The Invention of Palestinian Citizenship, 1918-1947

In the two decades after the First World War, nationality and citizenship in Palestine became less like abstract concepts for the Arab population and more like meaningful statuses integrated into political, social and civil life and as markers of civic identity in a changing society. This book situates the evolution of citizenship at the centre of state formation under the quasi-colonial mandate administration in Palestine.

It emphasises the ways in which British officials crafted citizenship to be separate from nationality based on prior colonial legislation elsewhere, a view of the territory as divided communally, and the need to offer Jewish immigrants the easiest path to acquisition of Palestinian citizenship in order to uphold the mandate's policy. In parallel, the book examines the reactions of the Arab population to their new status. It argues that the Arabs relied heavily on their pre-war experience as nationals of the Ottoman Empire to negotiate the definitions and meanings of mandate citizenship.


Author: Lauren Banko
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 02/22/2018
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781474432146
ISBN10: 147443214X
BISAC Categories:
- History | Modern | 20th Century | General
- Political Science | Political Ideologies | Nationalism & Patriotism
- Religion | Islam | History

About the Author

Lauren Banko is a Research Associate in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Manchester.