Transitional development within shifting spheres of conflict : the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committee

Abstract

This thesis examines how an NGO can function and create change within the shifting domains of Palestinian stability and conflict through the case study of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committee (UPMRC). Palestinian society today heavily relies on NGO's for an array of service provisions. However, Palestinian NGO's continue to face various challenges since their inception. The long history of Israeli occupation has forced NGO's to focus their efforts on relief work and caused them to negate long term development issues. This has also led to a very fragmented NGO sector in Palestine. The creation of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1994 brought with it further impediments to the NGO sector in Palestine. The authoritarian political nature of the PNA meant that a number of NGO's were marginalized from the national development agenda. The shift of international aid during this period from NGO's to the Palestinian government led to a decline in NGO funds. As a result of these factors, and despite the plethora of NGO's in Palestine, many of the NGO's have failed to promote sustainable development. An exception to the overall picture of NGO's in Palestine is the UPMRC. Despite facing similar challenges as the rest of the NGO sector, the UPMRC has been successful in fostering its grassroots ties, implementing effective development projects, building horizontal linkages with other NGO's, as well as creating vertical linkages with the PNA and influencing national policy. The success of the UPMRC has significant implications for other NGO's in Palestine as well as NGO's in other post-conflict areas.