Orchestrating Palestinian youth political socialization during the British Mandate (1917-1948): policies and community responses

Abstract

ABSTRACT Arab Palestinian youth and children’s political socialization during the British Mandate (1922–1948) has largely been ignored in the literature. Most of the research has focused on the colonial project in Palestine and how different figureheads influenced the discourse. Indeed, this does not mean there isn’t a framework in place to understand youth and children’s political engagement. This study will focus on how social-political elements conceptualized the formation of Arab Palestinian youth’s political socialization. The Mandate period provided distinct social-political actors elements that were articulated within demographic control, semi-education, and economic deprivation. Arab Palestinian children and youth’s political socialization was shaped within the context of these interweaving social-political aspects. These elements altered the Arab Palestinian community’s livelihood and by extension youth and children’s political engagement. Each one of these aspects was centred within the Zionist ideology and administrated by the British Mandates’ colonial policies. This research deconstructs the juxtaposition of each element in relation to children’s political socialization.