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Hamas in Politics: Democracy, Religion, Violence (Columbia/Hurst)
A key player in the politics of the Middle East, Hamas is renowned for its contradictory positions. The group uses terror tactics against Israel's civilians and military, yet runs on a law and order ticket in Palestinian elections; it pursues an Islamic state, yet holds internal elections; it campaigns for shari'ah law, yet its leaders are predominantly secular professionals; and it calls for the destruction of Israel, yet has reluctantly agreed to honor previously established peace agreements.
In Hamas in Politics, Jeroen Gunning launches a probing study of the movement's success in the political arena, showing that religion, violence, and democracy are not necessarily incompatible. Many of Hamas's apparent contradictions flow from the relationship between the organization's ideology, local constituency, and the nature of politics in Israel and Palestine. Gunning conducts interviews with members of Hamas as well as the group's critics and draws on a decade of close observation of the organization. He illuminates Hamas's understanding of its ideology and explores the tension between its dual commitment to "God" and "the people." Examining the group's political practice and what it says about the group's attitude towards democracy, religion, and violence, Gunning provides a unique window into Hamas's internal structure, revealing its process of choosing leaders and determining policy.
- ISBN-10023170044X
- ISBN-13978-0231700443
- PublisherColumbia University Press
- Publication dateApril 8, 2008
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions6 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- Print length320 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
An ambitious and impressive piece of work. The interviews and Jeroen Gunning's interpretations will make a valuable contribution to scholarship on Islamist movements, terrorism, and Hamas.
(Jan Selby, author of Water, Power, and Politics in the Middle East: The Other Israeli-Palestinian Conflict)This thoughtful and necessary book deserves a wide readership.
(David Gallagher Times Literary Supplement)an exemplary political primer on the Islamist party's evolution, structure, and thought.
(New York Review of Books)Scholars and Students... are encouraged to read this book.
(Ghada Al-Madbouh Journal of Palestine Studies 1900-01-00)Review
Based on Jeroen Gunning's theoretical acuity, prolonged field work, and interviews conducted with Hamas cadres in the Gaza Strip, this in-depth analysis offers rich and multidimensional insights into Hamas. The result is an eye-opening study that transcends conventional or simplistic explanations and gets inside the movement and its authority structures.
(Menachem Klein, Bar Ilan University, and author of A Possible Peace Between Israel and Palestine)About the Author
Jeroen Gunning studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies and at Durham University and the University of Oxford, and is now lecturer in the Department of International Politics, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Product details
- Publisher : Columbia University Press (April 8, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 023170044X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0231700443
- Item Weight : 1.2 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,748,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,843 in African Politics
- #4,511 in Israel & Palestine History (Books)
- #5,077 in Middle Eastern Politics
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The author spent some years living in Gaza, interviewing its leaders and members to research this book. Such an analysis could now not be repeated as so many of the leaders have been assassinated by Israeli forces, so this book is truly one of a kind.