11. The Oslo Accords and Palestine’s Political Economy in the Shadow of Regional Turmoil

Abstract

Given the preponderant weight of the question of Palestine to Middle East politics, it is striking how little substantive discussion there has been around issues of its political economy. In stark contrast to other parts of the region—where sharp analyses of capitalist development and the strategies adopted by states and ruling elites are regularly dissected and debated—Palestine remains largely viewed as a ‘humanitarian issue.’ Much solidarity work (both in the Arab world and further afield) typically emphasizes the violation of Palestinian rights and the enormous suffering this entails, rather than Palestine’s connection to the wider region and its articulation with forms of imperialist power. Placed in a category of its own, Palestine has become an exception that somehow defies the analytical tools used to unpack and comprehend neighboring states. In this chapter I aim to present a counter-narrative to this exceptionalism by examining some aspects of the political economy of Palestine, particularly through the period that has followed the 1993 Oslo Accords. Officially known as the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, the Oslo Accords were signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government on 13 September 1993.