Delivering Aid Without Government: International Aid And Civil Society Engagement In The Recovery And Reconstruction Of The Gaza Strip (the Anthropocene: Politik?economics?society?science)

In a fragile and conflict-ridden context such as the Gaza Strip, where the de facto Hamas government faces isolation and lacks international recognition, the provision of aid and development schemes challenges donors and CSOs delivering services to Palestinians. This volume examines how international donors influenced the reconstruction and recovery policy agenda as well as its implementation. Moreover, as a result of the no-contact policy, recovery and reconstruction schemes were delivered with limited involvement from the de facto Hamas government, raising questions about the efficacy of the “governance without government” concept. This book examines the dynamics and the impact of international donors’ financing of Civil Society Organizations that were involved in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. It expands on the existing analysis of transnational aid actors’ influence found in the public policy literature while contributing to our understanding of the concrete, and more specific, impact of international donors’ financing on the livelihoods of the Palestinian people. Foreword 7 Acknowledgements 10 Contents 11 Abbreviations 14 1 CSOs and Social Service Provision 16 1.1 The 2008 Israeli War on Gaza 18 1.2 Objective, Analytical Framework and Scope of the Book 19 1.3 Research Findings 23 References 25 2 Relevant Political Developments in Palestine and Governance Under Hamas 26 2.1 The Situation on the Ground Before and After Oslo 26 2.1.1 The Palestinian Economy Before Oslo 26 2.1.2 The Palestinian Economy Post Oslo 28 2.1.3 Hamas’ Electoral Victory: The 2006 Palestinian Parliamentary Elections 30 2.1.4 Public Administration Under Hamas 32 2.1.5 The Economy of Gaza Under Hamas 33 2.2 Islamization and the Agenda of the de Facto Hamas Government 34 2.2.1 Developments in the Legal System 34 2.2.2 Developments in the Education Sector 35 2.3 The Gaza War: Massacre and Operation Cast Lead 35 2.4 Conclusion 36 References 37 3 International Aid, Civil Society Engagement, and the State Building Project in the Fragile Context of Palestine 38 3.1 Good Governance in the Global Context 38 3.2 Governance and State Building in Fragile Countries: Challenges and Constraints 39 3.3 A History of Foreign Aid 40 3.4 Foreign Aid in the Context of Palestine 42 3.5 CSOs and the Policy Making Agenda 44 3.6 CSOs in Fragile/Failed States 46 3.7 CSOs and the New Nation Building Paradigm 48 3.8 Delivering Support to CSOs in Fragile Contexts 49 3.9 The Evolution of CSOs in Palestine 51 3.9.1 CSOs and Activism Against Occupation in Palestine 51 3.9.2 CSOs and the Transformation Agenda 53 3.10 Islamic/Hamas Affiliated CSOs post-Oslo 55 3.10.1 The Collapse of the Peace Talks and the Expansion Role of CSOs 57 3.11 Early Recovery: Overview of the Concept 58 3.11.1 Working Under the “No-Contact Policy” in Gaza 59 References 60 4 International Donors and Local CSOs in Gaza: 2007–2013 62 4.1 The Transnational Actor Influence Model and the Neoliberal Agenda in the OPTs 62 4.2 International Aid: Assessing Aid Effectiveness 67 4.2.1 Governance Without Government: New Modes of Governance 69 4.2.2 Governance Without Government: New Public Management 71 4.3 Limitations of New Modes of Governance 72 4.4 Methodology and Research Design 73 4.4.1 Documents Review 74 4.4.2 Focus Groups 74 4.4.3 In-Depth Interviews 76 4.4.4 Assessing Validity 77 4.4.5 Ethical Consideration 78 4.4.6 Data Analysis 78 References 79 5 The Hamas Government Involvement in Early Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes Under the No-contact Policy 80 5.1 Government Preparedness to Plan and Launch Early Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes 81 5.2 The No-contact Policy in Practice 84 5.3 Abiding with the No-contact Policy: Differences Among International Donors 86 5.4 Outreach to Donors and Fundraising Strategies 88 5.5 Impact of the No-contact Policy 90 5.6 De facto Government Working Relationship with CSOs 91 5.7 Impacts of Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes on Addressing Local Priorities 93 References 95 6 CSOs Engagement with International Donors and the Hamas Government to Plan and Implement Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes 96 6.1 CSOs’ Preparedness to Engage in Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes 96 6.2 The No-contact Policy and Its Impacts on CSOs’ Relationship with the de facto Government 98 6.3 CSOs-Donor Work Relationship: Participatory Planning and Agreement on Addressing Recovery Priorities 102 6.4 Western Versus Arab/Muslim Donors’ Funding Strategies: Conditionality and Management Styles 104 6.5 Impacts of Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes 106 Reference 109 7 International Donors’ Approaches to Respond to Early Recovery and Reconstruction Needs Under the No-contact Policy 110 7.1 International Donors’ Positioning and Nature of Engagement in Post 2008 Early Recovery Schemes 110 7.2 The No-contact Policy and Its Impacts on Cooperation with the de facto Government and CSOs 113 7.2.1 Donors-CSOs Work Relationship: Funding Conditionality 117 7.2.2 Donors-CSOs Work Relationship: Building Capacities 119 7.2.3 Donors-CSOs Work Relationship: Obstacles to Recovery 120 7.3 Impacts of Donors’ Reconstruction and Recovery Schemes 122 7.4 Conclusion 125 References 127 8 Summary and Discussion 128 8.1 Analytical Implications: The TAI Framework and International Donors’ Influence in the Gaza Strip 135 8.2 Policy Recommendations 139 8.3 Limitations and Future Research 142 References 143 Bibliography 144 About the Author 148 Index 149 Front Matter....Pages i-xviii CSOs and Social Service Provision....Pages 1-10 Relevant Political Developments in Palestine and Governance Under Hamas....Pages 11-22 International Aid, Civil Society Engagement, and the State Building Project in the Fragile Context of Palestine....Pages 23-46 International Donors and Local CSOs in Gaza: 2007–2013....Pages 47-64 The Hamas Government Involvement in Early Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes Under the No-contact Policy....Pages 65-80 CSOs Engagement with International Donors and the Hamas Government to Plan and Implement Recovery and Reconstruction Schemes....Pages 81-94 International Donors’ Approaches to Respond to Early Recovery and Reconstruction Needs Under the No-contact Policy....Pages 95-112 Summary and Discussion....Pages 113-128 Back Matter....Pages 129-136