Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution

"... an analysis that is as intricate and flawless as it is devastating... [Robinson's] presentation is powerful and compelling and his scholarship impeccable." --MESA Bulletin

"... [an] excellent book. In just 200 pages, Glenn Robinson manages to give the clearest and most concise analysis of the changing political and social structure of the West Bank and Gaza and of current political realities that I have read." --Digest of Middle Eastern Studies

"... a fair and sensitive account and contains the best available assessment of the Intifada's political aftermath among Palestinians. An added bonus is that the book is written in an accessible style with enough historical background and contextual explanation to make it ideal as a text for courses in Middle East politics or the politics of revolutions." --American Political Science Review

"Well-researched, original, scholarly; deserves the attention of those interested in revolutionary theory or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." --Choice

"Throughout, the book is impressively researched and very well-written.... Building a Palestinian State is a book that deserves to be widely read." --Journal of Palestine Studies

"... a well-informed and tightly argued analysis of the evolution of politcal leadership in the West Bank and Gaza from the 1980s to the spring of 1996. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the historical backdrop to current political developments in the areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority." --Middle East Policy

"... carefully researched and balanced study..." --Times Literary Supplement

"... provides a unique analysis of the various facets of grassroots organizations and their interaction with the emerging state institutions... a major and very timely contribution." --Anne Lesch

In this well informed and accessibly written book, Glenn E. Robinson traces the emergence of a new political elite in the West Bank and Gaza in the 1980s and the grassroots political and social revolution it launched during the Intifada.

"[This book] is clear, well-documented, and helps debunk culturally essentialist explanations of Arab authoritarianism... [A] fair and sensitive account and contains the best available assessment of the Intifada's political aftermath among Palestiians. An added bonus is that the book is written in an accessible style with enough historical background and contextual explanation to make it ideal as a text for courses in Middle East politics or the politics of revolutions." --AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REV Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

"[O]ffers a sophisticated analysis of the political struggles that have taken a toll on the Palestinian nationalist movement." --Foreign Affairs

Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-221) and index.

Glenn E. Robinson is Assistant Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and Research Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California-Berkeley.

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. The Traditional Notable Elite in Palestine

2. The Rise of a New Political Elite in the West Bank and Gaza

3. The Professional Middle Class

4. Abu Barbur: Elite Conflict and Social Change in Bayt Sahur

5. Popular Committees in the Intifada

6. Hamas and the Islamist Mobilization

7. The Logic of Palestinian State-Building after Oslo

Notes

Index