LITMIR.BIZ

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broader political developments and Western donor assistance informed these changes.

      Along the way, I accumulated a debt of gratitude to countless individuals who helped me with my journey. I am perhaps most indebted to my numerous interviewees for their time and boundless generosity. In both the Palestinian territories and El Salvador, my interviewees often went out of their way to arrange interviews on my behalf, to provide me with supporting documents, and to invite me to all sorts of events and activities. I was deeply touched by the openness with which so many people received me, and humbled by the stories I heard and the life experiences they embodied. I extend special recognition to three women interviewees, who paved the way for others, and who are no longer with us: Rabiha Diab, Maha Nassar, Nihaya Mohammed.

      Special thanks go to Juliet Johnson. Her feedback on an earlier draft of the manuscript and her support have been invaluable throughout this journey. I also thank Ellen Lust for her helpful comments on different chapters and her ongoing support. Numerous other colleagues also generously read and commented on parts of the manuscript, specific chapters, or presentations leading to this manuscript. These colleagues include: Lisa Andersón, Yesim Bayar, Eva Bellin, Sarah Bush, Chris Blake, Rosalind Boyd, Benoit Challand, Mona El-Ghobashy, Michael Hudson, Nadine Naber, Wendy Pearlman, Mouin Rabbani, Siham Rashid, Jillian Schwedler, Seteney Shami, John Scheperel, Richa Singh, Gopika Solanki, Berna Turam, and Devrim Yavuz. Nathan Brown and Yezid Sayigh also provided comments on an article published in Comparative Political Studies where I introduced the argument I develop in this book. I also thank the anonymous reviewers.

      I had the opportunity to present parts of the manuscript and to receive feedback at numerous conferences and invited talks, including the American Political Science Association, the Middle East Studies Association, Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, UC Berkeley’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Dubai School of Government, and the Politics of the Middle East Working Group Workshop at Princeton University.

      The number of people who I owe a debt of gratitude to in El Salvador and Palestine are numerous and beyond what I can list here, but a few stand out: Ghassan al-Khatib; whose thoughtful political analysis has always been so valued; Raja Rantisi and Amal Hassan, for their support and willingness to always help; and Salim Tamari, has always been, and continues to be, so supportive of junior scholars. In El Salvador, Leslie Schuld, my former housemate, was beyond generous with her contacts and political expertise; Joceyln Viterna, helped me navigate my way when I first arrived in El Salvador; David Holiday for his expertise on everything El Salvador–related; and Raquel Hernandez, who helped me with translation and getting to and from interviews. Then, there was El Ché—the taxi driver—who helped me get around San Salvador. And thanks also to the many others who made my stays in El Salvador and Palestine such wonderful experiences.

      I owe a debt of gratitude to colleagues who have always been generous with their support and mentorship. Special thanks go to Amal Amireh, Laurie Brand, Charles Butterworth, Frances Hasso, Mervat Hatem, Suad Joseph, Mehran Kamrava, Smadar Lavie, Ann Lesch, Zachary Lockman, Gwenn Okrulik, T. V. Paul, Glenn Robinson, and the late Dwight Simpson.

      I also thank my friends, old and new (and whose names do not appear elsewhere in these acknowledgments), for their camaraderie and support, for remaining interested in this project, and for cheering me along the way: Hayfa Abdel Jabbar, Rabab Abdulhadi, Naser Abu Diab, Hussein Agrama, Muge Aknur, Canan Aslan, Mona Atia, Alia Ayyad, Dima Ayouob, Zahra Babar, Rita Bahour Lahoud, Anne Marie Bayloumi, Sabine Beddies, Leyla Binbrek, Iain Blaire, Nayiri Boghossian, Mesky Brahane, Matt Buehler, Renda Dabit, Rabab el Mahdi, Malia Everette, Awad Halabi, Rola Husseini, Zeynep Kadirbeyoglu, Arang Keshvarzian, Ismail Kushkush, Sherry Lapp, Khalid Madani, Amal Sood Muhyeddin, Saime Oscurmez, Nadia Rahman, Najat Rahman, Shira Robinson, Jennifer Zacharia Said, Wadie Said, Farnoosh Safavi, Charmaine Seitz, Erin Snider, and Atiyeh Vahidmanesh. And I extend special recognition to the late Samia Constandi, who unfortunately did not live long enough to see this book come to light.

      Special thanks also go to my exceptional colleagues and friends at James Madison University, especially (also whose names do not appear elsewhere) Robert Alexander, Andreas Broschild, Keith Grant, David Jones, Bernie Kaussler, Jon Keller, Hakseon Lee, Lili Peaslee, Valerie Sulfaro, Nick Swartz, Amanda Tee, and Robyn Teske. Their support has been invaluable. And of course, thanks to my students for their endless curiosity about this book.

      I had the tremendous privilege of receiving numerous fellowships and institutional affiliations that supported the research and writing of this book. These include UC Berkeley’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Dubai School of Government, and the Dubai Initiative and more recently the Middle East Initiative at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Special thanks go to Emily Gottreich for her support during my time at UC Berkeley. A visiting scholar position at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies provided me with an office and library access, and an opportunity to present parts of my work. FLACSO-El Salvador also provided me with office space and a computer, and the staff and researchers were exceptionally welcoming.

      I am also grateful for the editorial assistance of Allison Brown and Lucy Malenke, and to my former student Grace Anderson who helped format and edit the final bibliography. At New York University Press, I thank everyone I worked with, especially Maryam Arain, Ilene Kalish, and Martin Coleman.

      And my family, especially Eman, Khalid, Randa, my aunts Nathmia and Zahia, and the late Hajjeh Fatmeh, for their unconditional love, Eyad, Aissa, and the next generation.

      1

      The Primacy of Political Settlements in Democracy Promotion

      Grassroots organizations in the Palestinian territories reached their zenith during the first Intifada (which literally means “shaking off”) between 1987 and 1993. This episode of coordinated mass upheaval and civil disobedience campaign throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip was not instigated or organized by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO); rather, it was a popular mobilization initiated by a number of different organizations, committees, and institutions established in the occupied territories to resist Israel’s military occupation and to empower communities. Within the first weeks of the Intifada, grassroots committees had organized an array of local popular committees (lijan shaʿbiyya) throughout the occupied territories that would sustain and strengthen the Intifada.1 The popular committees were responsible for key tasks such as coordinating the daily activities of the Intifada, preparing for emergencies, cultivating self-sufficiency, and patrolling neighborhoods during the night.2 The degree of popular participation in this Intifada was unprecedented compared to earlier uprisings. Mass involvement in nonviolent forms of resistance was a radical departure from the earlier period in which only armed struggle was recognized as a legitimate form of resistance. Moreover, the Intifada represented a fundamental shift in the site of power from the PLO to the people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS). The Intifada had its own leadership structure, the United Leadership Command, in which all major political organizations of the PLO were represented.

      Similar to other grassroots organizations, the Palestinian women’s committees also reached their pinnacle of organizational success during this period. Countless women I interviewed who were directly involved in the daily activities of the Intifada highlighted the pivotal role of women during that period.3 It was this particular feature of the Intifada—the widespread participation of women—that, perhaps more than anything else, dramatized the extent to which Palestinian society had been stirred. Women’s widespread, grassroots-based, nonviolent civil disobedience was pivotal in supporting the uprising during this period.

      The organizational efficacy of the first Intifada owed its success to decades of mass organizing by Palestinian political organizations.4 By the early 1980s, all factions of the PLO had established their own volunteer grassroots structures throughout the WBGS. These organizations included labor unions, agriculture unions, health unions, student groups, women’s groups, and various other professional unions and syndicates. These groups served to defend the interests of the various constituencies and enabled the participation and empowerment of local sectors of society. Each association, union, and grassroots organization was disparate and issue-oriented and reported to

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