Engaging the World: The Making of Hamas's Foreign Policy

Description

The Making of Hamas’s Foreign Policy is the first comprehensive account of how the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, conducts its international relations, its attempts to develop a coherent and dynamic foreign policy, and its leveraging of this foreign policy to strengthen its global legitimacy and credibility. Having grown out of the refugee camps in Gaza, and relying mostly on its support within Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora, the movement was thrust onto the global stage by a series of events imposed on it. Its victory in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election, its subsequent demonisation and the imposition of an Israeli and Egyptian siege on Gaza convinced it of the need for a visible and coordinated international outreach. This book evaluates the principles which guided the movement’s foreign relations, examines their evolution, their successes and failures, and the overall impact of the group’s foreign policy on the Palestinian national movement. Much has been written about Hamas’s historical origins, its ideology, and some of its leaders. This book fills a void in that literature regarding the movement’s international relations. It is a useful text for academics, policymakers, as well as casual readers interested in the Palestinian struggle and the balance of power between Palestinians and Israel. “It was with great interest that I went through the well-researched work of Dr Daud Abdullah, which illuminates an essential aspect of Hamas’s evolution, namely its international dimension.” - Prof Celso Amorim, Former Foreign Minister of Brazil “Daud Abdullah is sympathetic to Hamas and their Muslim Brotherhood origins and therefore his account is sympathetic but not uncritical. This is a valuable and readable book and I recommend it warmly.” - Clare Short, Former Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom