Governing Gaza

Bureaucracy, Authority, and the Work of Rule, 1917–1967

Nonfiction, History, Middle East, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Governing Gaza by Ilana Feldman, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ilana Feldman ISBN: 9780822389132
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: July 1, 2008
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Ilana Feldman
ISBN: 9780822389132
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: July 1, 2008
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Marred by political tumult and violent conflict since the early twentieth century, Gaza has been subject to a multiplicity of rulers. Still not part of a sovereign state, it would seem too exceptional to be a revealing site for a study of government. Ilana Feldman proves otherwise. She demonstrates that a focus on the Gaza Strip uncovers a great deal about how government actually works, not only in that small geographical space but more generally. Gaza’s experience shows how important bureaucracy is for the survival of government. Feldman analyzes civil service in Gaza under the British Mandate (1917–48) and the Egyptian Administration (1948–67). In the process, she sheds light on how governing authority is produced and reproduced; how government persists, even under conditions that seem untenable; and how government affects and is affected by the people and places it governs.

Drawing on archival research in Gaza, Cairo, Jerusalem, and London, as well as two years of ethnographic research with retired civil servants in Gaza, Feldman identifies two distinct, and in some ways contradictory, governing practices. She illuminates mechanisms of “reiterative authority” derived from the minutiae of daily bureaucratic practice, such as the repetitions of filing procedures, the accumulation of documents, and the habits of civil servants. Looking at the provision of services, she highlights the practice of “tactical government,” a deliberately restricted mode of rule that makes limited claims about governmental capacity, shifting in response to crisis and operating without long-term planning. This practice made it possible for government to proceed without claiming legitimacy: by holding the question of legitimacy in abeyance. Feldman shows that Gaza’s governments were able to manage under, though not to control, the difficult conditions in Gaza by deploying both the regularity of everyday bureaucracy and the exceptionality of tactical practice.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Marred by political tumult and violent conflict since the early twentieth century, Gaza has been subject to a multiplicity of rulers. Still not part of a sovereign state, it would seem too exceptional to be a revealing site for a study of government. Ilana Feldman proves otherwise. She demonstrates that a focus on the Gaza Strip uncovers a great deal about how government actually works, not only in that small geographical space but more generally. Gaza’s experience shows how important bureaucracy is for the survival of government. Feldman analyzes civil service in Gaza under the British Mandate (1917–48) and the Egyptian Administration (1948–67). In the process, she sheds light on how governing authority is produced and reproduced; how government persists, even under conditions that seem untenable; and how government affects and is affected by the people and places it governs.

Drawing on archival research in Gaza, Cairo, Jerusalem, and London, as well as two years of ethnographic research with retired civil servants in Gaza, Feldman identifies two distinct, and in some ways contradictory, governing practices. She illuminates mechanisms of “reiterative authority” derived from the minutiae of daily bureaucratic practice, such as the repetitions of filing procedures, the accumulation of documents, and the habits of civil servants. Looking at the provision of services, she highlights the practice of “tactical government,” a deliberately restricted mode of rule that makes limited claims about governmental capacity, shifting in response to crisis and operating without long-term planning. This practice made it possible for government to proceed without claiming legitimacy: by holding the question of legitimacy in abeyance. Feldman shows that Gaza’s governments were able to manage under, though not to control, the difficult conditions in Gaza by deploying both the regularity of everyday bureaucracy and the exceptionality of tactical practice.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book The Color of Liberty by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book This Land Is Ours Now by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book The Errant Art of Moby-Dick by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book The Moral Austerity of Environmental Decision Making by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Kurosawa by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Interior States by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Accounting for Violence by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Outlawed by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book The Chiapas Rebellion by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book So Much Wasted by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Abject Performances by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Sex in Development by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Changing Sex by Ilana Feldman
Cover of the book Brothers and Strangers by Ilana Feldman
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy