| Title: | ISLAMIST GOVERNANCE HAMAS STYLE: Readings from the Palestinian experiment in Islamic democracy |
| Authors: | Brenner, Björn |
| Issue Date: | 18-Dec-2014 |
| University: | Göteborgs universitet. Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten University of Gothenburg. Faculty of Social Sciences |
| Institution: | School of Global Studies, Peace and Development Research ; Institutionen för globala studier, freds- och utvecklingsforskning |
| Date of Defence: | 2015-01-30 |
| Disputation: | Fredagen den 30 januari 2015, kl. 13.00, sal 326, Annedalsseminariet, Seminariegatan 1. |
| Degree: | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Publication type: | Doctoral thesis |
| Keywords: | Hamas, Islam, Palestine, Gaza, govern, liberal, demo, sharia, jihad. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how the Palestinian Islamists in Hamas came to govern following their success in the 2006 parliamentary elections. The study poses the overarching research question: How can Hamas's governance in the Gaza Strip between 2006 and 2012 be characterised and understood? Hamas has attracted particular research interest, partly due to its seemingly contradictory conduct, and partly due to the fact that this was the first case of Islamists in the Arab world to ascend to power by democratic means. On the one hand, Hamas has led an armed struggle against Israel. On the other hand, Hamas has participated in electoral processes in a peaceful and democratic fashion. As a result of this, the case of Hamas relates to two scholarly debates in particular - the nature of Islamism and the nature of Hamas. There is also a strong extra-scientific relevance to the study, as Hamas remains a powerful force in the Israeli-Palestinian arena. How Hamas is dealt with will have repercussions on when and in what shape the pending Palestinian state will materialise. The study addresses the research question by focusing on how the new government perceived and reacted to three key challenges to its exercise of power: relating to the political system and the main opposition party; countering violent radicalisation and local splinter groups; and re-establishing societal order and reforming the legal system. The study finds that the Hamas government lacked the necessary organisation, knowledge and experience to carry out its duties. It also finds that the government perceived itself to be subjected to an imminent threat of being overthrown. The study shows that while the Hamas government was far from fulfilling the democratic promises it had set out in its reform programme, it did not proceed to change the political system into any Islamic theocracy governed by sharia. As the analysis concludes, Hamas's governance could be characterised neither as singularly authoritarian and Islamic, nor as merely democratic and secular. Rather, Islamist governance Hamas style has been a blurred combination of all these traits together, firmly guided by a far-reaching ideological pragmatism and a continuously perceived necessity for further power consolidation. |
| ISBN: | 978-91-628-9267-8 |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2077/37696 |
| Appears in Collections: | Doctoral Theses from University of Gothenburg / Doktorsavhandlingar från Göteborgs universitet Doctoral Theses / Doktorsavhandlingar Institutionen för globala studier |
Tre frågor till rabbi Chaim Greisman, från Chabad of Stockholm, som på torsdagkvällen firar chanukka i Kungsträdgården.
Tre frågor till rabbi Chaim Greisman, från Chabad of Stockholm, som på torsdagkvällen firar chanukka i Kungsträdgården.
1. Vad händer i Kungsträdgården i kväll?– Vi kommer att fira den judiska högtiden chanukka med sånger, tal, mat och en glad atmosfär. Vi tänder ljusstaken som man gör under högtiden, ett ljus varje kväll under de åtta dagarna av chanukka. Och så kan man åka skridskor till judisk musik. Det blir en blandning av olika roliga judiska sånger medan folk får åka skridskor och komma in i högtidsstämningen innan själva festen börjar klockan fem.
– Det är fjortonde året i rad vi firar i Kungsträdgården. Vi brukar vara runt 500 personer. Chanukka är en tradition som pågår samtidigt över hela världen, men förutom att fira det hemma så gör vi det tillsammans på en stor offentlig plats också. För att visa att man är glad över ljusets mirakel och firar sina traditioner.
3. Är alla som vill välkomna?
– Ja, det är öppet för alla, vem som helst får komma. Vi vill nå ut med budskapet och visa att alla är välkomna att fira tillsammans i det offentliga rummet.