Hamas : Palestinian Political Power and the Arab Uprisings
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2012-08
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en
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Abstract
The popular upheavals in the Middle East
and the Arab world have had a deep impact
on regional politics as well as on local
conflicts, particularly the conflict between
Israel and the Palestinians. With political
and social change sweeping the region,
various influential regional actors have been
forced to alter their political strategies,
conforming to new strategic circumstances.
This has led to opportunities, uncertainties,
and disadvantages for prominent actors in
the Palestinian political spectrum such as
Hamas.
The impact of the Arab uprisings on Hamas
led to politically strategic reevaluation and
regional alignment reconfirmation. Factors
such as the Muslim Brotherhood taking
power in Egypt and the pull out of Hamas’s
headquarters from Syria in addition to other
regional circumstances have politically
repositioned Hamas in the region and within
the Palestinian political spectrum.
The strategic advantage of such
circumstances however allows Hamas to
seek political will in the corridors of power
increasingly dominated by Islamists in the
region. The challenge for Hamas is to
establish a new strategic profile which
functions both between Palestinian political
factions and as a balance between tactical
regional alliances.
The most evident outcome of this scenario is
an increased strategic depth to Hamas’s
political strength. The impact level in which
this can be determined is explained by the
degree of availability and ability to secure
and maintain various sources of power and
alliances.
This determination is used due to shifting
regional political circumstances transpiring as a result of the Arab uprisings. Such
significant transformations include, the new
found sense of empowerment among the
Arab public, the reestablishment of the
Palestinian agenda as an Arab-wide
responsibility, Hamas’s increased
recognition as an international political
actor, the opening of political space through
Arab and Islamic channels as well as the
West due to the effect the Arab uprisings
have had on their policy, the decline of
American influence in the region, as well as
the new strategic political orientation the
ascendency of Islamists to political power
have produced in the region.
These factors are significant because they
allow Hamas’s political reach to expand
through channels previously blocked due to
diplomatic and political isolation from
regional as well as Western states. The new
favorable regional environment has
significantly strengthened Hamas expanding
the degree through which sources of power
and alliances are accessible.
This thesis will demonstrate how, as a result
of the Arab uprisings, the changing political
realities in the region have significantly
favored Hamas to amplify its overall
political power. As a result, the uprisings
have a significant impact also on Palestinian
political power and thus fundamentally alter
the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen