Assessing Donor-driven Reforms in the Palestinian Authority: Building the State or Sustaining Status Quo?

Abstract

Official development assistance for statebuilding provided to the Palestinian Authority (PA) has increasingly been focused on technocratic governance reforms that fail to address the root causes of conflict between Israel and Palestinians. A prime example is an emphasis on preparing medium-term development plans despite the fact that the ongoing occupation prevents their effective implementation. The donor community is bound by the Fragile States Principles to strengthen state capacity to help prevent recurrence of conflict. Drawing on publicly available data and government documents, as well as interviews with stakeholders in PA development policy, this article identifies shortfalls in statebuilding strategy benchmarked against the Fragile States Principles. In order to fulfil their peacebuilding mandate, it is crucial for the donor community to address the role of the Government of Israel in governance failures in the occupied Palestinian territory and engage civil society more effectively.

Keywords::

• aid effectiveness
• conflict
• development
• donors
• fragile states principles
• governance reform
• Israel
• Palestine
• peacebuilding
• statebuilding

Acknowledgements

The author extends particular thanks to James Boyce, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Program Director at the Political Economy Research Institute for his guidance and insights on all aspects of this research. Special thanks also go to Jane Fountain, Brenda Bushouse, Léonce Ndikumana, Sam Bahour, Charles Shamas and Mandy Turner for their input and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ PCBS: http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/Poverty_2009_2011_e.htm, accessed 5 May 2014.

² See for example: Dana (2013); Khalidi and Samour (2011); Hanafi and Tabar (2003).

³ See for example: Bahour (2013); Tartir and Wildeman (2013); Nakhleh (2011).

⁴ Author interviews with a civil servant and an international consultant in the Ministry of Planning, and two Palestinians responsible for aid coordination, July 2014.

⁵ Author interview, February 2014.

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Detailed information on demolitions according to type of structure and donor: http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/eu-feels-force-of-israeli-demolitions/, accessed 17 March 2015.

⁸ PCBS: http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/Documents/Employed%20Person%20by%20sector.htm, accessed 16 September 2013.

⁹ Author interview, July 2013.

¹⁰ Author interview with civil servant in the Ministry of Planning, July 2013.

¹¹ AIDA (2011).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joanna E. Springer

JOANNA E. SPRINGER is Research Advisor for a rule-of-law advancement project in the Arab Gulf. She has carried out research and worked for local organisations in Morocco, Qatar and the West Bank. She holds a Master's of Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a focus in economic development.