[Final slot] The Political Economy of Hamas Course
Registration for the Political Economy of Hamas course is almost done.
Dear MENA Unleashed readers,
Registration for the Political Economy of Hamas course is almost done [syllabus and some suggested readings below]. The course will be 15 hours and spans over 10 sessions. The anticipated start date will likely be in July on times agreed with the participants beforehand. Sessions will be recorded and made available for a short time after to give everyone flexibility.
The course fee is £200 per participant.
If you are interested in the course, please send a CV and a short cover letter explaining why you would like to take it and what you can potentially contribute to the discussion (50-200 words).
For applications and inquiries, please email MENAUnleashed@proton.me
We are happy to offer you this first-of-a-kind experience and hope it will help you better understand a controversial yet important regional actor.
Thank you for your interest.
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Course Syllabus
Description
After the success of Hamas on the 7th Oct, global attention has been drawn to the group. Those who oppose the group and those who support it lack a thorough understanding of how Hamas was able to get to the 7th October seemingly suddenly. This course aims to enable the participants to learn about the origins of Hamas, how it rose to power and why, and what made it capable of playing such a critical role in Palestinian political life including its decision to conduct the 7th Oct attack. The course aims to help Hamas foes understand why it is difficult to defeat it and Hamas friends appreciate how to interact with it moving forward. The course will highlight how crucial Hamas' role will be in Palestine’s future and that discussions around ending it are prompted by wishful thinking and unrealistic expectations.
The course material will rely on news and academic articles, books, and video clips carefully collected and selected through 15 years of researching the movement and engaging with it to offer nuanced views and insights usually not tackled with existing scholarship and media reporting. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, it will not be possible to host actual Hamas leaders or members as guest speakers. However, in the future, as the situation evolves, this may become possible. More details will be shared as and when they become available. Other guest speakers such as academics and researchers might be available.
Learning outcomes
1. Gain a better understanding of the socioeconomic origins of Hamas.
2. Become familiar with the history of Hamas and the different evolutionary stages it went through until the 7th.
3. Familiarise yourself with Hamas’ economic and financial architecture and the military power it supports.
4. Appreciate the regional, international, and global interactions of Hamas.
5. Get equipped with the necessary knowledge to Predict Hamas’ future trajectory.
Course structure
The course will be composed of 10 sessions. Each session will be 1.5 hours. The first part of the session will be a presentation by the instructor and the remainder will be open for discussion. Videos or small documentary clips may also be shared during that time.
Core topics
- The socioeconomic origins of Hamas/history of Hamas and the first intifada (1970s-1980s).
- Between socialism and capitalism: Hamas and the Oslo Accords (1990s).
- Hamas, war on terror, and the political economy of the second intifada (2000-2006)
- Governing as resistance: The democratisation of Hamas (2006-2014)
- The regionalisation of Hamas: From the Axis of Resistance to the Axis of Jerusalem (2014 - 2021)
- Dismantling Israel: the 7th of October
- Hamas gone global (2023 and beyond)
Selected topics
- The building of the Hamas military
- The resistance economy: Banking on Hamas + Crypto and Hamas
- Hamas and BRICS: the geoeconomics of the Abraham Accords
Sample course material
1- The socioeconomic origins of Hamas/history of Hamas and the first intifada (1970s-1980s)
Abu-Amr, Z. (1993). Hamas: A Historical and Political Background. Journal of Palestine Studies, 22(4), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.2307/2538077
2- Hamas and the Oslo Accords
Kristianasen, W. (1999). Challenge and Counterchallenge: Hamas’s Response to Oslo. Journal of Palestine Studies, 28(3), https://doi.org/10.2307/2538305
3- The political economy of the second intifada
Hanieh, A. (2002). Class, Economy, and the Second Intifada. Monthly Review, 54(5), 29. https://monthlyreview.org/2002/10/01/class-economy-and-the-second-intifada/
Ajluni, S. (2003). The Palestinian economy and the second Intifada. Journal of Palestine Studies, 32(3), 64-73. https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2003.32.3.64
Borzykowski, D. (2010). The political economy of the second Palestinian intifada through the lens of dependency theory and world systems analysis (Master's thesis). https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/handle/1993/3969/Borzykowski%20the%20political%20economy%20of%20the%20second%20Palestinian%20intifada%20.pdf;sequence=1
4- Governing as resistance:
Sayigh, Y. (2010). Hamas rule in Gaza: three years on. Middle East Brief, 41(3), 1-9. https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/middle-east-briefs/pdfs/1-100/meb41.pdf
Pelham, N. (2012). Gaza's tunnel phenomenon: The unintended dynamics of Israel's siege. Journal of Palestine Studies, 41(4), 6-31. https://www.academia.edu/download/30938468/Journal_Palestine_Studies.Final.JPS4104_02_Pelham.pdf
Alqarout, A. (2015) How did it survive the Siege? The Political Economy of Hamas Government between 2007 and 2012
5- The regionalisation of Hamas
Malaysia Can’t Rule Out Millions in Donations Going to Hamas (2023): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-11/malaysia-can-t-rule-out-if-millions-in-donations-went-to-hamas?embedded-checkout=true
The Malaysia-Hamas Connection (2018): https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/34011
US ‘profoundly’ worried over Turkey’s financial links to Hamas (2023)
https://www.ft.com/content/d2483bf8-fce6-4bf6-b5db-7e30f1d922ce
6- Dismantling Israel: the 7th of October: TBC
7- Hamas gone global: 2023 and beyond: TBC
8- The building of the Hamas military
Resistance missiles in Gaza: the Palestinian Weapon of Deterrence (2015)
9- The resistance economy: Banking on Hamas
Hamas opens the “Production Bank” in Gaza despite warnings from the Palestine Monetary Authority (2013):
Slaughter from vein to vein: the financial power of the Palestinian Authority and the plight of the people of Gaza (2018):
Israel bombs the "Al-Multazam" company to target the economic structure of Hamas (2019)
Terrorist Financing: Hamas and Cryptocurrency Fundraising. CRS. (2023)
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12537
10- Hamas and BRICS: the geoeconomics of the Abraham Accords
A Hebrew newspaper reveals: This is what Israel asked of Putin regarding smuggling weapons to Palestinian factions (2022)
On Hamas, what did Qatar know and when did it know it? (2024)
https://www.politico.eu/article/west-search-truth-qatar-israel-hamas-war/