This thesis offers a theoretical perspective on power dynamics in Palestine that stresses the procedural and relational aspects of power and combines it with profound empirical examinations. The chosen research perspective takes a comprehensive view on how order is constituted in Palestine by contextualizing it within a world-societal framework. The thesis will point out that the underlying power dynamics cannot be properly comprehended by existing approaches. As will become evident, power is understood here in a Foucauldian sense and therefore not primarily seen as being located within institutions. Rather power is seen as dispersed power that is pervasive in potentially every social relation. As a result, this book aims at making visible specific instances of this kind of relational power. Accordingly, the thesis relies on poststructuralist governmentality theory and combines it with elements from world society theorization of the Stanford School’s sociological neo-institutionalism. On this basis, the book argues that conceptualizing governmentality as a theory of modern societal and political order(ing) and structurally embedding it in a world societal horizon is most suitable in order to comprehend the complexity and intricacies of power dynamics in Palestine. In particular, the thesis will address the importance of statistical knowledge for governing the Palestinian population, the responsibilizing and legitimizing effects of the global good governance discourse on Palestine, and the contribution of the individual to Palestinian political order by means of self-technological quotidian practices.
«This thesis offers a theoretical perspective on power dynamics in Palestine that stresses the procedural and relational aspects of power and combines it with profound empirical examinations. The chosen research perspective takes a comprehensive view on how order is constituted in Palestine by contextualizing it within a world-societal framework. The thesis will point out that the underlying power dynamics cannot be properly comprehended by existing approaches. As will become evident, power is un...
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