Pushing Boundaries: Israeli-Palestinian Smuggling Across Border Walls

Windhauser, Bret. "Pushing Boundaries: Israeli-Palestinian Smuggling Across Border Walls" (2020). Thesis.

This thesis investigates Israeli and Palestinian smuggling networks which transgress the borders of Israel and the Palestinian Territories.  Specifically, I examine the trade of foodstuffs, SIM cards, and other small portable technological devices which are both grounded in a certain place yet also transcend space.  Through this thesis, I explore how smuggling networks reveal the porousness of Israel's border security despite the government's best effort.  On the other side of the fence, the same smuggling networks undermine the nation-building efforts put in place by Palestinian officials because the smuggling exposes that Palestinian economies either rely on or cannot compete with Israeli goods and confirm that neither Fatah or Hamas can control the borders of their respective administrations.  Smuggling as a practice challenges the superstructure of the state as a concept yet simultaneously reveals agency and resourcefulness at the local communal level. 

Status of Research
Completed/published
Research Type
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