ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution and maturation of territoriality within the pastoral nomadic Bedouin society. Territorialization of the pastoral nomadic society is considered as the most fundamental structural subprocess resulting from—but simultaneously reflected in—the major process of individualization. Most of the discussion so far has focused on the spatial process of territorialization through land privatization and plot demarcation. Little has been said about its internal political and social consequences. Some of the processes that intensified the territoriality trend among the Bedouin during the early years of the State of Israel have been described. The penetration of territorial ideology into Bedouin society is reflected in the degrees of failure and success of the semiurbanization process. Territoriality, through redefining social identity and relations, thus becomes a vehicle in the sociopolitical struggle for control and domination. The nature of sedentarization has changed considerably, developing a semiurban character, and territorialization has therefore assumed additional meanings and dimensions.
