Academic Publications by Alaa Tartir
Over US$40 billion has been spent by international donors as foreign aid for Palestinians living ... more Over US$40 billion has been spent by international donors as foreign aid for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since the Oslo Accord was signed in 1993. This makes Palestinians one of the highest per capita recipients of non-military aid in the world. That aid was designed as development programming meant to foster conditions that Western donors considered necessary for peacebuilding with Israel. However, their development aid has failed to achieve three main objectives peacemakers envisaged: a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis, effective and accountable Palestinian institutions, and sustainable socioeconomic development. This chapter addresses the political economy of the nexus of development aid and the Palestinian de-development process taking place under Israeli colonial rule, by examining the different donor approaches to understand what went wrong. It does this by categorizing and assessing the way policymakers and analysts have approached Palestinian development, based on analysis of key features, underpinning assumptions and arguments. This resulted in four categories—Instrumentalism; Critical Instrumentalism; Critics; and Neocolonialism—some of which are comfortable with the status quo, and some that want to challenge it. The chapter concludes by arguing any political economy driven analysis or framing of the impact of foreign aid in the Palestinian context necessitates recognizing the inherent and embedded structures of power and relations of settler colonial dominance and control in the development paradigm and de-development processes.
How are intelligence systems structured in countries across Asia and the Middle East—from Russia ... more How are intelligence systems structured in countries across Asia and the Middle East—from Russia to India, from Turkey to China and Japan, from Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia? In what ways did decolonization and the Cold War influence their organization? What is their mission, and to what extent do they come under public scrutiny?
The authors of this comprehensive reference delve into these questions, and more, to provide a unique, systematic survey of intelligence practices and cultures in 22 countries.
In my chapter on Palestine, I argue that in addition to living under the brutality of the Israeli colonial military occupation, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have had to (and continue to) live under additional layers of suppression created by their own national governing bodies and security forces. Thus, the Israeli colonial occupation and the Palestinian authoritarianism have created a police state in the making where multiple intelligence agencies function within a context that is fraught with fundamental contradictions and imbalances of power.
This book explores how the rule of power relates to the case of occupied Palestine, examining fea... more This book explores how the rule of power relates to the case of occupied Palestine, examining features of local dissent and international governance. The project considers expressions of the rule of power in two particular ways: settler colonialism and neoliberalism. As power is always accompanied by resistance, the authors engage with and explores forms of everyday resistance to the logics and regimes of neoliberal governance and settler colonialism. They investigate wide-ranging issues and dynamics related to international governance, liberal peacebuilding, statebuilding, and development, the claim to politics, and the notion and practice of resistance. This work will be of interest for academics focusing on modern Middle Eastern politics, international relations, as well as for courses on contemporary conflicts, peacebuilding, and development.
Outsourcing Repression is a collection of analyses and essays on the roots, manifestations and co... more Outsourcing Repression is a collection of analyses and essays on the roots, manifestations and consequences of the paradigm of security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The book discusses four key themes: the evolution and reform of Palestinian security forces and security coordination since the inception of the Oslo Accords; the militarisation of Palestinian aid and the foundation of a police state; the outsourcing of repression and sponsorship of authoritarianism; and the criminalisation of Palestinian resistance as a consequence of donor-driven security sector reform of the Palestinian Authority security establishment.
Outsourcing Repression is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the security framework of the Oslo Accords, as well as the mechanisms of control that Palestinians are subjected to, and the additional layers of repression and authoritarianism that Palestinians in the Occupied Territory have faced since 1993. This volume will be of interest to a wide-range of readers, including academics, policymakers and activists who are concerned about rights, justice, freedom, and dignity in Occupied Palestine.
مجلة الدراسات الفلسطينية عدد 120 صفحات 169 لغاية 173
يرتبط تجديد الفكر السياسي الفلسطيني ارتباطاً وثيقاً بتحقيق الحرية وتقرير المصير، ولن نقترب من تحق... more يرتبط تجديد الفكر السياسي الفلسطيني ارتباطاً وثيقاً بتحقيق الحرية وتقرير المصير، ولن نقترب من تحقيق هذين الهدفين إلاّ عندما نتصور هياكل ونُظماً سياسية متنوعة. نقدم هنا ثلاثة اقتراحات متشابكة تهدف إلى بناء نظام سياسي فلسطيني تشاركي لإرساء قواعد ديمقراطية حقة، وهي: القضاء على نموذج القائد الواحد الأوحد؛ تشكيل مجلسَي حكماء وشباب إشرافيين؛ تشكيل حكومة ظل من المعارضة السياسية والمجتمع المدني لإرساء قواعد المحاسبة والمساءلة.
This book explores how the rule of power relates to the case of occupied Palestine, examining fea... more This book explores how the rule of power relates to the case of occupied Palestine, examining features of local dissent and international governance. The project considers expressions of the rule of power in two particular ways: settler colonialism and neoliberalism. As power is always accompanied by resistance, the authors engage with and explore forms of everyday resistance to the logics and regimes of neoliberal governance and settler colonialism. They investigate wide-ranging issues and dynamics related to international governance, liberal peacebuilding, statebuilding, and development, the claim to politics, and the notion and practice of resistance. This work will be of interest for academics focusing on modern Middle Eastern politics, international relations, as well as for courses on contemporary conflicts, peacebuilding, and development.
Middle East Critique , 2018
Since the Oslo Accords came into force in 1993, the European Union (EU) and its individual member... more Since the Oslo Accords came into force in 1993, the European Union (EU) and its individual member-states have invested billions of Euros, with a view to establishing the basis for an independent and sovereign Palestinian state. As Israel’s colonization of the Palestinian West Bank has progressed, Palestinian statehood has become little more than a myth. As the state-building process has atrophied, securitization has found a renewed impetus, being elevated at the expense of initiatives that seek to promote democratization. This article argues that, far from being a neutral process grounded within the building of capacities, Security Sector Reform (SSR) has strengthened the foundations of Palestinian authoritarianism. In focusing upon the development of the EU’s police mission in the West Bank (EUPOL COPPS), this article argues that EU-sponsored ‘reform’ has contributed directly to the ‘professionalization’ of Palestinian authoritarianism. The article therefore suggests that the EU consistently has failed to acknowledge the political implications that extend from its technical mandate and interventions. The EU has become, to the extent that its interventions extend Israel’s colonial project, part of the problem. In concluding, the article offers an assessment of the decade-long EUPOL COPPS (The European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories) commitment, with a view to developing key lessons and recommendations that can inform future EU interventions.
This chapter will initially provide an overview of the Palestinian agricultural sector, which set... more This chapter will initially provide an overview of the Palestinian agricultural sector, which sets out its resources, productivity and contributions. This is then followed by a discussion of the impact of the Israeli occupation, which focuses on the distortion and deterioration of Palestinian agriculture. The chapter also reflects on the PA’s neglect of the agricultural sector, along with the pernicious policies that it has enacted, before offering a set of conclusions.
Those involved in mobilizing international law to achieve justice for the Palestinians have invok... more Those involved in mobilizing international law to achieve justice for the Palestinians have invoked numerous legal and governance institutions, at both international and national levels. For various reasons, international law has understandably been regarded with a high level of skepticism by many Palestinians, particularly from legitimacy and effectiveness standpoints. However, law has also ignited the Palestinian civic imagination and has led to bold and creative initiatives, including efforts to hold both states and (corporate) non-state actors accountable through legal and other means, and even to construct alternative models for nation building. This introduction to a Special Issue of the Global Jurist on ‘International Law and the State of Israel’ emerges from an international conference that took place at Cork City Hall and at the campus of University College Cork in Ireland in March 2017. Our message for producing this Special Issue and indeed for our colleagues who organized the conference in the first place was simple: while we cannot afford to neglect law in envisioning alternative futures in Israel/Palestine (including statehood), justice always remains a guide.
Contemporary Security Policy , 2017
The European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) was established i... more The European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) was established in 2006 to contribute to the establishment of effective policing in support of an independent and democratic Palestinian state. EUPOL COPPS is often commended for its contribution to the professionalization of the Palestinian security sector under local ownership. Drawing on 40 interviews, we argue that the mission can be considered effective and locally owned only from a narrow technocratic perspective, which denies the political reality of continued occupation and absence of democracy. A broader analysis, which includes the voices of ordinary Palestinians, reveals that EUPOL COPPS contributed to the professionalization of authoritarian policing under continued Israeli occupation. Our findings show the limits of technocratic approaches to peacebuilding interventions and call for a stronger engagement with the ultimate beneficiaries of peacebuilding missions.
Current Anthropology, 2017
Over $30 billion has been spent since 1993 by international donors as aid for Palestinians living... more Over $30 billion has been spent since 1993 by international donors as aid for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip (OECD 2016). This “investment” in peace and development has made Palestinians one of the highest per capita recipients of nonmilitary aid in the world. In spite of those sums, however, peace and development remain elusive, and this aid has failed to achieve its three main objectives: lasting peace, effective and accountable Palestinian institutions, and sustainable socioeconomic development. Instead, Palestinians are forced to live in an aid-development paradox: increased amounts of aid are associated with major declines in socioeconomic and development indicators.
This aid has failed the Palestinian people miserably. It has failed to make them feel more secure, it has failed to reverse the cycles of de-development, it has entrenched the status of a captive Palestinian economy that is unproductive and aid-reliant, it has created structural deficiencies in the governance realm, and it has sustained and subsidized the Israeli military occupation. It also sustains the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is a heavy burden on the Palestinian people, and has resulted in major negative transformations in the Palestinian civil society, creating an “NGO republic” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Around 10% of aid is received by the highly aid-reliant Palestinian NGOs (DeVoir and Tartir 2009).
مجلة الدراسات الفلسطينية, 2017
تتطلب المتغيرات المحلية والإقليمية والعالمية الراهنة، وما تحمله من تحديات وتهديدات للنضال الفلسطي... more تتطلب المتغيرات المحلية والإقليمية والعالمية الراهنة، وما تحمله من تحديات وتهديدات للنضال الفلسطيني، وحدة فلسطينية من أجل الصمود والمجابهة. نحاجج هنا بأن الوصول إلى جذور التشرذم الفلسطيني عن طريق جسر الفجوات ما بين الشعب والقيادات، يتطلب عقداً اجتماعياً سياسياً جديداً يكون فيه الشعب نقطة البدء والمحور الأساسي وتكون المحاسبة والمساءلة نقطة الارتكاز لنظام سياسي يستجيب لتطلعات الجماهير ويستمد شرعيته منها.
Global Policy , 2017
This people-focused contribution questions fundamental assumptions about the persistence of the P... more This people-focused contribution questions fundamental assumptions about the persistence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and discusses prerequisites for alternative strategies. It argues that without addressing people’s perceptions and beliefs, peace will remain elusive. It also argues that moving beyond the cycles of failure and impasses requires serious engagement in a process of decolonization of Palestine, new framings and new assumptions to understand why this conflict persists. Only by addressing the imbalances of power and ending the Israeli occupation in the short term can future long-term solutions be discussed. A version of this chapter first appeared in Mediterranean Politics. This version will appear in the forthcoming e-book ‘The Future of the Middle East’ co-produced by Global Policy and Arab Digest, and edited by Hugh Miles and Alastair Newton.
اعتمدت السلطة الفلسطينية برنامج إصلاح للقطاع الأمني ينسجم مع توجهات الممولين، بصفته العمود الفقري... more اعتمدت السلطة الفلسطينية برنامج إصلاح للقطاع الأمني ينسجم مع توجهات الممولين، بصفته العمود الفقري في مشروعها لبناء الدولة ما بعد سنة 2007 . ومع تقدم واستمرار إصلاح القطاع الأمني تحولت الضفة الغربية المحتلة إلى فضاء أمني ومسرح للحملات الأمنية التي تنفذها السلطة الفلسطينية، وهدفها الظاهري هو تطبيق القانون وإحلال النظام. تتطرق هذه الدراسة إلى عواقب الحملات الأمنية للسلطة الفلسطينية في مخيمَي بلاطة وجنين للاجئين من وجهة نظر الناس، من خلال منهجية إثنوغرافية من الأسفل إلى الأعلى. وهذه الأصوات المعبّرة عن القاعدة تتحدث عن المشكلة وتفحص الحملات الأمنية، وتشرح كيف ولماذا يتم تجريم المقاومة ضد إسرائيل. وتخلص الدراسة إلى المجادلة بأن إجراء إصلاح أمني لضمان الاستقرار، في سياق الاحتلال الكولونيالي ومن دون التصدي لغياب توازن القوى، لا يمكن أن ينجم عنه إلاّ نتيجتان: تعاون “أفضل” مع القوة المحتلة، وانتهاك لأمن الفلسطينيين وحقوقهم الوطنية، من جانب قواتهم الأمنية نفسها.
After a discussion of the historical background that led to the creation of the Palestinian Autho... more After a discussion of the historical background that led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, this chapter describes the broader social and political transformations that took place in the oPt. The question of political economy is also very important for deciphering some of the current tensions in the stalemate between Fatah and Hamas, the two main political factions contending for control of the PA, but also between large segments of local civil society in opposition to the PA. The chapter highlights different dynamics of the post-2007 state-building project as the security collaboration with Israel and the consequences of this state-building project as the increasing authoritarianism in the oPt. The conclusion discusses the outlook and prospect for national reconciliation, peace with Israel, and the possible creation of a Palestinian state, in the wake of renewed military operations against Gaza in the summer of 2014.
A co-authored chapter with Professor Benoît Challand on Palestine in the 14th edition of “The Middle East” edited by Professor Ellen Lust (Yale University), CQ Press.
This paper-based thesis consists of five interlinked chapters/articles that explore dimensions of... more This paper-based thesis consists of five interlinked chapters/articles that explore dimensions of both the style of governance and the state-building endeavour in the West Bank in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, primarily between 2007 and 2013. This governance and state-building project came to be known as the Fayyadist paradigm, or Fayyadism, in reference to the former Palestinian Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad. The thesis examines the transformations that occurred under Fayyadism in the two spheres of security and economy, and elucidates their consequences on the people’s security and well-being, as well as the broader dynamics of resistance against the Israeli military occupation and settler-colonialism. Therefore, the primary contribution of this thesis is empirical and ethnographic in nature.
This thesis examines the transformations in the security sphere at three levels. First, to historicise Fayyadism, the thesis contextually analyses the evolution of Palestinian security forces and reforms over the past two decades. Second, the thesis unpacks and critically assesses perceptions about the Fayyadist paradigm by drawing on the findings of an ethnographic fieldwork investigation conducted at two sites in the occupied West Bank, namely Balata and Jenin refugee camps, as well as the associated relevant literatures. Third, this thesis investigates in-depth the security campaigns to induce “law and order” as a defining feature of the Fayyadist paradigm, and through a bottom-up ethnographic approach, analyses the consequences of Fayyadist security campaigns on the people’s security in Balata and Jenin refugee camps and on the broader dynamics of resistance against Israel.
This thesis examines and analyses the transformations in the economic sphere at two levels. It addresses the interaction between Fayyadism and the aid industry through an aid-dependency lens to examine whether the transformations that occurred under the Fayyadist paradigm impacted donors’ operations and the overall framework of the aid industry. It also utilises theories of contentious politics to analyse the implications of the Fayyadist paradigm’s neoliberal economic model and the authoritarian transformations it induced, and also to expand the conceptual underpinnings of the contentious politics theories through proposing the notions of contentious economics and resistance economy.
PhD Thesis, Department of International Development, LSE.
This paper is based upon a systematic peer-led review of literature on hybrid security arrangemen... more This paper is based upon a systematic peer-led review of literature on hybrid security arrangements in fragile and conflict-affected spaces. The overall objective is to answer the question: What is the evidence that hybrid security arrangements benefit end-users in fragile and conflict-affected spaces? To answer this seemingly simple question we set ourselves three complementary tasks:
To clarify the meanings of ‘security’ and of ‘hybrid’ as a necessary first step towards analysis of hybrid security arrangements. To do so we draw upon both the mainstream and the critical security literatures, but especially the latter since it challenges the state-centred focus of mainstream analysis;
To assess the empirical literature on security provision in hybrid political orders from the viewpoint of those who are most vulnerable and insecure (‘end-users’). Does this literature provide a convincing and empirically robust account of hybrid security arrangements? And how far is it successful in identifying whether and how end-users do or do not benefit?;
To sketch a broad research agenda for empirical analysis of hybrid security arrangements in fragile and conflict-affected spaces considered ‘from below’, i.e. from the viewpoint of end-users.
Following a discussion of the contemporary security debate, the paper outlines the rationale behind the definitions and terms adopted for the evidence searches. In particular, we propose our own definitions of security, calling attention to its dual nature: on the one hand as a process of creating and maintaining social orders, including those we call states; and on the other hand as an entitlement of those who are protected by these social orders, i.e. of end-users. Our definitions aim to complement and advance the emerging concept of hybrid political orders (HPOs), which seeks to address the conceptual and empirical shortcomings of the fragile states literature. This is followed by an abridged discussion of the methodology of systematic and peer-led literature searches carried out to answer the paper’s overarching research question.1 The results of the reviews are then critically assessed, focusing specifically on strengths and gaps in the empirical knowledge base. For the purpose of this analysis we distinguish between three different but interrelated spaces within which security is delivered, each characterised by its own distinctive power-relations and forms of security provision: securitised border spaces; fragile state Leviathans; and donor-saturated policy spaces. The paper concludes with recommendations for a future research agenda informed by what we did and did not find in the evidence review. In particular, it turns the state-centred bias of existing research upside down by asking how such a research agenda could best prioritise the experience and viewpoint of end-users.
Paper by the Justice and Security Research Programme, Department of International Development – LSE, JSRP Paper 2, Contributing Author.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) adopted donor-driven security sector reform (SSR) as the linchpin ... more The Palestinian Authority (PA) adopted donor-driven security sector reform (SSR) as the linchpin to its post-2007 state-building project. As SSR proceeded, the occupied West Bank became a securitized space and the theater for PA security campaigns whose ostensible purpose was to establish law and order. This article tackles the consequences of the PA's security campaigns in Balata and Jenin refugee camps from the people's perspective through a bottom-up ethnographic methodological approach. These voices from below problematize and examine the security campaigns, illustrating how and why resistance against Israel has been criminalized. The article concludes by arguing that conducting security reform to ensure stability within the context of colonial occupation and without addressing the imbalances of power can only ever have two outcomes: “better” collaboration with the occupying power and a violation of Palestinians' security and national rights by their own security forces.
This book studies the role of aid in the Palestinian development and its impact on economic devel... more This book studies the role of aid in the Palestinian development and its impact on economic development. The qualitative and quantitative analysis shows that the overall impact of aid has been limited in promoting economic growth, improving people’s living standards, and achieving peace. Moreover, these aid flows helped in creating structural dependency rather than sustainable development, due to its failure to supplement local resources to enhance savings and investments, increase productivity, and decrease unemployment. Rather, it increased public and private consumption and reacted according to the severity of the political, economic, and humanitarian conditions. Thus, growth and poverty rates did not improve as a result of pouring more aid into the Palestinian war-torn economy. Furthermore, due to the particularity of the Palestinian case within the dilemma of aid-under-occupation and asymmetric containment, and the failure of aid for peace approaches, this book suggests pursuing a new approach based on the ‘larger freedom’ concepts and the inclusion of non-distorting relief aid to the development process, which incorporates the national concepts of emancipatory human rights.
هناك حاجة لحوار سياسي اقتصادي تنموي اجتماعي، يبدأ من الصفر السياسي؛ أي أنه يبحث في القضايا الأساس... more هناك حاجة لحوار سياسي اقتصادي تنموي اجتماعي، يبدأ من الصفر السياسي؛ أي أنه يبحث في القضايا الأساسية كقضايا التمثيل، وحل الدولتين، والعلاقات السياسية مع إسرائيل. ومن ثم تبني قرارات اقتصادية شجاعة تتوافق مع فكر مقاوم غير مساوم أو مهادن. تحتاج هذه التغيرات الجذرية في صناعة القرار الفلسطيني إلى إدراك قوي بأن “القيادة” الفلسطينية الحالية ليست قادرة على –وعلى الأغلب لا تريد- التغيير، وأن هناك حاجة إلى خطة وبرنامج جديدين
علاء الترتير وابراهيم الشقاقي، التنمية كأداة للمقاومة والتحرر، دراسات نقدية في واقع التنمية في فلسطين، مركز بيسان للبحوث والإنماء،2013.
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Academic Publications by Alaa Tartir
The authors of this comprehensive reference delve into these questions, and more, to provide a unique, systematic survey of intelligence practices and cultures in 22 countries.
In my chapter on Palestine, I argue that in addition to living under the brutality of the Israeli colonial military occupation, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have had to (and continue to) live under additional layers of suppression created by their own national governing bodies and security forces. Thus, the Israeli colonial occupation and the Palestinian authoritarianism have created a police state in the making where multiple intelligence agencies function within a context that is fraught with fundamental contradictions and imbalances of power.
Outsourcing Repression is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the security framework of the Oslo Accords, as well as the mechanisms of control that Palestinians are subjected to, and the additional layers of repression and authoritarianism that Palestinians in the Occupied Territory have faced since 1993. This volume will be of interest to a wide-range of readers, including academics, policymakers and activists who are concerned about rights, justice, freedom, and dignity in Occupied Palestine.
This aid has failed the Palestinian people miserably. It has failed to make them feel more secure, it has failed to reverse the cycles of de-development, it has entrenched the status of a captive Palestinian economy that is unproductive and aid-reliant, it has created structural deficiencies in the governance realm, and it has sustained and subsidized the Israeli military occupation. It also sustains the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is a heavy burden on the Palestinian people, and has resulted in major negative transformations in the Palestinian civil society, creating an “NGO republic” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Around 10% of aid is received by the highly aid-reliant Palestinian NGOs (DeVoir and Tartir 2009).
A co-authored chapter with Professor Benoît Challand on Palestine in the 14th edition of “The Middle East” edited by Professor Ellen Lust (Yale University), CQ Press.
This thesis examines the transformations in the security sphere at three levels. First, to historicise Fayyadism, the thesis contextually analyses the evolution of Palestinian security forces and reforms over the past two decades. Second, the thesis unpacks and critically assesses perceptions about the Fayyadist paradigm by drawing on the findings of an ethnographic fieldwork investigation conducted at two sites in the occupied West Bank, namely Balata and Jenin refugee camps, as well as the associated relevant literatures. Third, this thesis investigates in-depth the security campaigns to induce “law and order” as a defining feature of the Fayyadist paradigm, and through a bottom-up ethnographic approach, analyses the consequences of Fayyadist security campaigns on the people’s security in Balata and Jenin refugee camps and on the broader dynamics of resistance against Israel.
This thesis examines and analyses the transformations in the economic sphere at two levels. It addresses the interaction between Fayyadism and the aid industry through an aid-dependency lens to examine whether the transformations that occurred under the Fayyadist paradigm impacted donors’ operations and the overall framework of the aid industry. It also utilises theories of contentious politics to analyse the implications of the Fayyadist paradigm’s neoliberal economic model and the authoritarian transformations it induced, and also to expand the conceptual underpinnings of the contentious politics theories through proposing the notions of contentious economics and resistance economy.
PhD Thesis, Department of International Development, LSE.
To clarify the meanings of ‘security’ and of ‘hybrid’ as a necessary first step towards analysis of hybrid security arrangements. To do so we draw upon both the mainstream and the critical security literatures, but especially the latter since it challenges the state-centred focus of mainstream analysis;
To assess the empirical literature on security provision in hybrid political orders from the viewpoint of those who are most vulnerable and insecure (‘end-users’). Does this literature provide a convincing and empirically robust account of hybrid security arrangements? And how far is it successful in identifying whether and how end-users do or do not benefit?;
To sketch a broad research agenda for empirical analysis of hybrid security arrangements in fragile and conflict-affected spaces considered ‘from below’, i.e. from the viewpoint of end-users.
Following a discussion of the contemporary security debate, the paper outlines the rationale behind the definitions and terms adopted for the evidence searches. In particular, we propose our own definitions of security, calling attention to its dual nature: on the one hand as a process of creating and maintaining social orders, including those we call states; and on the other hand as an entitlement of those who are protected by these social orders, i.e. of end-users. Our definitions aim to complement and advance the emerging concept of hybrid political orders (HPOs), which seeks to address the conceptual and empirical shortcomings of the fragile states literature. This is followed by an abridged discussion of the methodology of systematic and peer-led literature searches carried out to answer the paper’s overarching research question.1 The results of the reviews are then critically assessed, focusing specifically on strengths and gaps in the empirical knowledge base. For the purpose of this analysis we distinguish between three different but interrelated spaces within which security is delivered, each characterised by its own distinctive power-relations and forms of security provision: securitised border spaces; fragile state Leviathans; and donor-saturated policy spaces. The paper concludes with recommendations for a future research agenda informed by what we did and did not find in the evidence review. In particular, it turns the state-centred bias of existing research upside down by asking how such a research agenda could best prioritise the experience and viewpoint of end-users.
Paper by the Justice and Security Research Programme, Department of International Development – LSE, JSRP Paper 2, Contributing Author.
علاء الترتير وابراهيم الشقاقي، التنمية كأداة للمقاومة والتحرر، دراسات نقدية في واقع التنمية في فلسطين، مركز بيسان للبحوث والإنماء،2013.
The authors of this comprehensive reference delve into these questions, and more, to provide a unique, systematic survey of intelligence practices and cultures in 22 countries.
In my chapter on Palestine, I argue that in addition to living under the brutality of the Israeli colonial military occupation, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have had to (and continue to) live under additional layers of suppression created by their own national governing bodies and security forces. Thus, the Israeli colonial occupation and the Palestinian authoritarianism have created a police state in the making where multiple intelligence agencies function within a context that is fraught with fundamental contradictions and imbalances of power.
Outsourcing Repression is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the security framework of the Oslo Accords, as well as the mechanisms of control that Palestinians are subjected to, and the additional layers of repression and authoritarianism that Palestinians in the Occupied Territory have faced since 1993. This volume will be of interest to a wide-range of readers, including academics, policymakers and activists who are concerned about rights, justice, freedom, and dignity in Occupied Palestine.
This aid has failed the Palestinian people miserably. It has failed to make them feel more secure, it has failed to reverse the cycles of de-development, it has entrenched the status of a captive Palestinian economy that is unproductive and aid-reliant, it has created structural deficiencies in the governance realm, and it has sustained and subsidized the Israeli military occupation. It also sustains the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is a heavy burden on the Palestinian people, and has resulted in major negative transformations in the Palestinian civil society, creating an “NGO republic” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Around 10% of aid is received by the highly aid-reliant Palestinian NGOs (DeVoir and Tartir 2009).
A co-authored chapter with Professor Benoît Challand on Palestine in the 14th edition of “The Middle East” edited by Professor Ellen Lust (Yale University), CQ Press.
This thesis examines the transformations in the security sphere at three levels. First, to historicise Fayyadism, the thesis contextually analyses the evolution of Palestinian security forces and reforms over the past two decades. Second, the thesis unpacks and critically assesses perceptions about the Fayyadist paradigm by drawing on the findings of an ethnographic fieldwork investigation conducted at two sites in the occupied West Bank, namely Balata and Jenin refugee camps, as well as the associated relevant literatures. Third, this thesis investigates in-depth the security campaigns to induce “law and order” as a defining feature of the Fayyadist paradigm, and through a bottom-up ethnographic approach, analyses the consequences of Fayyadist security campaigns on the people’s security in Balata and Jenin refugee camps and on the broader dynamics of resistance against Israel.
This thesis examines and analyses the transformations in the economic sphere at two levels. It addresses the interaction between Fayyadism and the aid industry through an aid-dependency lens to examine whether the transformations that occurred under the Fayyadist paradigm impacted donors’ operations and the overall framework of the aid industry. It also utilises theories of contentious politics to analyse the implications of the Fayyadist paradigm’s neoliberal economic model and the authoritarian transformations it induced, and also to expand the conceptual underpinnings of the contentious politics theories through proposing the notions of contentious economics and resistance economy.
PhD Thesis, Department of International Development, LSE.
To clarify the meanings of ‘security’ and of ‘hybrid’ as a necessary first step towards analysis of hybrid security arrangements. To do so we draw upon both the mainstream and the critical security literatures, but especially the latter since it challenges the state-centred focus of mainstream analysis;
To assess the empirical literature on security provision in hybrid political orders from the viewpoint of those who are most vulnerable and insecure (‘end-users’). Does this literature provide a convincing and empirically robust account of hybrid security arrangements? And how far is it successful in identifying whether and how end-users do or do not benefit?;
To sketch a broad research agenda for empirical analysis of hybrid security arrangements in fragile and conflict-affected spaces considered ‘from below’, i.e. from the viewpoint of end-users.
Following a discussion of the contemporary security debate, the paper outlines the rationale behind the definitions and terms adopted for the evidence searches. In particular, we propose our own definitions of security, calling attention to its dual nature: on the one hand as a process of creating and maintaining social orders, including those we call states; and on the other hand as an entitlement of those who are protected by these social orders, i.e. of end-users. Our definitions aim to complement and advance the emerging concept of hybrid political orders (HPOs), which seeks to address the conceptual and empirical shortcomings of the fragile states literature. This is followed by an abridged discussion of the methodology of systematic and peer-led literature searches carried out to answer the paper’s overarching research question.1 The results of the reviews are then critically assessed, focusing specifically on strengths and gaps in the empirical knowledge base. For the purpose of this analysis we distinguish between three different but interrelated spaces within which security is delivered, each characterised by its own distinctive power-relations and forms of security provision: securitised border spaces; fragile state Leviathans; and donor-saturated policy spaces. The paper concludes with recommendations for a future research agenda informed by what we did and did not find in the evidence review. In particular, it turns the state-centred bias of existing research upside down by asking how such a research agenda could best prioritise the experience and viewpoint of end-users.
Paper by the Justice and Security Research Programme, Department of International Development – LSE, JSRP Paper 2, Contributing Author.
علاء الترتير وابراهيم الشقاقي، التنمية كأداة للمقاومة والتحرر، دراسات نقدية في واقع التنمية في فلسطين، مركز بيسان للبحوث والإنماء،2013.
تمكين الفلسطينيين يعني تجهيزهم بالأدوات لمقاومة الحكم الاستيطاني الاستعماري، وتعزيز قدراتهم على الصمود. على الأطراف الفاعلة في مجال المساعدات الدولية الاعتراف بأن التنمية في ظل احتلال واستعمار عسكري تعني قبل كل شيء الانخراط بعملية مواجهة واشتباك لإحراز الحقوق، بما في ذلك الحق في تقرير المصير.
ويعتبر الرصد المقدم في هذا التقرير خطوة أولى في طريق طويل التزمت مبادرة متابعة الدعم الدولي باتباعه في مساعدة أصحاب المصلحة المجتمعيين والأطراف الفاعلة في مجال المساعدات – المحلية والدولية، والعامة والخاصة – للاجتماع سوياً للمشاركة في نظرة نقدية وبناءة بشأن طريقة تقديم المساعدات الفلسطينية. وتعتبر هذه الخطوة ضرورية نحو الغاية المتمثلة بتحقيق فعالية المساعدات في عملية مساعدات ضخمة ومجزأة ومبهمة فشلت في تحقيق أهدافها التنموية الرئيسية. ويتمثل الهدف الأسمى في تحقيق فعالية المساعدات وتحسين الرفاهية العامة للشعب الفلسطيني في المنطقة، والتي يجب تحقيق الشفافية بشأنها أولاً.
This mapping exercise presented in this report is just an initial step down a longer path AidWatch Palestine is committed to take in helping community stakeholders and aid actors – local and international, public and private – to come together to participate in critical and constructive look at the way in which Palestinian aid is given. It is an essential step towards the objective of achieving aid effectiveness for an enormous, fragmented and opaque aid process, which has failed to achieve its primary developmental aims. The ultimate aim is to achieve aid effectiveness and improve the general welfare of people living in the region, for which transparency must first be achieved first.
The purpose is to make relevant, systematically collected and collated knowledge about these countries easily accessible for people that work with these countries and other interested readers.
In the reference list there are direct links to the underlying evaluation reports and other relevant documents. In the additional document, “Evaluation Portraits”, there are also short summaries of the documents. This compilation may later be updated with new evaluations.
The CEBs were written by the Chr. Michelsen Institute upon a commission by the Evaluation Department.
The report is written by Are John Knudsen and Alaa Tartir.
them with the tools to resist Israeli settler colonial
rule and enhancing their capacities for solidarity,
resilience and steadfastness. International aid actors
must recognize and accept that development under
military occupation and colonization means first and
foremost a process of confrontation to realize rights,
including the right to self-determination.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: GEM-MENA Regional Report 2009, The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), MAS, and IDRC.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: Palestine Country Report 2009, The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), MAS, and IDRC.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Policy Making In the Palestinian Territories: A Stakeholders’ Analysis, co-authored with Joseph DeVoir, MAS, Palestine.
تتبع الدعم الخارجي للمنظمات الفلسطينية غير الحكومية في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة 1998-2008 ، جوزيف ديفوار وعلاء الترتير، معهد ماس ومركز تطوير المؤسسات الأهلية الفلسطينية.
Tracking External Donor Funding to Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations In the West Bank and Gaza 1999-2008, co-authored with Joseph DeVoir, MAS and NDC.
فيفيان صنصور، علاء الترتير
by Vivien Sansour and Alaa Tartir
Therefore, it would be absolutely delusional, misleading, dangerous, and irresponsible to think about the so-called Abraham Accords as a form of meaningful “peace” or even a formula for a genuine stability or security.