Article
Undermining Democracy in Palestine: the Politics of International Aid since Oslo
Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLV, No. 4 (Summer 2016), p. 48,
(2016)
Abstract
After the Oslo peace process got underway in the early 1990s, international
donors allocated billions of dollars in aid to the occupied Palestinian territories
to kick-start the process of economic development deemed necessary to state
building. This article argues that although much of the money was directed at
democracy enhancement and civic engagement projects, contrary to stated
intentions, it actually undermined rather than promoted those outcomes. Donor
countries, led by the United States and the European Union, designed and
implemented programs with complete disregard for the reality underlying the
Palestinian predicament—the almost 50 years of military occupation and the
broader context of Israel’s settler-colonial project. Besides their entrenchment
of a neoliberal agenda, such projects have contributed to the ongoing fracturing
of Palestinian politics and the growing authoritarianism of the Ramallah
government, leaving the Palestinian economy less viable and more dependent
on Israel than ever.
Keywords
- aid,
- Oslo peace process,
- Development,
- Palestinian Economy
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer 2016
Citation Information
Leila Farsakh. "Undermining Democracy in Palestine: the Politics of International Aid since Oslo" Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. XLV, No. 4 (Summer 2016), p. 48, (2016) ISSN: ISSN: 0377-919X; Available at: http://works.bepress.com/leila_farsakh/22/