The battle over sovereignty: Stamps, post, and the creation of a new Palestinian socio-political order, 1994–2000

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the visual analysis of stamps that were printed, distributed, and used in the Palestinian Authority during the period of 1994–2000. The stamp is an important source for historians and scholars of nationalism. The use of icons, images, and ideas that were designed to shape public opinion in the Palestinian Authority can shed light on political and social issues that were at the heart of the Palestinian society during this period. The article will also discuss the broader implications of the postal service, the status of its sovereignty, and the significance that status represents in a national context. Postage stamps intended for interior and international use play an important role in shaping collective memory. In the case of the Palestinians, where a people had to maintain and build a memory without having self-determination and found itself fragmented between competing factions, stamps and the visual aspects of their graphic design played an important role in shaping the national mind. The mail, in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, became an arena within the political struggle, not only a means of exchanging messages.