Michael Schulz

Despite the fact that many researchers have focused on Hamas’ armed resistance activities, surprisingly few have theorised about the political choices and dilemmas that Hamas has faced in the context of the changing overarching conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. This study aims to show, theoretically, how context-dependent Hamas is when formulating its resistance and Demo-Islamic practise and that this occurs in interrelations with key actors of the conflict. This study also presents important new empirical data that, in part, also challenges previous research. Hamas is one of the very few Islamist organisations that has reached a governance position via democratic and fair elections. Thus, Hamas can serve as a case study of how Islamist may act in (quasi)democratic surroundings.

At the same time, Hamas is a key actor in the overarching conflict, which has several unique characteristics. Hamas’ armed resistance is described as an instrument for the Jihad against the Israeli occupation. However, the Dawa work at the grassroots level can also be seen as a resistance practice that can be identified as constructive resistance. The internal discussion in Hamas as to what strategies to apply, as will be shown, are also formed and impacted by various interrelations with external actors of the conflict. The Palestinian public, in particular, is a key actor that influences Hamas in various ways, although Fatah, PLO, Israel and other external actors also have their specific roles to play.

his paper deals with the quality of civil resistance and, in particular, the democratizing qualities of various civil resistance practices. There is a great amount of research on civil resistance and its capacities to foster social change, and in particular its impact on increased democracy. However, we still have an empirical bias in this research since these studies mainly focus on mass-mobilized breaking resistance. This paper provides an analysis of various civil resistance practices’ democratizing qualities based on a case study – namely the Palestinian village Bil’in’s campaign against the Israeli plans to build a ‘security barrier’‚ through the village’s farmlands. The process of the campaign began in 2002 and lasted until the Supreme Court of Israel’s decision from 2007 to re-route the building of the ‘security barrier’ away from the farmland from was implemented in 2011. Based on a ‘process tracing’ (PT) methodology, an analysis of, primarily, interviews that were made with Bil’in activists and proxy activists (mainly Israelis) is presented, where the tracing underlying mechanisms could explain why the campaign had an impact on democracy. Theoretically, the paper applies the concept of ‘democratizing qualities’ (Munck 2016), as well as the analytical toolbox that is labelled the ABC of civil resistance. The paper will conclude with a presentation of potential causal mechanisms that may explain why the civil resistance campaign impacted on democracy. The guiding overarching research question is: In what ways can different practices of civil resistance have democratizing qualities?

This article examines the extent of Palestinian public support for democracy through the time period from 1997 to 2016. The analysis is based on data collected from five public surveys launched in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. Our findings show that evidently 1 Mahmoud Mi'ari is a retired Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Birzeit University, Palestine. He has published tens of articles on various topics related to Palestinian society and Israeli society, with a focus on collective identity, interethnic relations, political culture, and sociology of education. His most recent publications are the following: 'Transformations in Party Support and Attitudes toward Solving the Palestinian Problem',

Two significant developments-(1) the rapidly changing world order, and (2) significant gaps in current social science scholarshipcall for a further exploration of resistance theories. In this paper, we identify some of the gaps and inconsistencies within the current bulk of research, and seek to contribute to the understanding of resistance, its applications and complexity. In short, this paper discusses three interacting and supporting forms of resistance, including various overlaps and interlinkages between them, which together constitute what we would like to call the ABC of resistance; that is, avoidance resistance, breaking resistance, and constructive resistance.

This article argues that decolonizing educational undertakings is a difficult task, even when the ambitions to apply decolonizing approaches are clearly articulated. Our case analysis of two contemporary MA peace education programs in Rwanda that explicitly focus on reconciliation, shows evidence of limited capacity by the educators to decolonize them. We draw from semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, as well as text-analysis of syllabi, course guides etc., and demonstrate that access for all societal groups to the programs is restricted;  the extent of decolonization of the education itself, including alternative narratives of the conflict history, as well as the conceptualization of ethnic ‘identity’ within peace education is still limited. The MA programs thus, preserve colonial legacies and contribute to maintain historical hierarchical relations between the Hutu and Tutsi groups in the country.

This article presents a framework, applied on the case of former Yugoslavia, which should be considered in the design and analysis of negotiated agreements dealing with ‘ethnic conflict’ and civil wars. Such agreements implemented from above must include an analysis of how they affect: i) the local rationality structure (both intra- and inter-ethnic relations); ii) structural conditions; iii) institutional conditions and relations; and iv) the space for contestation of implementation. Basd on document analysis, this study demonstrates that if left unattended these dimensions may recreate tensions for years to come, block implementation and generate risk of relapse into violent conflict.

Lebanon is receiving most Syrian refugees per capita of all countries surrounding Syria. The most marginalized within Lebanon, the Palestinian refugees that came to Lebanon in 1948 are also hosting arriving Syrian refugees. This study aims to better understand the interplay and interrelations between hosts and refugees. This study is concerned with the overarching question: What is the relationship between the Palestinians hosting the Syrian refugees, and how do they cope with already increasingly narrow resources they have at their disposal, and how is the social relationships between the two refugee groups in Lebanon? Theoretically this study explores and develops a synthesis of a pluralist society model and the ethno-class model, a new approach that best can describe how interrelations in the refugee context in Lebanon are developing. The
refugee camp Wavel outside the city of Baalbek in the north serves as case for this study. Semistructured interviews and focal group discussions have been made with both Palestinian hosts, as well as Syrian refugees.

This article will show how a ‘new history’, inspired from longue durée approaches, can be methodologically applied, and how it equips us with analytical tools that improve our capacity to understand the long-term changes that fostered the civil society-based resistance in the Arab world- Although we cannot predict the exact timing of such resistance efforts, the application of the longue dure´e method provides us with tools that help us understand why and how the many uprisings transpired. This complements, and partly contrasts with, most previous research, which had its main focus on discussion of short-term factors that were claimed to have caused the Arab massmobilized resistance in 2010–2011. The article draws upon and intends to contribute to the theoretical debate on contentious politics within social movement research, resistance studies, and civil society-driven democratization research.

This article investigates the reasons behind the EU reservations and boycott towards the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. It examines how the EU ‘talked security’, in terms of framing the overall Israeli-Palestinian conflict (IPC). In this context, of particular interest is the reason behind the, EU decision to label Hamas as a terrorist organization (analysed in relation to the specific security construct). With regards to the EU multilateral dimension in the IPC, it is important to find out how the EU has worked (or has been forced/pushed by external actors) to form a security governance, as well as a multilateral strategy vis-à-vis Hamas, and what references have been made towards the multilateralism. Furthermore, this article explores the policies that have been created in relation to the EU securitization of the conflict, as well as the impact it had on the EU and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This study has examined Palestinians’ readiness to compromise over the
key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In contrast to existing opinion
poll results the claim that Palestinians support a territorial compromise over historical Palestine, this study indicates a radicalization of Palestinian attitudes.Four survey studies, conducted in 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2009, reveal that Palestinian support for a two-state solution have decreased at the expense of an increased preference for an Islamic state in the whole of historical Palestine. Also, Palestinians do not believe that peace with Israel can be achieved in the near future, and are ready to continue their struggle against Israeli occupation in the West Bank. The study also reveals that Palestinians are becoming increasingly isolated and hence less exposed to alternative strategies in the conflict with Israel. These attitudinal changes follow the negative developments in the peace process and the violence that erupted between Israelis and Palestinians in September 2000. Consequently, the lack of current public pressure on the Palestinian leadership to find a political compromise with Israel risks continued deadlock in the conflict. These changes also partly explain why Palestinians voted the Hamas movement into power in the January 2006 election.

... in Valeria Bello and Belachew Gebrewold (eds), A Global Security Triangle, European, Afri-can and Asian Interaction (routledge, 2009);'EU's conflict resolution intervention in the israeli–Palestinian conflict', in Karin Aggestam and Annika Björkdahl (eds), War and Peace in ...

In the following article the potentials of Middle Eastern regionalism is discussed. Emphasis is placed on arguing for that the changes in the Middle East  have fostered new options for regional cooperation. However, despite the initial changes towards deeper forms of regional co-operation provided by the peace process, conflicts and patterns of old enmity remain and have to be solved before further steps towards integration can be taken. However, on the larger macro-region, i.e. Israel and the Arab states, as well as a sub-region consisting of Israel, the Palestinian areas and Jordan, changes have taken place in the form of plans of free trade areas, customs unions, joint ventures and co-operation concerning for example economic development and security, that were unthinkable only a few years ago in a region used as show case for how power realism works. Currently, the Middle East could at best be described as being in a stage of emerging regional cooperation.

Two significant developments-(1) the rapidly changing world order, and (2) significant gaps in current social science scholarshipcall for a further exploration of resistance theories. In this paper, we identify some of the gaps and inconsistencies within the current bulk of research, and seek to contribute to the understanding of resistance, its applications and complexity. In short, this paper discusses three interacting and supporting forms of resistance, including various overlaps and interlinkages between them, which together constitute what we would like to call the ABC of resistance; that is, avoidance resistance, breaking resistance, and constructive resistance.

Abstract The debate triggered by recent publications and research justifying colonialism demands an intellectual engagement with the histories of colonialism, and their impact on postcolonial trajectories of development, peace and conflict. The argument that colonialism inspired development in societies that embraced its modernity project, enlightened governance and efficient administration – which in turn inspired national consciousness embedded in anti-colonial struggles – has been extensively critiqued. However, less attention has been paid to colonialism’s enduring everyday impact and visible continuities. We argue that the present political moment defined by right-wing, conservative and insular nationalisms and racisms – particularly in Western polities – requires deeper critique. It demands an intensive re-engagement with colonialism’s legacies, the politics of race and racism and the postcolonial (un)making of ‘selfhood’ and ‘nation-statehood’ evidenced in many parts of the world. This collection revisits the impact of colonialism on the postcolonial politics and decolonial developments in Africa; its focus is to reinvestigate the endurance and efficacy of the power relations devised and propagated by the European colonial projects and their continued presence in African states and societies.

Abstract This article argues that decolonising educational undertakings is a difficult task, even when the ambitions to apply decolonising approaches are clearly articulated. Our case analysis of two contemporary master’s in peace education programmes in Rwanda, that explicitly focus on reconciliation, shows evidence of limited capacity by the educators to decolonise them. We draw from semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, as well as text analysis of syllabuses, course guides, etc, and demonstrate that access for all societal groups to the programmes is restricted: the extent of decolonisation of the education itself, including alternative narratives of the conflict history as well as the conceptualisation of ethnic ‘identity’ within peace education, is still limited. These master of arts programmes thus preserve colonial legacies and contribute to maintain historical hierarchical relations between the Hutu and Tutsi groups in the country.

ABSTRACT This article illustrates how official hegemonic narratives of armed conflicts and history are resisted by academics by generating counter-narratives and how this affects the public perception of identity conflicts. Due to the relatively high status of academics, critical and alternative knowledge production serve as a tool for resistance against the mainstream narrative. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we discuss competing narratives, and how new narratives by various academics challenge the official narrative. In the case of Rwanda where the resistance is more clandestine, we demonstrate how the official narrative is challenged by academics and individuals based outside the country. In the case of Sri Lanka, we highlight how two dominant narratives, one by the government and the other by the rebels, competed with the counter-narratives. Overall, we demonstrate how counter-narratives construed to serve as a form of resistance are unfolding in various struggles, and how the gradual impact of academics’ agencies on changing hegemonic narratives finds a contextual definition.

Taking up a major challenge given to us by the project leader, Björn Hettne, at the end of this research project, our undertaking in this chapter is threefold. The first objective is to briefly reflect and draw conclusions from the UNU/WIDER research project on how regionalization can be studied, conceptualized and understood. The second is to make a comparison of Asia, Africa and the Middle East with regard to the three agendas or ‘key issues’ of the UNU/WIDER research project on the New Regionalism: globalism versus regionalism, the dynamics of regionalization, and preferred outcomes of regionalization. This leads to the third objective, to suggest an inroad to a post-WIDER research agenda and a further consolidation of the main analytical framework used in the project, the New Regionalism Approach (NRA). The chapter is structured in three main parts, according to these three objectives.

La nanolithographie (série Électronique et microélectronique, EGEM) Alors que le nano-monde s'ouvre à nous, les chercheurs ont disposés ces dernières années d'un magnifique terrain de jeu pour mettre au point de nouvelles technologies destinées à façonner cet espace des ...

Search: onr:"swepub:oai:services.scigloo.org:100440" > Security in the Mid... ... Schulz, Michael, 1960-(author) Göteborgs universitet, Institutionen för globala studier Swain, Ashok (author) Öjendal, Joakim, 1962-(author) Göteborgs universitet, Institutionen för globala ...

This study has examined Palestinians’ readiness to compromise over the key issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In contrast to existing opinion poll results that claim that Palestinians support a territorial compromise over historical Palestine, this study indicates a radicalization of Palestinian attitudes. Four survey studies, conducted in 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2009, reveal that Palestinian support for a two-state solution have decreased at the expense of an increased preference for an Islamic state in the whole of historical Palestine. Also, Palestinians do not believe that peace with Israel can be achieved in the near future, and are ready to continue their struggle against Israeli occupation in the West Bank. The study also reveals that Palestinians are becoming increasingly isolated and hence less exposed to alternative strategies in the conflict with Israel. These attitudinal changes follow the negative developments in the peace process and the violence that erupted bet...

This article seeks to contribute to the underdeveloped discussion about the way we theorise and conceptualise externally induced peace and security operations in regional conflict, with a particular focus on the EU's role. The framework draws on three theoretical components emphasised in this special issue: the construction of conflict, security governance and the impact of EU security practices. The EU's construction of the conflict is tightly linked to decisions about the mode of security governance and here we need to pay more attention to the often-neglected relationship between the external intervening party and the parties in conflict that are subject to the intervention. Furthermore, the impact of peace operations are usually analysed in terms of implementation and coordination failures, and in our view it is necessary to step back and address the construction of the criteria by which interventions are assessed – in particular, the way intervening actors construct and...