This class explores the political history of the Gaza Strip throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. We will examine the evolving maps and political borders of the region following the First World War, tracing the subsequent formation of Gaza as a distinct political entity. This historic perspective will take us through the impact of Egyptian and Israeli occupations on Gaza's social and political evolution, exploring the geographical and political factors that led to the split between Gaza and the West Bank. Through this lens, we will analyze how these developments shape the ongoing conflict and influence the future prospects of the Gaza Strip.

Alon Burstein is a Visiting Assistant Professor and an Israel Institute Fellow in the Department of Political Science at Tufts University. His research focuses on social mobilization, terrorism, and grassroots political violence, with a particular focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His 2021 dissertation analyzing processes of religionization and secularization among violent actors won the Mark Juergensmeyer Best Dissertation in Religion and International Relations Award of the International Studies Association (ISA), and received an honorable mention in the Aaron Wildavsky Best Dissertation in Religion and Politics Award of the American Political Science Association (APSA). Some of his recent projects include an analysis of the relationship between types of Israeli repression and violent Palestinian mobilization, the impacts of Israeli democratic backsliding on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and a larger project analyzing the origins of the Israel-Hamas War. Alon also has an active YouTube channel offering analyses of the ongoing war in Gaza.