Routledge Handbook on Palestine

This Handbook provides a broad overview of Palestinian history, society, politics, and culture across different contexts and periods, revealing the rich and varied dimensions of Palestine.

To capture the diversity of Palestinian scholarship and to introduce readers to a mix of approaches and perspectives, both internationally established and emerging Palestinian scholars have contributed. The Handbook attempts to avoid narrowly framing Palestine around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, incorporating postcolonial approaches attentive to a broader range of (hitherto overlooked) actors. While a significant proportion of the Handbook examines the contemporary period, it is divided up into four sections that together provide a detailed overview of the main developments in the region:

• A historical section that contextualizes the complex historical formation of contemporary Palestine – perhaps best regarded as a country but not yet a state
• A section exploring the society, geography, economy, and identity of Palestine
• A section on the political significance of Palestine, covering the dynamics between Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism
• A final section on culture, touching on architecture, literature, music, cuisine, education, and contemporary art

Providing a deep analysis of the Palestinian perspective, the Handbook will prove valuable reading for anyone interested in the history, politics and society of Palestine and the Middle East.

Michael Dumper is Emeritus Professor in Middle East Politics, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. His recent research has been focussed on Jerusalem and on Palestinian refugees. He has acted as a consultant on Middle East politics for the UK and Canadian governments, for Office of the Special Coordinator for the ME Peace Process (UNSCO), the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the European Commission Task Force on Refugees, as well as a number of think tanks and research centres in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. His publications include Power, Piety and People: The Politics of Holy Cities in the 21st Century (2020) and Jerusalem Unbound: Geography, History and the Future of the Holy City (2014).

Amneh Badran is Assistant Professor and Vice Dean at Al-Quds Bard College, Al-Quds University, Palestine. Her publications include Zionist Israel and Apartheid South Africa: Civil Society and Peace Building in Ethnic-National States (2010) and “Youth Discourse, Objectives and Strategies under Occupation: Palestinian Children’s Political Activism in the East Jerusalem Village of Silwan, 2008–5” in Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children (2024).