Party Identification and Political Attitudes in an Emerging Democracy: A Summary

Abstract

Most of what we know about party identification and political behavior comes from looking at studies conducted in advanced democracies which are characterized by urbanization, high industrialization, market economies, and long experiences with democracy and elections. Unlike traditional studies, the purpose of this paper is to test the impact of party identification on political attitudes in the new emerging democracy in the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian society is mainly an agrarian one where modern industry does not exist. The Palestinians also do not have a long experience with democracy and elections. Using individual level data from the Center for Palestine Research and Studies (CPRS), September 1995, the results suggest that party identification is the strongest and most consistent predictor of Palestinian political attitudes toward the continuation of peace negotiations and the use of violence against Israeli civilians. Other important variables include age, education, and other less significant variables. The controversy over the peace negotiations between the PLO and Israel has intensified in the past three years. The signing of the Oslo Accords has led to many divisions among the Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank and Gaza. Before the Oslo stage, Palestinians appeared to be more united, and to some extent, they pursued unified goals with respect to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. There existed differences in tactics and goals between supporters of the PLO and the Islamic groups, but their similarities outweighed their differences. The agreement, however, widened existing differences and led to major divisions even within the PLO. This paper focuses on the influences of party affiliation in determining Palestinian political attitudes toward the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and the use of armed attacks against Israel. Two years after the signing of the Oslo Agreement, and more than one year after the establishment of the Palestine National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank and Gaza, Pales-