Does Economic Peace Actually Work?

What this episode covers

For decades, the “economic peace” model has driven Israeli-Palestinian policy: give people jobs and prosperity, and political violence will fade. From Trump’s $50 billion Deal of the Century to left-leaning NGOs like the Portland Trust, the same assumption keeps recycling. But the evidence tells a different story. This episode examines why support for Hamas and armed resistance actually rose during periods of relative economic stability, how October 7th was planned while the economic peace machinery ran at full throttle, and why the theory may not just fail—but actively backfire. Drawing on polling data, relative deprivation theory, and counterinsurgency research, we explore the uncomfortable possibility that economic improvement without political resolution is more dangerous than stagnation.

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