Published on Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Abstract
The populations of Western Sahara and Palestine share the same denial: that of recognition, by third-party states, of a political subjectivity granting them the right to decide their own destinies. How can comparison and historical perspective on these two issues help us better understand their political, legal, and social dimensions? The aim of our proposal is, in fact, to highlight them, while at the same time trying not to overlook the differences, starting with the social structure of the two populations and their identity construction.
Announcement
6th Congress of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
24-27 Jun 2025 Strasbourg (France)
Argument
The populations of Western Sahara and Palestine share the same denial: that of recognition, by third-party states, of a political subjectivity granting them the right to decide their own destinies. Yet, the majority of United Nations member states recognize the State of Palestine, which increasingly resembles a chimera on the ground (Guignard and Seurat, 2020). Similarly, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, although not a member of the UN, is a founding member of the African Union and is recognized by several dozen states, particularly in Africa and Latin America. The denial of recognition leads to the dispossession of the Sahrawi and Palestinian populations of their rights, as well as their past, present, and future (Papp´e, 2024; L´opez Bargados, 2015). This negation of political subjectivity corresponds, in fact, to a functional subordination to the territorial expansion projects promoted by the Kingdom of Morocco and the State of Israel (Gimeno Mart´ın, 2016; Gresh, 2023). Their projects are based on the submission of Palestinian and Sahrawi populations to a regime that marginalizes them and renders any expression of self-determination invisible. This is the same denial that lies at the root of the two key moments related to these ”issues”: the Tripartite Agreement of Madrid, on November 14, 1975, by which colonizing Spain ceded Western Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania; and UN Resolution 181, which endorsed the partition of Palestine into two independent states, one Arab and one Jewish. From a historical perspective, it should be noted that the border delineations resulting from French and Spanish presence in the Western Sahara and the Sykes-Picot agreements followed the same logic by establishing arbitrary boundaries, disregarding the organizational systems and perceptions of local populations (Trout, 1969; Laurens, 1999). In neither case were these populations consulted. The common traits of the two ”issues” are not limited to their origin or the contemporaneity of the denial of recognition but span the entire history of both peoples.
How can comparison and historical perspective on these two issues help us better understand their political, legal, and social dimensions? The aim of our proposal is, in fact, to highlight them, while at the same time trying not to overlook the differences, starting with the social structure of the two populations and their identity construction. Particular attention will be paid to communications that fall under one or more of the following areas: 1) The formation of nationalisms: origins, intellectuals, political influences, interactions, formation of political elites, structuring of mobilizations 2) The nature of colonial phenomena at play: forced population displacements, territorial annexations and occupation, eradication of cultural traditions, humanitarian aid (role of NGOs, donors, etc.) 3) International law in both issues: UN resolutions, the Geneva Convention, resolutions of regional organizations (AU, Arab League, OIC, Socialist International, etc.) 4) Solidarity and normalization with the occupiers: the role of EU countries, the role of the USA, resolutions of national parliaments, bilateral agreements at the regional level (e.g., Israel-UAE; Israel-Morocco; Morocco-USA; Morocco-France, etc.) 5) The stakes of natural resources 6) Sahrawi and Palestinian diasporas and their mobilizations in exile 7) Art in the service of independence struggles: artistic and literary productions 8) The historical memory of the two populations: their construction, their limits, and their transmission We favour cross-cutting communications, i.e., those addressing the same theme concerning both issues from a comparative perspective.
Submission guidelines and selection
Proposals, in French and English - max. 2000 characters, spaces included - should be submitted using the form you will find here:
By filling in the form, you will find our panel in the ‘Geopolitics and International Relations’ theme.
The deadline for submissions is 8 December 2024 and the results of the selections will be announced on 18 December.
The selection of proposals will be made by the two authors proposing the panel and will be validated by the GIS MOMM Scientific Committee, as explained here: https://momm-strasbourg.sciencesconf.org/?lang=fr
Organization
- Francesco Correale, Cités, Territoires, Environnement et Sociétés (CITERES) – CNRS : UMR7324, Université François Rabelais - Tours
- Sarah Daoud, Centre de recherches internationales (CERI) – Sciences Po, CNRS – France
Subjects
- Political studies (Main category)
- Zones and regions > Africa > North Africa
- Zones and regions > Asia > Middle East
- Society > Ethnology, anthropology
- Society > Political studies > Political history
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Society > Political studies > International relations
- Society > Political studies > Wars, conflicts, violence
Places
- Université de Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France (67)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Sunday, December 08, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- Sahara Occidental, Palestine, colonisation, mouvements de libération nationale, autodétermination, diasporas, mémoire(s) et transmission(s), art et luttes pour l’indépendance
Contact(s)
- Francesco Correale
courriel : francesco [dot] correale [at] univ-tours [dot] fr - Sarah Daoud
courriel : sarah [dot] daoud [at] univ-tours [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Francesco Correale
courriel : francesco [dot] correale [at] univ-tours [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .
To cite this announcement
Francesco Correale, Sarah Daoud, « Perspectives historiques et comparées sur les enjeux politiques, juridiques et sociaux des questions palestinienne et sahraouie », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/12q5g
Author(s)
Francesco Correale
Sarah Daoud

