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Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation

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Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2015 Becoming a State: Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation Martin S. Widzer University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the International Relations Commons, and the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons Recommended Citation Widzer, Martin S., "Becoming a State: Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1055. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1055 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Becoming a State: Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation __________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Martin S. Widzer August 2015 Advisor: Dr. Karen Feste © Copyright by Martin S. Widzer 2015 All Rights Reserved Author: Martin S. Widzer Title: Becoming a State: Zionist and Palestinian Movements for National Liberation Advisor: Dr. Karen A. Feste Degree Date: August 2015 Abstract This study examines the road to statehood for the Zionist and Palestinian movements. There are three components which frame this investigation: 1. social movements and the practices in which they engage that are aimed at establishing statehood for a people; 2. distinctive configurations of the international system and the manner in which both the material and ideational foundations of that system pulls units towards conformity and predictable behavior; and finally, 3. the role of agency, that is, the way in which instrumentally rational individuals attempt to push the structure in which they are embedded towards a configuration that is better suited to their interests and objectives The most influential factor guiding these struggles for national liberation are those forces which emanate from the prevailing structure of the international system. Not only was it demonstrated that the established material and ideational preferences of existing states have strong bearing on a movement’s ideological orientation and by consequence its chosen course of struggle, but hegemonic order configurations also define political cleavages and in so doing present movement leaders with both tactical and strategic opportunities by harnessing or exploiting those cleavages. From the agency perspective, the cases showed that the leadership of each movement was highly influential in the determination of a movement’s success or failure. ii Table of Contents CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 RESEARCH PUZZLE ...................................................................................................................................... 1 NATIONAL LIBERATION ............................................................................................................................... 3 RESEARCH ORIENTATION AND STUDY STRUCTURE ..................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER II: PERSPECTIVES ON STRUGGLES FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION .................... 14 QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 14 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 15 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................. 37 CHAPTER III: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY ..................................... 43 FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................................. 43 METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................................... 50 HYPOTHESES ............................................................................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER IV: THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION ............................. 60 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 60 MOVEMENT EMERGENCE AND RECOGNITION ........................................................................................... 60 DE FACTO RECOGNITION .......................................................................................................................... 76 DE JURE AFFIRMATION ........................................................................................................................... 104 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER V: THE PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION .................. 117 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 117 MOVEMENT EMERGENCE AND RECOGNITION ......................................................................................... 118 DE FACTO RECOGNITION ........................................................................................................................ 146 DE JURE AFFIRMATION ........................................................................................................................... 165 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 171 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 173 THE PUZZLE ............................................................................................................................................ 173 THE CONTRIBUTION ................................................................................................................................ 184 LIMITS TO RESEARCH .............................................................................................................................. 185 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 190 iii Table of Figures FIGURE 3.1 – COMPOSITION OF INTERNATIONAL SYSTEMS (HEGEMOINC ORDERS)………..46 FIGURE 3.2 – SYSTEM ORIGINS OF MOVEMENT PERSONALITY AND ACTIVITIES…………....49 FIGURE 4.1 – UN PARTITION PLAN……………………………………………………….....................77 FIGURE 4.2 – HUSSIEN - MCMAHON LETTERS………………………………………….……...........79 FIGURE 4.3 – THE SYKES - PICOT AGREEMENT………………………………….………….……....80 FIGURE 4.4 – ZIONIST VISION……….……………………………….……………….………..….....…80 FIGURE 4.5 – POST WAR BORDER…………………………………………………….………………111 FIGURE 5.1 – STRUCTURE OF PALESTINIAN STRUGGLE…………………………..……………..120 FIGURE 5.2 – SUMMARY OF DECLARED VIOLATIONS………………………….….…………......151 iv Chapter I: Introduction Research Puzzle Since the destruction of ancient Jerusalem by Roman legions in 70 CE, Jews the world over had maintained the dream of one day returning to their ancestral homeland. Yet, despite being relegated to the status of second-class citizen in the countries where they sought refuge, and in spite of repeated episodes of often violent persecution, over the centuries no serious effort towards the fulfillment of this dream was ever undertaken. It is therefore interesting that when in the nineteenth century several geographically, linguistically, and temporally disconnected ideologues proposed the active pursuit of such an endeavor, that these appeals obtained the level of critical mass within the Jewish communities of Europe. All the more intriguing is that what began in 1882 with an impetuous journey by fourteen impassioned university students intent on establishing an agricultural community in Palestine, soon transpired into a full-fledged movement for national liberation. This movement would go on to fulfill that millennia-old dream with the establishment of the State of Israel sixty-six years later; declaring independence on May 15, 1948. What was the realization of a dream for world Jewry, however, quickly transpired into a nightmare for the Arab inhabitants of Palestinian. Shocked by the rapid influx of 1 Jewish immigrants and the corresponding transformation of that land into a burgeoning Jewish community, the call for establishing an independent Arab state in Palestine was all but assured. Towards this end, Palestinians have enjoyed a great deal of material and ideational support from regional allies as well as global powers. In addition, they have benefited significantly from an outpouring of public sympathy, both at home and abroad. It is therefore perplexing that in the course of some 100 years of struggle the Palestinian people have not been able to seize their
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