not fair. The opposition can run but it generally cannot win. Semiauthoritarian conditions prevail in much of the Arab world, even in the wake of the Arab Spring. How do Islamist movements change when they plunge into freer but unfair elections? How do their organizations (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) and structures evolve? What happens to their core ideological principles? And how might their increased involvement affect the political system? In When Victory Is Not an Option, Nathan J. Brown addresses these questions by focusing on Islamist movements in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Palestine. He shows that uncertain benefits lead to uncertain changes. Islamists do adapt their organizations and their ideologies do bend—some. But leaders almost always preserve a line of retreat in case the political opening fizzles or fails to deliver what they wish. The result is a cat-and-mouse game between dominant regimes and wily movements. There are possibilities for more significant changes, but to date they remain only possibilities.

Freedom in the World 2006

Freedom in the World 2006
Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 924
Release: 2006
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780742558038

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 192 countries and a group of select territories are used by policy makers, the media, international corporations, and civic activists and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. Press accounts of the survey findings appear in hundreds of influential newspapers in the United States and abroad and form the basis of numerous radio and television reports. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

The Last Palestinian

The Last Palestinian
Author: Grant Rumley
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2017
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1633882993

The first book in English to profile the man who has led the Palestinian movement for the last twelve years.

Hamas

Hamas
Author: Jim Zanotti
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2011-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1437943829

Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist military and sociopolitical movement that grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S., Israel, the EU, and Canada consider Hamas a terrorist org. This report provides background info. on Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, and U.S. policy towards it. It also includes info. and analysis on: (1) the threats Hamas currently poses to U.S. interests; (2) how Hamas compares with other Middle East terrorist groups; (3) Hamas¿s ideology and policies; (4) its leadership and org., and (5) its sources of assistance. Finally, the report discusses various legislative and oversight options related to foreign aid strategies, financial sanctions, and regional and international political approaches. A print on demand report.

The Second Partition of Palestine

The Second Partition of Palestine
Author: Subhash Singh
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2021-07-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000411389

This book examines the factors and issues responsible for the intra-Palestinian conflict that has undermined the strength and vitality of the struggle for liberation against the state of Israel. It explores how the ideological incompatibility and competition for political primacy account for the Hamas–Fatah conflict, entailing the risk of partition of Palestine even before it takes shape as an independent, sovereign entity. It analyzes the developments since the signing of the September 1993 Oslo Accord and discusses themes such as the background of Palestinian politics; the role of Fatah; the rise of Hamas as Fatah’s political rival; the Hamas–Fatah struggle for power; and the role played by the international community, including by the US and the European Union. The study deals with the various facets of territorial and political challenges faced by the rival Palestinian actions; the failure of the reconciliation efforts by Egypt and Yemen; the stalled peace process in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; the emergence of the Islamic resistance movement and secular nationalist party; and the political and ideological shifts in Palestinian politics. Comprehensive and topical, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of West Asian studies, peace and conflict studies, politics and international relations, foreign policy, political studies, area studies and strategic and defence studies.

New Regionalism and the European Union

New Regionalism and the European Union
Author: Alex Warleigh-Lack
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2011-06
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1136721924

The debates on regionalism have been polarized between European Union (EU) scholars and non-EU scholars, with the assumption being that regionalism within the EU and other regions of the world are quite distinct, with little to be learnt from dialogue with each other. This book challenges such assumptions and calls for a genuine debate between scholars of regionalism. This book demonstrates that more can and needs to be learned about regional integration all over the world through comparison and reflection on specific regional trends. Beginning with a theoretically driven introduction, leading experts in the field are brought together to offer a series of case studies on regional integration within Latin America, Africa, Asia, North America and Europe. In Part III the authors investigate the links between the EU and selected other regional organisations and processes, exploring the dynamics through which these interregional relations are developing and the implications they have for the study of contemporary regionalism/regionalisation both inside and beyond the continent of Europe. The conclusions set out a challenging research agenda for comparative studies in the field. Addressing one of the under-explored aspects of EU studies, the EU’s coexistence with other pan-continental/regional organisations in the European continent, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of regionalism, IPE, European Studies and international politics.

European Union Sanctions and Foreign Policy

European Union Sanctions and Foreign Policy
Author: Clara Portela
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2010
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0415552168

This book examines sanctions as a political tool of influence and evaluates the efficacy of sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) against countries from the early 1990s to present day.

Palestine in EU and Russian Foreign Policy

Palestine in EU and Russian Foreign Policy
Author: Malath Alagha
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 131723619X

The establishment of a Palestinian state has long been a strategic objective of EU and Russian foreign policy in the Middle East. However, over a decade after the creation of the road-map, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state has still not been achieved. Palestine in EU and Russian Foreign Policy uses the school of constructivism to provide a new understanding of EU and Russian foreign policy. It explores the failure of these global actors to speed up the process of establishing a Palestinian state, despite this being a strategic objective and top priority of their involvement in the Middle East peace process. The book then analyses the role of identity and self-other perception in the making of EU and Russian foreign policy towards the Middle East peace process. It is argued that Palestinian statehood provides a telling empirical example of how, and to what extent, the search for global actorness, as a matter of international identity, informs foreign policy-making by global actors. The book then proceeds to discuss why the EU and Russia are so eager to be involved in initiating a peace settlement. Offering a new understanding of foreign policy-making by global players in Middle Eastern politics, this book will appeal to students, scholars and policymakers working in International Relations and European, Russian and Middle Eastern studies.