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Abstract
This paper investigates the production of neoliberal spatial enclaves in the Palestinian West Bank with a view to drawing out some emerging contradictions of social and political life under changing circumstances of occupation. I argue that Palestinian gated-entrepreneurialism must be understood within the wider strategic context of Israeli efforts to fragment and enclose territories within the Palestinian political-economic space. Donors have encouraged this gated entrepreneurialism as a developmental strategy. However, one consequence of this is that the fragmentation of Palestinian life is naturalized by a seemingly global economic logic. While the Palestinian example provides an extreme case, it is by no means exceptional. The analysis presented here serves to highlight similarities and convergences across neo-liberal projects in the MENA region.
Discipline
Geography
Geographic Area
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Sub Area
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