Introduction

While Palestine – recognized as a state by more than 130 other states ¹ – lacks certain important features of sovereign statehood, the situation on the ground is far from chaos and disorder. But how should we make sense of this observation? In order to lead to the book’s topic and its underlying research question, I will briefly present three different empirical instances. While these might appear somewhat unrelated at first glance, it will become evident that the suggested theoretical perspective points to their interconnectedness and their importance for the political order of Palestine.