The Invention of Palestinian Citizenship, 1918-1947 (Hardcover)
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Description
In the two decades after the First World War, nationality and citizenship in Palestine became less like abstract concepts for the Arab population and more like meaningful statuses integrated into political, social and civil life and as markers of civic identity in a changing society. This book situates the evolution of citizenship at the centre of state formation under the quasi-colonial mandate administration in Palestine. It emphasises the ways in which British officials crafted citizenship to be separate from nationality based on prior colonial legislation elsewhere, a view of the territory as divided communally, and the need to offer Jewish immigrants the easiest path to acquisition of Palestinian citizenship in order to uphold the mandate's policy. In parallel, the book examines the reactions of the Arab population to their new status. It argues that the Arabs relied heavily on their pre-war experience as nationals of the Ottoman Empire to negotiate the definitions and meanings of mandate citizenship.
About the Author
Lauren Banko is a Research Associate in Israel-Palestine Studies within the Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies department at the University of Manchester. She received her PhD in History in 2014 from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and her MA in History from the University of Louisville. She has previously taught at SOAS and Royal Holloway, University of London.