A new article by Dr Oliver Hayakawa examining linkages between China and Palestinian trade in the West Bank
The Mapping Connections Project is pleased to announce the recent publication of an article by Dr. Oliver Hayakawa in the journal Mediterranean Politics. Oliver is an ECR on the project and a Lecturer in International Relations on the joint degree programme 'International Governance and Public Policy' delivered in partnership between the University of Keele, UK, and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), China. The article can be found here and the abstract is as follows:
From Yiwu to Hebron: China and the Changing Dynamics of Palestinian Trade in the West Bank
This article explores the dynamics of trade between Palestine and China, emphasising the role of Palestinian traders in navigating global markets amid the constraints of Israeli occupation. Drawing on a decade of ethnographic fieldwork, the study focuses on the roles of Yiwu, China, and Hebron, Palestine, as important nodes in shaping these connections. These trade networks highlight the emergence of a diverse group of economic actors in Palestine -both small and large-scale traders- who engage in global commerce to maintain their livelihoods. These actors, despite operating under severe economic and political pressures, utilise international trade not only as a means of survival but as an instrument of economic resistance, underscoring their agency within the challenging realities of daily life under occupation. By situating the Palestinian political economy within a broader global context, this article moves beyond the typical local-centric analyses of the Israel-Palestine conflict, offering a unique contribution of how global linkages influence local economic landscapes. The study thereby expands our analysis of the Palestinian political economy by looking beyond the ‘crony capitalists’ and Palestinian Authority linked elites that dominate much research, while reshaping our understanding of the economic dimensions of the Israel-Palestine conflict and its intersections with global commerce.