Hamas after Electoral Victory

Departing from professionalization explanations, this chapter demonstrates how the level of inclusiveness of the political settlement in each case shaped the impact of donor assistance on the women’s sectors. The chapter examines how the women’s sector was reconstituted in each case, focusing on the relationships that transpired with grassroots constituencies, as well as between the different tendencies of the women’s sectors. It also assesses the women sector’s engagement with legislative and local bodies of government in each case. It concludes with illustrations of donor-funded programs in each case.

Beyond Professionalization

This chapter examines foreign donor assistance to the Palestinian territories and El Salvador in the post settlement period. It begins with an overview of funding patterns and discusses how the respective political settlements shaped different donor priorities in each case. It then provides more detailed examination of USAID funding program priorities, funding to civil society and democracy promotion, and funding to the women’s sector in each case.

Political Settlements and the Reconfiguration of Civic and Political Life

A rich history of civic organizing in El Salvador and the Palestinian territories undergirded the mass mobilization of the 1970s and 1980s. These mobilization efforts and much of the associational life that grew out of them were responses to conflicts with long historical roots. This chapter explains the historical roles of the political-military organizations of the FLMN and PLO in mass mobilization in the two cases. It then traces the evolution of mass mobilization and associational life leading to the beginning of the conflicttopeace transition in each case, including the development of mass based women’s organizing in both cases.

The Political-Military Organizations and the Emergence of Mass-Based Grassroots Organizations

This chapter outlines how patterns of socio-political organizing diverged in the Palestinian and Salvadoran cases during the beginning of their respective conflicttopeace transitions. Departing from explanations that focus on the professionalization of mass-based organizations, the author explains how the domestic political contexts shaped the mediating role of Western donor funding. More specifically, the book argues the that “inclusivity” of political settlements (assessed by the extent of participation of major political groups and the degree of societal support) shaped the relative effectiveness of democracy promotion efforts and the impact of Western donor assistance on civil society and democratic development more generally. This chapter also explains how civil society is being addressed in the book and the methodology employed, which is a structured, focused comparison that is historically sensitive but conducive to generalizing across cases. It also explains how the quality of civil society and democratic development are assessed, and why the women’s sectors were chosen to examine these developments. It concludes with an outline of the remaining chapters of the book.

Foreign Donor Assistance and the Political Economy of Settlement Outcomes

This chapter explains how the respective political settlements came to shape associational and civic life in each case. It begins with an overview of the political settlements in each case. It then explains how the respective political settlements shaped the emergence of the different political tendencies, as well as the institutional openings of the legislative council and local government in each case. It concludes with an examination of electoral outcomes since the start of the conflicttopeace transitions in the Palestinian territories and El Salvador

The Primacy of Political Settlements in Democracy Promotion

The preface begins with a story and outlines the author’s initial observations that led to the undertaking of this book project. The preface clearly states the research questions that the book will tackle. It concludes with the author’s acknowledgements.

Noninclusive Settlements and Democracy’s Long Haul in Comparative Perspective

This chapter examines the aftermath of Hamas’ 2006 legislative election victory. It argues that the developments that transpired were not simply the result of the international embargo and Western donor cessation of funding. Rather, the non-inclusive settlement, in this case, defined by the Oslo Accords, and dominant Palestinian groups who upheld these accords, could not accommodate these election results. Although the international embargo and Western donors refusal to accept the results exacerbated prevailing dynamics, mayhem would have transpired regardless.