Current Sociology

Please welcome our Sociologists of the Month for March 2024, Walid Habbas (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies, Israel) and Yael Berda (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and Harvard University, USA). Their article for Current Sociology Colonial management as a social field: The Palestinian remaking of Israel’s system of spatial control was shortlisted for the second edition (Vol. 71) of the Annual SAGE Current Sociology Best Paper Prize, and is Open Access.

Walid Habbas

Yael Berda

Could you please tell us about yourself? How did you come to your field of study?

W. Habbas: Born in 1980 in the picturesque village of Kafr Aqab, just north of East Jerusalem, my upbringing was shaped by the beauty of lush trees and expansive open spaces. Despite the challenges posed by the Israeli occupation, my formative years were marked by experiences of political detention, which significantly influenced my cultural and educational trajectory. Upon my eventual release, I returned to find Kafr Aqab undergoing a distressing transformation, with the construction of the separation wall by Israeli authorities effectively isolating our community and subjecting it to a spatial control system characterized by checkpoints and permit regulations. The rapid expansion of Jewish settlements had irreversibly altered the landscape, replacing once verdant greenery with towering buildings, exacerbating Palestinian poverty and hardship.

Y. Berda: Growing up in West Jerusalem, my early interest in issues of social and economic justice was sparked by my parents' arrest for debt when I was just 14, a consequence of draconian laws penalizing poverty and financial hardship. My career as a human rights lawyer initially focused on constitutional, administrative, and criminal law, but it was representing Palestinians in military courts that left the deepest impact on me. Through this experience, I became acutely aware of the extensive permit system controlling the lives of Palestinian workers, and to some extent, their Israeli employers. Pursuing a master's degree under the guidance of Yehouda Shenhav, I explored what I termed "the bureaucracy of the occupation," outlining a model of colonial bureaucracy.

What prompted you to research the area of your article, “Colonial management as a social field: The Palestinian remaking of Israel’s system of spatial control”?

W. Habbas & Y. Berda: Our research is deeply rooted in the complexities of occupied West Bank territorial and spatial circumstances. On one hand, it serves as a vivid portrayal of Israeli settler-colonial strategies aimed at restricting Palestinian mobility and imposing control over their social and economic activities, while dispossessing Palestinian spaces for the benefit of Jewish settler expansion. On the other hand, we are intrigued by the emergence and flourishing of underground economies, such as smuggling and brokerage, within this regulated environment.

We have anchored these inquiries within a rigorous sociological framework, enabling us to witness how Palestinian economic interests have spurred a variety of actors to interact with the settler-colonial structure as a means of empowerment. This article emerged from the fruitful collaboration between doctoral student (Walid) and co-supervisor (Yael). With the comprehensive insights of Michael Shalev, the other co-supervisor, gained throughout the PhD journey, we termed these interactions 'horizontal interactions,' shedding light on the paradoxical dynamics of colonial systems inadvertently empowering those they seek to subjugate.

What do you see as the key findings of your article?

W. Habbas & Y. Berda: Through our collaborative efforts during this particular co-authored article, we uncovered how Palestinians have renegotiated the functioning of borders, transforming their factories into centers of surveillance. By adopting a social field perspective, we gained insight into the diverse range of responses from colonized peoples, transcending simplistic dichotomies of resistance versus collaboration.

What are the wider social implications of your research in the current social climate? How do you think things will change in the future?

W. Habbas & Y. Berda: Despite the current challenges in Israel/Palestine, arguably the most severe since 1948, it is crucial to conduct research that does not adopt a distant bird's-eye view but rather takes into account the relational, intertwined, and inseparable nature of the relations between Palestinians and Israelis, within, because of, and despite the colonial structures.