Building a Palestinian State (Indiana Series in Arab and Islamic Studies) (Paperback)

by Glenn, E Robinson (Author) "The dominant political group within the Palestinian community in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the social class referred to as notables..." (more)
Key Phrases: notable social class, collaborator killings, hamula structure, West Bank, Bayt Sahur, Muslim Brethren (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"... carefully researched and balanced study ..." Times Literary Supplement " ... an analysis that is as intricate and flawless as it is devastating ... [Robinson's] presentation is powerful and compelling and his scholarship impeccable." MESA Bulletin "... [an] excellent book. In just 200 pages, Glenn Robinson manages to give the clearest and most concise analysis of the changing political and social structure of the West Bank and Gaza and of current political realities that I have read." Digest of Middle Eastern Studies "... a fair and sensitive account and contains the best available assessment of the Intifada's political aftermath among Palestinians. An added bonus is that the book is written in an accessible style with enough historical background and contextual explanation to make it ideal as a text for courses in Middle East politics or the politics of revolutions." American Political Science Review "Well-researched, original, scholarly; deserves the attention of those interested in revolutionary theory or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Choice "Throughout, the book is impressively researched and very well-written... Building a Palestinian State is a book that deserves to be widely read." Journal of Palestine Studies "... a well-informed and tightly argued analysis of the evolution of politcal leadership in the West Bank and Gaza from the 1980s to the spring of 1996. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the historical backdrop to current political developments in the areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority." Middle East Policy " ... provides a unique analysis of the various facets of grassroots organizations and their interaction with the emerging state institutions ... a major and very timely contribution." Anne Lesch

Product Description
In this well informed and accessibly written book, Glenn E. Robinson traces the emergence of a new political elite in the West Bank and Gaza in the 1980s and the grassroots political and social revolution it launched during the Intifada. Local self-help organizations forged in this period - student groups, labour unions, women's committees, agricultural relief committees, medical relief associations, and voluntary works organizations - took power away from the notables (the traditional landowning elite) and began building popular institutions, which organized Palestinian society and which Israel found impossible to eliminate. Yet, in the post-Oslo period, power in the post-Intifada polity was captured by an outside political force: Yasir Arafat and the PLO. The resulting disjunction between the grassroots popular authority of the new institutions and the centralizing, authoritarian tendencies of the PLO undermines the prospects for building a stable Palestinian state.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253210828
• ISBN-13: 978-0253210821
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,569,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)