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Al Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network
Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network is an independent, transnational think-tank, whose mission is “to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law.”[1]
Contents 1. History 2. People 3. Work 4. Influence 5. Recognition 6. See also 7. External links 8. References
History
Al-Shabaka was launched in 2010, and was described as “Palestine’s first independent think tank.”[2] Al-Shabaka was registered in California in 2009 as the Middle East Policy Network, doing business as Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, and granted 501(c)(3) by the US Internal Revenue Service in 2013.[3] Its current board members include Nadia Hijab, Osamah Khalil, Sam Bahour, and Mary Nazzal-Batayneh.[4]
According to Cherine Hussein, an academic based at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, Al-Shabaka’s launch was a “significant initiative” by “[Palestinian] intellectuals.”[5]
People
Al-Shabaka’s network includes nearly 170 policy analysts from across the world, including Executive Director Nadia Hijab, businessman Sam Bahour, lawyer and former Palestinian negotiator Diana Buttu, Columbia University-based historian Rashid Khalidi, writer and playwright Samah Sabawi, legal scholar Noura Erakat, and author Laila el-Haddad.[6]
Work
Al-Shabaka was launched “to put a stronger Palestinian policy voice on the map”,[7] and its work “is primarily directed to concerned Palestinians as well as Arab and international policy communities.”[8]
According to its website, Al-Shabaka aims to:
“Draw upon the vast knowledge and experience of the Palestinian people, whether under occupation, in exile, or in Israel, so as to engage the broadest spectrum of perspectives in debate on policy and strategy,” and to; “Communicate ideas and strategies on resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to Palestinian communities as well as to Arab and other policy communities and interested parties worldwide.”[9]
Al-Shabaka’s input, including policy papers, moderated roundtable discussions, and commentaries, are grouped into five main categories: civil society, economic issues, negotiations, politics, and refugee issues.
Influence
Al-Shabaka members regularly appear in international media, either as quoted experts, or as authors of op-eds and commentary pieces in their own right. These include pieces in The Guardian,[10] openDemocracy,[11] Middle East Eye,[12] Al Jazeera English,[13] Qantara.de,[14] Journal of Palestine Studies,[15] European Council on Foreign Relations,[16] and The Hill.[17] Al-Shabaka is also a frequent source for scholarly material, cited in academic journals such as Diplomacy & Statecraft[18] and the International Journal of Cultural Studies,[19] and the 2017-published academic volume ‘Between State and Non-State: Politics and Society in Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine’.[20]
Recognition
Al-Shabaka has appeared in Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, produced by The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, from 2013 - 2016. Al-Shabaka has ranked between 35th - 33rd out of 85 in ‘Best Think Tank Network’.[21]
References
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