The Institutional Policies of the British Administration and New Communal Identities in Mandatory Palestine, 1920s — 1930s

In this article, the author examines the British approach to engaging with religious communities in Mandatory Palestine in the context of the institutional policies of communalism implemented in other parts of the empire. He draws on institutional theory of identity to demonstrate the extent of continuity and divergence between the Ottoman and British administrations in these approaches. The author posits that by preserving and modernising the Ottoman millet system, the British authorities sought to define local differences and grievances not as political but as religious, thereby presenting themselves as an impartial arbiter. This approach potentially ensured the stability of their rule. This policy, which built upon imperial colonial policies tested in India and Egypt, also served to entrench communal identities, leading to the strengthening of communalist tendencies and the crystallisation of ethno-confessional identities under the influence of ideas of nationalism. This fostered divisions both within and between ethnic communities along confessional lines. The policy established the conditions for a proliferation of “communal violence” across the British Empire, which would have a significant impact on the future trajectory of the Middle East, affecting all major actors in international relations, including the United States and the USSR

Administration (probate law · Ancient history · Mandatory Palestine · Palestine · Political science · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East Politics and Society · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Public Administration

• Between Empire and Mandate

  Open Access•Dmitry Sanoyan, Ivan Fadeyev•Christianity in the Middle East•2025

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