A note on Palestine

Political dynasties seem to flourish in Asia, whatever the political system. But this is not a relapse into traditional rule. Political dynasties are modern hybrids in which elite political aims are linked to popular norms of charismatic legitimacy. They are found in non-democratic regimes, electoral democracies and democratic movements, providing key advantages in a context of weak institutions or institutional decay. The author's detailed analysis of the situation in countries as varied as North Korea and India, Singapore and Thailand, Japan and the Philippines, shows that the descendents of charismatic leaders play a major role in politics in Asia. For they are often the key to the survival of a regime, a party or a movement.     

Palestine under the mandate

Asia's First Modern Revolution: Mongolia Proclaims Its Independence in 1911. Urgunge Onon and Derek Pritchatt. Leiden, E. J. Brill. 1990. Pp. 203, Appendices, Gloss. Bibliog. Notes, Index, Map. $59.00.     

Constructing Palestine through Surveillance Practices

State-building is normally associated with the setting-up of institutions such as the army, police force, judiciary and political system. By considering the Palestinian case of state-building, the paper relies on constructivist analysis to examine the use of surveillance as a discursive practice in State construction. Two central aspects of surveillance practices are considered in this paper: population count and spatial monitoring. Examination of these practices is situated in the asymmetrical power relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Conflict over land and people is manifested in the construction of citizenship, identities and geographical boundaries. The paper examines the historical and contemporary role of the census in both the Palestinian and Israeli case in the social construction of spaces and categorization of people. Examples are drawn from the first Israeli census taken in 1948, the monitoring of Palestinian refugees by the United Nations, and the contest over Jerusalem and borders as a consequence of the Oslo Agreement.     

Bedouin Health Services in Mandated Palestine

Amos Elon, Tne Israelis, Founders and Sons, pp. 359, bibliography and index, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £2·50.     

The Educational Philosophy and Curriculum of the Palestinian Nationalist Movement: From Arab Palestine to Arab-Islamic Palestine

The educational curriculum produced by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) is said to be situated on the intellectual basis of faith in Allah. The curriculum presents Islam as one of three essential components of the Palestinian identity. The place given to Islam in the educational philosophy and curriculum of the PA signifies a departure from the place given to Islam in the PLO's earlier documents and Fatah's earlier discourse; in fact, owing to the elevated position of Islam, the discourse in the curriculum more closely resembles that of the PLO's Islamist opposition, namely Hamas. This article compares the Palestinian identity discourse as it is presented in the PA educational philosophy (1998) and school curriculum (2000–2006) with the identity discourse in the PLO's earlier philosophy of education as well as Hamas' philosophy of education. The explanation for this change in the discourse of the Palestinian nationalist movement takes into account Fatah's bid to maintain legitimacy in a deeply divided society and Hamas' challenge to Fatah in the Palestinian arena as well as the background of the Islamic revival across the greater Muslim world.