Beautiful Resistance in Palestine: The Use of (Performative) Arts as a Strategy to Decolonise

Abstract

With the multi-faceted, complex dynamics of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, a feasible solution seems further away than ever. Yet, all sorts of forms of resistance occur aiming to oppose the settler-colonial power structure. So does the understudied notion of beautiful resistance. It is defined as the means, and practices aiming to build peace within oneself through arts, education, and culture. This thesis explores the concept of beautiful resistance by unpacking it through three analytical categories. Central to this thesis is, therefore, the question of how practices of beautiful resistance can be understood as a strategy to decolonise Palestine. Beautiful resistance can only be sufficiently understood, once its practices are understood in the context of settler-colonialism and its political economy. Based on eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork, practices of beautiful resistance are analysed by observing and discussing the complex dynamics between art, culture, and resistance with key agents in the field. This thesis presents a critical exploration of beautiful resistance by demonstrating 1) the inextricable relation with settler-colonialism, 2) the complex network of actors constituting the political economy in which beautiful resistance is embedded, and 3) how in this context practices of beautiful resistance result in the normalisation of the status quo, in other words, the continuation of the Occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza. The academic and practical application of the notion of beautiful resistance demands a context-specific framework adapted to the oppressive structures of settler-colonialism and its adherent political economy.