Building a state under occupation: the Palestinians and the living legacy of Oslo

Abstract

The Palestine National Movement has been engaged in ‘state‐building’ in the absence of a state since 1969: in exile (1969–1993) and under Israel’s occupation since 1994. Whereas the pre‐Oslo ‘state in exile’ was a voluntary act that served several crucial functions including reinforcing Palestinian identity and entity, the post‐Oslo state‐building has been an obligatory exercise dictated by the terms of the Oslo interim agreements. This paper examines the framework of the post‐Oslo state‐building and highlights the inherent tensions between the function of the Palestinian Authority as a depository of the anticipated state and the tasks of ending occupation and nation‐building. It scrutinizes the international financial role (the post‐Oslo international aid program) and argues for a reassessment of international involvement.

Keywords:

• Israeli/Palestinian conflict
• Oslo peace process
• The Palestine National Movement
• international aid
• state‐building
• peace‐building

Notes

*This article was first presented at a Boston Conference in March 2009 and finalized in June 2009.

1. Sayigh (1997) asserts that ‘despite their unique circumstances of collective disposition and dispersal and their lack of statehood, the Palestinians ultimately revealed patterns of elite formation and politics, corporate organization, neopatrimonial bureaucratization, and authoritarian political management and concentration of power that were typical of the experience of state‐building in neighbouring Arab countries’.

2. For the full text of the official ICJ ruling, see http://stopthewall.org/internationallaw/639.shtml/.