Hamas and the Arab Spring

Frode Løvlie and Dr. Are Knudsen have recently edited a special section in Middle East Policy titled "Hamas and the Arab Spring".

Their introduction is now available for free at the journal website.

Links to pdfs of all articles for subscribers to Wiley online.

The contributions in the special section examine how the Arab Spring has affected Hamas on the regional, national, and internal levels.

Regionally, the main topics under investigation are the consequences of Hamas’s exit from Damascus, and how the rise of Islamist movements throughout the region has affected the movement’s calculations and behavior.

These developments in turn have had consequences on the national level, where the most important issue currently facing Hamas is how the movement should approach the stalled reconciliation process with Fatah.

The Arab Spring has also affected the internal dynamics in Hamas, exposing differences of opinion in the top echelons of the movement on important strategic questions.

The special section is based on a workshop organized jointly by the Chr. Michelsen Institute and the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy (Muwatin) in  Bergen, Norway, September 7, 2012, funded by the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 197027).