Public Opinion and Political Response in Palestine: Leadership, Campaigns and Elections since Arafat

Hamas’s resounding electoral victory in the 2006 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council came as a shock to many, especially with official polls predicting a Fatah victory. The elections were the first time in which both Fatah and Hamas fielded candidates, but the results were surprising to say the least.

Many have questioned the startling results of the elections, however little has been done to tackle the shift in public perception in academia. Erika Schwarze’s book pays close attention to this little covered area in academia and provides an in depth comparative analysis of the role of responsiveness to public opinion in contributing to and perpetuating leadership crises. In tackling this gap, the relationship between responsiveness and the leadership crisis is closely studied, as are the factors involved.

Whilst the necessary introduction is technical, the book is clearly methodical and with clearly defined parameters, moves on to a detailed comparison of the two election campaigns. A close look at both electoral campaigns run by Fatah and Hamas is taken in the opening chapters in what can only be described as a riveting read. Despite the necessary technicality of the text, the chapters are both informed and engaging.

Whilst Fatah neglected to organise its campaign, it also failed to cater for those who are neither Fatah nor Hamas supporters, and so was unable to combat the main concerns being faced by the public which fell roughly in three main internal categories: security, reform and development.

In this regard, Hamas shows a heightened awareness, targeting demographics overlooked such as the female voter and, in reaching out to the ordinary citizens and tackling their concerns, they clearly tackled the pivotal issues affecting the electorate. Public perception however is not limited in this case to only the main demands of the people, but also in the perception of their public figures and in attitudes taken. Hamas’s bottom up approach is seen when allowing the people to choose their own representatives as opposed to Fatah’s top down approach where candidates were placed depending on internal politics and decisions made from the top. In this, Schwarze brings the book in unchartered waters, paying heed to Hamas’s attention to detail and tackling public opinion with much insight.

With knowledge and experience of the region, Public Opinion and Political Response in Palestine is a work of great quality and is able to not only understand the subtleties of Palestinian politics, but is also able to offer a brilliant and informative analysis of why Fatah lost and how Hamas won, and how consequently leadership responsiveness changed post 2006.