Understanding Hamas : remarks on three different and interrelated theoretical approaches

Abstract EN

This study distinguishes between three interwoven theoretical approaches prevalent in writings of researchers seeking to understand the emergence of the Islamic resistance movement, "Hamas." the first of these approaches examines the movement from the portal of ideology, stressing the importance of international and regional dimensions and the rise of political Islam after the 1967 war.

the second approaches Hamas as a social movement organization seeking to revisit the historical narrative of palestinian society.

the third considers Hamas to be the heir of the palestinian national liberation movement, attributing its rise to transformations witnessed in palestinian identity and the palestinian political imagination.

although the three readings do not contradict each other, a focus on one of them can lead to oversimplification or exaggeration.

overemphasis on the first approach could marginalize social agency at the micro level; emphasis on the second approach can result in the overestimation of the agency of collective action; exaggerated emphasis on the third approach deprives social actors of their agency.

hence this study proposes situating Hamas in the intersection of these three approaches.