About the Book
This Handbook provides a broad overview of Palestinian history, society, politics, and culture across different contexts and periods, revealing the rich and varied dimensions of Palestine.
To capture the diversity of Palestinian scholarship and to introduce readers to a mix of approaches and perspectives, both internationally established and emerging Palestinian scholars have contributed. The Handbook attempts to avoid narrowly framing Palestine around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, incorporating postcolonial approaches attentive to a broader range of (hitherto overlooked) actors. While a significant proportion of the Handbook examines the contemporary period, it is divided up into four sections that together provide a detailed overview of the main developments in the region:
A historical section that contextualizes the complex historical formation of contemporary Palestine – perhaps best regarded as a country but not yet a state
A section exploring the society, geography, economy, and identity of Palestine
A section on the political significance of Palestine, covering the dynamics between Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism
A final section on culture, touching on architecture, literature, music, cuisine, education, and contemporary art
Providing a deep analysis of the Palestinian perspective, the Handbook will prove valuable reading for anyone interested in the history, politics and society of Palestine and the Middle East.
Table of Contents:
Introduction Section One – A History of Palestine 1. Byzantine and pre-Islamic Palestine, c. 324 – c. 638 CE 2. The Early Arab Islamic Period (634 – 1099) 3. Palestine in the Ayyūbīd and Mamlūk Periods 4. The Sweet Smell of Holy Sewage: Urban Planning and the Remaking of the Public Sphere in Ottoman Palestine 5. Palestine under the British Mandate 6. The 1948 War and the Nakba 7. The 1967 War and the Conquest of Palestine Section Two – Society, Geography, Economy and Demography 8. Palestinian Social Structure 9. Christianity in Palestine 10. Islam and Muslims in Palestine 11. Palestinian Islamist Movements: History, Ideology and Politics 12. The Political Economy of Fragmentation: Palestine After 1948 13. Land Use and Urban Planning in Palestine: Over a Century of Ongoing Colonial Legacy 14. Jerusalem Section Three – Contemporary Politics 15. Collective Consciousness in Motion: Palestinian Nationalism, Anti-Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation 16. Zionism 17. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation and Non-State Actors 18. The Israeli Dominant Bloc System – The Rise of the Right and the Prospects for the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict 19. Palestinian Women’s Movements 20. The Palestinian Refugee Issue 21. Lost Light: The Gaza Strip and the End of Viability 22. Reinstating the Significance of Palestine 23. Current Trends and Prospects for a Political Settlement Section Four – Palestinian Culture 24. Form Follows Life: An Overview of Palestinian Architecture Since the 19th Century 25. Education in Palestine 26. Palestinian Literature and Film 27. Palestinian Music 28. Contemporary Palestinian Art 29. Palestinian Food: Commensality and Cultural Resistance
About the Author :
Michael Dumper is Emeritus Professor in Middle East Politics, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. His recent research has been focussed on Jerusalem and on Palestinian refugees. He has acted as a consultant on Middle East politics for the UK and Canadian governments, for Office of the Special Coordinator for the ME Peace Process (UNSCO), the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the European Commission Task Force on Refugees, as well as a number of think tanks and research centres in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. His publications include Power, Piety and People: The Politics of Holy Cities in the 21st Century (2020) and Jerusalem Unbound: Geography, History and the Future of the Holy City (2014).
Amneh Badran is Assistant Professor and Vice Dean at Al-Quds Bard College, Al-Quds University, Palestine. Her publications include Zionist Israel and Apartheid South Africa: Civil Society and Peace Building in Ethnic-National States (2010) and “Youth Discourse, Objectives and Strategies under Occupation: Palestinian Children’s Political Activism in the East Jerusalem Village of Silwan, 2008–5” in Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children (2024).
Review :
"This Handbook of nearly thirty chapters is an immensely significant contribution to studies of Palestine the country, if not yet the modern state. Divided into four sections – a historical section; a social, geographical, and economic section; a third section on contemporary politics; and a final section on Palestinian culture – this Handbook addresses both orthodox as well as critical scholarship on Palestine and its people. It places Palestine and its history, particularly from the late nineteenth century, in a more central position to understand the political dynamics between Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, between settler colonialism and autochthonous awakening, and between different forms of social activism. This is a publication of immense importance for those who wish to have a more nuanced and critical understanding of contemporary Palestinian / Israeli struggles, and the significance of the 75 year Nakba."
Dawn Chatty, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration, University of Oxford, UK
"As a political scientist and historian, I am privileged to endorse the comprehensive Routledge Handbook on Palestine which portrays all aspects of the politics, geography, demography, culture, and civilization of people still struggling to attain freedom and independence. This Handbook is comprehensive and meticulously written by experts and scholars registering the details of a people's profile struggling force for the last 75 years under Israeli occupation. This Handbook is a significant reference to students of the Middle East and those of geopolitics and should be adopted as a textbook in all major universities worldwide. It is very comprehensive, accurate, coherent, and objective. The content of such a Handbook is admirable and appreciated, and it is rare in our Palestinian library. Therefore, its endorsement is well-deserved."
Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador to Denmark
