The Power of 'Shock and Awe': The Palestinian Authority and the Road to Reform

Abstract

This article charts the development of the Palestinian Authority from its creation as an interim authority under the Oslo Accords towards becoming a failed (quasi-)state. By 2009 ¿ 15 years after its inception and ten years after the proposed final status negotiations ¿ the PA was split between a criminalized isolated entity in Gaza under the control of Hamas and an internationally recognized ¿caretaker government¿ in the West Bank under the control of Fatah and donor-supported technocrats. The role of violence ¿ i.e. the power of ¿shock and awe¿ ¿ in the creation of this failed (quasi-)state is emphasized: Israel's 2002 military campaign, Operation Defensive Shield, the sanctions and blockade imposed after the election of Hamas in January 2006, and the violence on the Palestinian street which split the PA in two. The article concludes by arguing that the PA failed (quasi-)state is presiding over the demise of the Palestinian dream of a viable state comprising both the West Bank and Gaza.