Political Awareness at the Edge of the State: The Palestinian Minority in Israel

Political awareness is crucial for national minorities, enabling them to safeguard their rights and advance their interests vis-à-vis the state. Yet most research has focused on majority populations in Western democracies, paying limited attention to minorities in contested-state settings. This study examines how the Palestinian minority in Israel constructs political awareness. Drawing on semi-structured, in-depth interviews, it traces political socialisation, knowledge acquisition, the ambivalent role of educational institutions, and the politicising force of traumatic events. Focusing on the post-Oslo period, the article advances a theoretical model explaining how political awareness develops and, under certain conditions, translates into political action.