Butenschøn, Nils A. --- "Israeli ethnocracy and the Israel-Palestine citizenship complex" [2018] ELECD 413; in Butenschøn, A. Nils; Meijer, Roel (eds), "The Middle East in Transition" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 27

Book Title: The Middle East in Transition

Editor(s): Butenschøn, A. Nils; Meijer, Roel

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781788111126

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Israeli ethnocracy and the Israel-Palestine citizenship complex

Author(s): Butenschøn, Nils A.

Number of pages: 22

Abstract/Description:

Presenting main academic discourses on Israel as an ‘ethnic’ state, ‘democratic’ state, and ‘Jewish’ state, Nils Butenschøn maintains that whereas the legal and institutional fabric of the State of Israel is ethnocratic in distribution of rights and resources, the state itself, just like Palestine, is still a state in the making, an unfinished state. He argues that the citizenship approach is sufficiently open in its theoretical orientation and precise enough as an analytical tool to capture the complexities of Israel as a state formation, and yet identify the distinct challenges this state poses in its relations with the various demographic groups that have claims to the territories under its current rule or control. The nature of these challenges can only be fully comprehended with a view to the extent, content, and depth of citizenship as premised by Zionism, the state ideology, and the historic conditions of the unfolding Palestine conflict.