UNPACKING INCLUSION, TRACING POLITICAL VIOLENCE: A CASE STUDY OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND HAMAS`S GOVERNANCE UNDER OCCUPATION

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to unpack inclusion and to trace a causal path by which a certain type of inclusion (exclusive inclusion) is linked to the deployment of political violence by incorporated opposition. In doing so, I challenge the assumptions of the inclusion-moderation nexus and its applicability to less institutionalized competitive authoritarianism. I undertake in-depth comparative case studies in two sectors in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: the Civil Security Sector (CSS) and the Palestinian Security Sector (PSS), where evidence shows that the inclusion of Hamas led to political violence rather than moderation. Based on this study I argue that unpacking inclusion into two components, namely open contestation and ostensible power sharing, is essential to account for the complex interactions between authority-incorporated groups and political violence. Open contestation and ostensible power sharing lead to various levels of what I call ―exclusive inclusion‖ in the CSS and the PSS (and in all institutions). Exclusive inclusion captures Fatah incumbents‘ formal and informal practices and manipulations, along with colonial policies and external interferences. Second, I argue that exclusive inclusion triggers two major internal dimensions - the intermixed approach of incorporated opposition and the intra-group divergence – which significantly shape the deployment of political violence. Improved conditions of exclusive inclusion brought some entitlements back to Hamas‘s officials in the CSS over time and left some margin for them to practice their intermixed approach (resistance and accommodation with authorities). This occurred while increasingly exclusive inclusion and denial of Hamas‘s demands in the PSS not only made the continuous exercise of an intermixed approach from within the PA unfeasible, but also led to divergences among currents inside Hamas. Third, intra-Hamas divergences mean the development of various trends within Hamas, despite its unity, each of which had developed different attributions of threats and expected payoffs of exclusive inclusion in the PSS. In conclusion, the continuous exclusive inclusion in the PSS, along with intradivergences and the absence of power arrangement outside the security institution, were fertile opportunities for the deployment of political violence against PSS. However, contingent events under sanctions, led to the extension of violence and takeover of the Strip.