This is a conversation with Dana El Kurd. She is a Palestinian academic who specializes in Comparative Politics and International Relations. Dana works as a researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and as an assistant professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

We spoke about her most recent book “Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine” published by Hurst.

Topics Discussed

Authoritarianism within the Palestinian Authority (PA)
The role of the US
The legacy of the Oslo Accords
The Arab Spring and their link to Palestine
How long-term authoritarianism impacts societies
Polarization and Demobilization since Oslo
The relationship between the Israeli occupation and the PA
The 2006 Elections
The difference between PA, PNA, PLO and Fatah
On NGOization
The Abraham Accords
Tankie rhetoric
How regional authoritarians (Hezbollah, Assad, Iran) are perceived in Palestine
Different generational shifts
Reforming the PLO

Recommended Books

How Social Movements Die: Repression and Demobilization of the Republic of New Africa by Christian Davenport
State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein by Lisa Blaydes
Inside the Battle of Algiers: Memoir of a Woman Freedom Fighter by Zohra Drif

And I mentioned:

A region in revolt: Mapping the recent uprisings in North Africa and West Asia

66/ Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine (with Dana El Kurd)