Palestinian Youth Movements and “the Arab Spring”

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to study the Palestinian youth movements in the light of the “Arab Spring”. It will consider a number of social, economic, and political factors, circumstances, and changes that have influenced the youth to respond to the Arab Spring in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) peacefully. It will take the Palestinian youth 15–32 years old as a case study to discuss a theory of ‘participatory democracy’. This age group of youth is considered the major segment of the society. Youth are very politicized and affiliated with different political groups and ideologies. They are very influential in driving the society in peace or conflict. They participate actively in the local organizations, student unions, political groups, movements, NGOs, etc. It will study the transnational nature of online youth networks to investigate how they cooperated and coordinated with each other and other contemporary social movements around the world.