Changing dynamics in Palestinian politics

In: The international spectator: a quarterly journal of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy, Band 41, Heft 2, S. 69-86

Abstract

In light of dramatic and risk-laden change in the Palestinian political landscape, explored are the substance of domestic changes impacting the development of Palestinian political and governing systems and the dynamics of relations with Israel, and the incentive structure in which key Palestinian players have decided their objectives, crafted policy perspectives, and conducted cost-benefit analyses. The failures of Fatah and the rise of Hamas, as well as the lack of a credible alternative, or "third force," are discussed before examining the relationship between internal structures and processes, eg, Palestinian Authority reform, to external ones, eg, the peace process. Attention is given to the implications of Hamas' electoral victory over Fatah for the peace process, noting that the international community's unwillingness to address fundamental political issues of Israeli-Palestinian relations while fixating on the notion of Palestinian reform, has made it complicit in Israeli unilateralism, a problem that predates Hamas' win. How Hamas will approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in terms of US and EU policy prescriptions, is considered in closing.