National Prospects and Regional Challenges for Internationalization of the Palestinian Higher Education

Author(s):  
Umut Koldas ◽  
Mustafa Çıraklı

Most of the challenges faced by the Palestinian higher education institutions (HEIs) towards internationalization stem from the problematic nature of bilateral relations of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) with Israel. Evaluating the geo-political, socio-economic, historical, and organizational barriers to internationalization of higher education in the WBGS, the chapter elaborates on the cumulative effects of the Israeli direct and indirect control over the WBGS on the development of universities, the impact of geo-political restraints of being a conflict zone, and logistical restrictions imposed on the movement of academics, visitors, and academic materials. Various domestic challenges including the political and ideological differences within the PA, the quality of national-level governance, and planning in higher education and financing are also highlighted throughout. Referring to the catalysts and obstacles, the chapter concludes with a reflection on the future challenges and prospects facing the Palestinian HEIs in a dynamic yet challenging context.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Reem Abuiyada ◽  
Ra’ed Abdulkarim

The paper examined the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations (PNGOs) from a historical perspective with focus on their roles, the challenges they faced, and their current status after the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1994.It also examined their driving motives, their contributions to the advancement and development of the Palestinian society, and the challenges they faced. The role of health in development is highlighted and an introduction to NGOs in general is offered, with emphasis on their characteristics in comparison to the public and private sectors after the establishment of the PNA in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBG).It is clear that PNGOs in general and health NGOs in particular played an instrumental role in providing much needed health services, but also in paving the road for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The paper showed that there are three main challenges that faced NGOs, namely, political challenges, financial challenges and the unclear role of the PNA. The first two challenges faced NGOs during the Israeli occupation and continue to do so after the establishment of the PNA. The third challenge became relevant only after the establishment of the PNA in parts of the WBG.


Hawwa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 139-165
Author(s):  
Lynn Welchman

AbstractIn 2005, against the background of increased internal as well as external violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Chief Islamic Justice of the Palestinian Authority made a public intervention against 'murder as revenge or in defence of honour'. This article considers the intervention in light of the jurisprudential, legislative and social arguments it invokes, and examines both commonalities and differences in the Qadi al-Qudah's discourse and the position taken by women's rights activists on this particular form of violence against women.


2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 119-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan B Krueger ◽  
Jitka Malečková

The paper investigates whether there is a connection between poverty or low education and terrorism. We review evidence on hate crimes, which are closely related to terrorism; the occurrence of hate crimes is largely independent of economic conditions. We analyze data on support for attacks against Israeli targets from public opinion polls conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; support for violent attacks does not decrease among those with higher education and higher living standards. The core contribution of the paper is a statistical analysis of the determinants of participation in Hezbollah militant activities; having a living standard above the poverty line or a secondary or higher education is positively associated with participation in Hezbollah. We also find that Israeli Jewish settlers who attacked Palestinians in the West Bank in the early 1980s were overwhelmingly from high-paying occupations. Although our results are tentative and exploratory, they suggest that neither poverty nor education has a direct, causal impact on terrorism.


Author(s):  
Avraham Sela

Israel’s theory and practice in the conflict with the Palestinians since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise reveals continued striving for secure and exclusive Jewish national territorial sovereignty over historic Palestine while disregarding Palestinians’ collective political rights and claims to the same territory. Nonetheless, changing regional and international constraints brought Israeli decision makers to shift their strategies in coping with the Palestinian political/military challenges to the country’s security and international legitimacy. This chapter analyzes Israel’s shifting policies toward the Palestinians, from long-term denial and military responses to negotiated agreements and tense coexistence with a self-governing Palestinian authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the 1993 Oslo accords. Since that period, however, the collapse of the Oslo process in the year 2000 and consequent Palestinian uprising, the increased role of religion in the conflict on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, Israel’s insistence on continuing its overall domination of the Palestinian territories, and the stalemated diplomatic process all underline the narrowing options for bringing this conflict to any peaceful end.


Author(s):  
Avraham Sela

Israel’s theory and practice in the conflict with the Palestinians since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise reveals continued striving for secure and exclusive Jewish national territorial sovereignty over historic Palestine while disregarding Palestinians’ collective political rights and claims to the same territory. Nonetheless, changing regional and international constraints brought Israeli decision makers to shift their strategies in coping with the Palestinian political/military challenges to the country’s security and international legitimacy. This chapter analyzes Israel’s shifting policies toward the Palestinians, from long-term denial and military responses to negotiated agreements and tense coexistence with a self-governing Palestinian authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the 1993 Oslo Accords. Since that period, however, the collapse of the Oslo process in the year 2000 and consequent Palestinian uprising, the increased role of religion in the conflict on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, Israel’s insistence on continuing its overall domination of the Palestinian territories, and the stalemated diplomatic process all underline the narrowing options for bringing this conflict to any peaceful end.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Hilal

The 1967 occupied Palestinian territories have undergone three major types of development since the Oslo agreement between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel was signed in 1993 and the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994. These developments have brought far-reaching structural changes in Palestinian politics and society. They have rendered Palestinian communities – inside historic Palestine and outside - very vulnerable, and made collective action against collective colonial repression (including a third intifada) more difficult. The three developments are identified as: the emergence of a political discourse that evicts Palestinians from history and geography and denies them a national identity; the escalation of collective repression, and settler-colonization; and the localization of Palestinian politics and the atomization of Palestinian society (in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and probably elsewhere) under the impact of settler-colonialism and neo-liberalism.


Author(s):  
Jovo Lojanica ◽  

All management standards have requirements for different aspects of improvements on the personal level, family level, company level, in business and life. What is about national level and country level? Is it possible for today’s generations to learn history of nations and of civilizations? If it is — ok, let’s apply it on actual time and people to have less problems and difficulties — especially if is actual in field of risk management. Majority of people are occupied by today’s problems. They don’t consider past and future challenges. People from each country strive for better quality, better and cleaner environment, higher safety etc. historically and today. But could we remember: How did Genghis Khan conquer many regions and how was he defeated? How did Mayas and Aztecs die out? How were Native Americans in North America drastically reduced in numbers? How did the Roman Imperium vanish? How was the Ottoman Imperium established and how it vanished? How many people were killed in the wars in XX century, etc? In all these catastrophic changes risks were not considered in an adequate way. Requirements of risk management — Principles and guidelines — ISO 31000:2009 are very consultative. They could be used on country level, national level, regional level, continental and intercontinental level.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.


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