Armed Struggle and the Search for State The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993

by Sayigh, Yezid

• ISBN13: 9780198292654
• ISBN10: 0198292651
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-02-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This masterly new work spans an entire epoch in the history of the contemporary Palestinian national movement, from the establishment of Israel in mandate Palestine in 1948, to the PLO-Israel accord of 1993. Contrary to the conventional view that national liberation movements proceed withstate-building only after attaining independence, the case of the PLO shows that state-building may shape political institutionalization throughout the previous struggle, even in the absence of an autonomous territorial, economic, and social base. That is the central argument of this insightfulstudy, which traces the political, ideological, and organizational evolution of the PLO and its constituent guerrilla groups. Taking the much-vaunted 'armed struggle' as its connecting theme, it shows how conflict was used to mobilize the mass constituency, assert particular discourses ofrevolution and nationalism, construct statist institutions, and establish the legitimacy of a new political class and bureaucratic elite. The book draws extensively on PLO archives, official publications and internal documents of the various guerilla groups, and over 400 interviews conducted by theauthor with the PLO rank-and-file. Its span, primary sources, and conceptual framework make this the definitive work on the subject.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xxvii	(2)
Glossary of Arabic Terms	xxix	(6)
Maps	xxxv	(7)
Genealogical Diagram	xlii
Introduction: A Historical Framework	1	(24)
I. Searching for Palestine, 1949-1966	25	(118)
1. Why Palestinian Nationalism? The Social, Economic, and Political Context after 1948	35	(23)
2. Palestinians in Arab Uniform	58	(13)
3. Rebirth of the Palestinian National Movement	71	(24)
4. The Watershed	95	(17)
5. Challenges of the Armed Struggle	112	(31)
II. Years of Revolution, 1967-1972	143	(176)
6. Transforming Defeat into Opportunity	155	(19)
7. Carving out the Guerrilla Sanctuary	174	(21)
8. Guerrilla War in Theory and Practice	195	(22)
9. The Making of the Palestinian Political System	217	(26)
10. Dual Power	243	(19)
11. End of a Myth	262	(20)
12. Interregnum	282	(37)
III. The State-in-Exile, 1973-1982	319	(226)
13. At the Crossroads	329	(29)
14. The Lebanese Crisis	358	(15)
15. The Struggle for Lebanon	373	(19)
16. Ambition Frustrated, Sanctuary Preserved	392	(18)
17. A Ceasefire, Not a Truce	410	(14)
18. Rearguard Action	424	(23)
19. The `Fakhani Republic'	447	(17)
20. Extending the State-in-Exile or Capturing It?	464	(31)
21. No Lull before the Storm	495	(27)
22. The Lebanon War	522	(23)
IV. Squaring the Circle: Statehood into Autonomy, 1983-1993	545	(118)
23. Assaulting the State-in-Exile from Within	551	(23)
24. Struggle Within, Struggle Without	574	(33)
25. Intifada to the Rescue	607	(31)
26. The Road to Oslo	638	(25)
Conclusion	663	(30)
Notes	693	(150)
Bibliography	843	(70)
Index	913