Social Barriers to Peace: Socialisation Processes in the Radicalisation of the Palestinian Struggle

Abstract

Contemporary analysis of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians tends to focus upon Islamic terrorism and Israeli state aggression. Representations and analysis are dominated by media images of terrorist/freedom fighters atrocities and military incursions. Explanations have concentrated upon ‘tit-for-tat’ killings and, in the case of Islamic terrorists/freedom fighters, their actions are seen as acts of desperation against a backdrop of materialist exclusion. These accounts often inform about current events but do not develop broad levels of understanding and explanation that are required if the reasons for the contemporary nature of radicalism within the conflict are to be established. This paper aims to address why violence is increasing today when many of the issues facing Palestinians have been experienced for generations. It is argued that while material problems are central to understanding the long-term conflict, social experiences and interactions are also crucial to understanding the contemporary situation. Consequently attention within this paper is placed upon changes in socialisation processes and discursive consciousness that have become instrumental in the radicalisation of many Palestinians and as such are barriers to peace.

Keywords

Discursive Consciousness Islam Nationalism Radicalisation Socialisation

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