The Making of Hamas’s Foreign Policy is the first comprehensive account of how the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, conducts its international relations, its attempts to develop a coherent and dynamic foreign policy, and its leveraging of this foreign policy to strengthen its global legitimacy and credibility.

Having grown out of the refugee camps in Gaza, and relying mostly on its support within Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora, the movement was thrust onto the global stage by a series of events imposed on it. Its victory in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary election, its subsequent demonisation and the imposition of an Israeli and Egyptian siege on Gaza convinced it of the need for a visible and coordinated international outreach.

“This book challenges successfully the common misrepresentation of Hamas in the West. It is a must read for anyone engaged with the Palestine issue and interested in an honest introduction to this important Palestinian movement.” Prof Ilan Pappé, College of Social Sciences & International Studies, University of Exeter

DAUD ABDULLAH is the director of Middle East Monitor (MEMO). Formerly a senior researcher at the Palestinian Return Centre (London), he also lectured in history at the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria) and Islamic Studies at Birkbeck College, University of London.