Scholars Tackle Palestine's Development Challenges

Researchers from Birzeit University's Center for Development Studies have published a number of studies in a 45th special edition of the Journal of Palestine Studies.

The writings offer a selection on Palestinian realities, challenging the neoliberal policies and foreign aid strategies adopted in colonized Palestine.

In his opening piece, economist and researcher Raja Khalidi underscored the importance of maintaining the discipline of Palestinian Studies, especially in the development arena. This field, according to Khalidi, has been introduced as an independent academic discipline over recent decades, just like Middle Eastern Studies.

Researcher Adam Hanieh offers an analysis on "Development as Struggle: Confronting the Reality of Power in Palestine." The paper is a critical analysis of the ways that development is being conceived and practiced by major actors in the occupied territories.

Omar Jabary Salamanca draws attention to the political geography of settler colonialism and the ways in which the Palestinian built environment has materialized in space, consolidating uneven and racialized landscapes. He argued in "Assembling the Fabric of Life: When Settler Colonialism Becomes Development" that settler-colonial space is intimately related to the building of infrastructures structured by development and humanitarian practices.

Speaking about attempts to promote democracy after the Oslo accords and the politics of international aid, Leila Farsakh contributed "Undermining Democracy in Palestine: The Politics of International Aid since Oslo" on the issue of international donations and its effects on Palestinian politics, especially on the ongoing political fissure, authoritarianism, and economic dependence on Israel.

Linda Tabar, contributed a paper that was originally developed for the Center for Development Studies at Birzeit in 2011 entitled "Disrupting Development, Reclaiming Solidarity: The Anti-Politics of Humanitarianism." In it, she examines the humanitarian assistance that flooded the occupied Palestinian territory after the beginning of the second Intifada, providing a critical analysis of the international development aid that was directed at Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Journal of Palestine Studies is the oldest and most respected English language journal devoted exclusively to Palestinian affairs, with a special focus on development and its different fields. 

To read the full special edition of the Journal, visit the website www.palestine-studies.org