1. Theorizing Civil Society, Public Sphere and Hegemony in Divided Societies along National Lines: From Negotiation to Unilateralism in Israel/Palestine.
- Author
-
Pasquetti, Silvia
- Subjects
CIVIL society ,SOCIAL participation ,HEGEMONY ,THEORY ,INTERPERSONAL relations ,MANAGEMENT ,NATIONAL territory - Abstract
What is the relationship between associational development, public sphere development and hegemony? How does this relationship affect the management of territories and populations in divided societies along national lines? Theoretically, this paper builds on the concepts of hegemony, civil society, and public sphere to argue that hegemony requires both a thick civil society (in Gramsci's terms) and a de-politicized public sphere (in Schmitt's terms). Further, the de-politicization of the public sphere has to be established before the development of civil society. By contrast, when associational development takes place within a politicized public sphere, it leads to the bifurcation of civil society. Empirically, this paper investigates the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process (Oslo, 1993-2000). On the one hand, Oslo set off a process of associational construction among "Palestinian Israelis," which, by occurring within the politicized Israeli public sphere, led to the political counter-mobilization among the Jewish Israeli public. On the other hand, it also set in motion a process of associational development in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. By taking place within a public sphere, which, like the Israeli one, is highly politicized, it increased the pressure on Oslo's political and territorial concessions. Through the Israeli-Palestinian case, this paper suggests that the timing of the de-politicization of the public sphere and of associational development is a key analytical axis for the study of democracy, nationalism, and conflict management in divided societies along national lines. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006