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Scrutinizes Hamas governance after 2006 to examine how Islamist ideology is translated into political action

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Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU, the USA and the UN. It has made itself notorious for its violent radicalism and uncompromising rejection of the Jewish state. So after its victory in the 2006 elections the world was watching. How would Hamas govern? Could an Islamist group without any experience of power - and with an unwavering ideology - manage to deal with day-to-day realities on the ground? Bjorn Brenner investigates what happened after the elections and puts the spotlight on the people over whom Hamas rules, rather than on its ideas. Lodging with Palestinian families and experiencing their daily encounters with Hamas, he offers an intimate perspective of the group as seen through local eyes. The book is based on hard-to-secure interviews with a wide range of key political and security figures in the Hamas administration, as well as with military commanders and members of the feared Qassam Brigades. Brenner has also sought out those that Hamas identifies as local trouble makers: the extreme Salafi-Jihadis and members of the now more quiescent mainstream Fatah party led by Mahmoud Abbas.
The book provides a new interpretation of one of the most powerful forces in the Israel-Palestine arena, arguing that the Gazan Islamists carry a potential to be much more flexible and pragmatic than anticipated - if they would think they stand to gain from it. Gaza under Hamas investigates the key challenges to Hamas´s authority and reveals why and in what ways ideology comes second to power consolidation.

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Preface
Foreword by Magnus Ranstorp
Glossary of terms
1. Islamists in power by democratic means 9
2. Rising to power and relating to the opposition 24
3. A change in the political order: Taking over Gaza 38
4. Violent radicalisation and the emergence of splinter groups 54
5. De-radicalisation of Islamists by Islamists 64
6. Social order in the midst of political chaos 81
7. The new political order and the judicial system 93
8. Islamist governance Hamas style 109
Notes
Select bibliography
Index

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Brenner, Bjorn
Bjorn Brenner serves as the Military Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria. Prior to joining the United Nations, Björn was Lecturer at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm and Research Fellow at Institut francais du Proche-Orient in Amman, Jordan. He holds a doctorate in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Gothenburg and an MA in Political Science from Uppsala University. He is the author of numerous articles on Palestinian and Israeli politics and is a frequently appearing commentator in the media on Middle Eastern affairs.

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