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Making Transnational Politics during a Global Pandemic: Palestinian Youth Activism at the Time of Covid-19
Abstract
This paper analyses the strategies of mobilisation of Palestinian transnational youth activism, focusing particularly on the new ways of engaging, cooperating and mobilizing across borders at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past decades Palestinian youth have been reorganizing and mobilizing transnationally in order to overcome the political crisis and paralysis that characterized their national movement. New generations in Diaspora have attempted to reconnect across borders in an effort to re-elaborate new political visions and strategies able reunite a society geographically and politically dispersed. Benefitting from the facilitated mobility that the globalization process brought about in the past decades, youth were able to recreate transnational networks that allowed them to articulate common transnational strategies of mobilization in an attempt to recentralize the role of the Diaspora in national politics. The spark of the COVID-19 pandemic imposed a new change. Travel restrictions severely restricted youth mobility and the possibility to directly engage with Palestinian communities across the world. However, new forms of communication and political engagement emerged, relying heavily on the use of social media and online platforms. How has this change in communication and activism impacted on the elaboration of strategies of mobilization among Palestinian youth in the Diaspora? How have the changes in transnational communication impacted on the way Palestinian youth understand their political commitment in host countries? While travels were limited, virtual platforms are providing new spaces of exchange, facilitating and easing the encounter among youth dispersed across the world. These virtual spaces are becoming the prominent stage for understanding and planning political actions. How will this transformation shape future political engagement of transnational Palestinian youth and their ability to contribute to national politics? This paper aims at analysing transnational Palestinian youth politics during the COVID-19 era in order to understand how the pandemic has impacted on youth activism and the impact these changes might have on the understanding and elaboration of future political engagement.
Discipline
Other
Geographic Area
Palestine
Sub Area
None