Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Note on Transliteration xiii
1. Introduction: Government Practice and the Place of Gaza 1
Part One. Producing Bureaucratic Authority
2. Ruling Files 31
3. On Being a Civil Servant 63
4. Civil Service Competence and the Course of a Career 91
Part Two. Tactical Practice and Government Work
5. Service in Crisis 123
6. Servicing Everyday Life 155
7. Community Services and Formations of Civic Life 189
8. Conclusion: Gaza and an Anthropology of Government 219
Notes 237
Bibliography 297
Index 313

Promotional Information

Examines the role of the civil service in Gaza during the British Mandate and Egyptian Administration

About the Author

Ilana Feldman is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs at George Washington University.

Reviews

"Through a historical ethnography of everyday bureaucratic practices in British- and then Egyptian-ruled Gaza, this path-breaking and lucidly written book offers challenging new perspectives on what government is and how it operates. Governing Gaza is a work of remarkable theoretical sophistication that makes a unique contribution to the anthropology of government and the state while remaining firmly grounded in the specificities of this crisis-ridden place and in the experience of its long-suffering people."--Zachary Lockman, author of Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948 "Governing Gaza is a brilliant exploration of the everyday work of rule. In examining how people produce authority under exceptional circumstances, Ilana Feldman offers an original interpretation of the general conditions of modern bureaucratic power."--Timothy Mitchell, author of Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity