Neoliberalism and the Contradictions of the Palestinian Authority’s State-building Programme

This chapter inspects the Palestinian Authority’s neoliberal approach to state building as a tactic to win international recognition for a state. Although people tend to conflate this with the premiership of Salam Fayyad, the PA’s outlook has been neoliberal from the beginning. In an attempt to prove worthiness of having aa state, the PA believed that it needed to create strong institutions and make the PA an efficient government. This was all done while avoiding any political question or dealing with the occupation. The authors argue that such a policy is destined to fail and how it cannot replace the political struggle for liberation.