The essential unity of the American African and the Palestinian Arab: myth or reality?, 1991
Stroman, Walter G.
1990-1999
The primary research question of this study is: Does a genuine congruence of circumstance and commonality of fundamental interests and goals exist between the American African community and that of the Palestinian Arab that would warrant and legitimate formal overtures for political unity, dialogue, and structured alliances of the two communities? The null hypothesis to be tested herein can be stated: A sufficient degree of homogeneity in the material condition and strategic interests/goals does not exist between the American-African community and the Palestinian Arab community to justify rationally a unified political relationship. The research method employed used both the traditionalist and behavioralist approaches; that is, while establishing a number Of normative propositions supported by instances of non-quantified data (the nature and scheme of the data analysis permitted little purely quantitative relationships) the study's investigation and assessment emphasized the empirical aspects of the phenomenon, developing specific truth claims based upon measurable criteria and an identifiable conceptual framework. The specific research procedure and techniques relied upon the use of case study for the purposes of interpretative extrapolation and the collection and interpretation of secondary data. Information-retrieval, while quite extensive, was not exhaustive. However, the data gathered was sufficient to establish a verifiable conclusion. Among the sources used in compiling the data were: (1) relevant professional literature (books and articles), (2) published interviews and surveys, and (3) the wide range of mass media communications. Content analysis was used to interpret symbolic material (e.g., references to "nationalist" rhetoric and objectives by major actors noted in the study). The study's results agree with the null hypothesis; that is, despite some siimilarities between the two groups, the collective political direction, values, orientation, and long-term objective interests of the two communities, are wholly divergent, rendering any effort at political unification impractical at best.
text
application/pdf
1991-05-01
thesis
Master of Arts (MA)
Clark Atlanta University
Political Science
Jones, Mack
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1991_stroman_walter_g
