Trouble in Palastine

For some time now, it has been relatively quiet between the Israelis and Palestinians.

However there seems to be more unrest amongst the Palestinians themselves.

Why (from a culturally perspective) could that be?
The answer is “Individualism”. Or rather “Collectivism”, the other side of the cultural dimension called individualism, founded by prof. Geert Hofstede.

This cultural dimension describes the concept of “loyalty”; or, where one’s loyalty lies: with oneself or with the group that you belong to.

The whole of the Arab world has a so called collectivistic culture (with the exception of Israel (respective scores of Israel and the Arab world on this IDV dimension are 54 & 38)).

Extending the concept of collectivism from loyalty to the group leads to so called “in-groups”.
One belongs to an in-group and is considered to be unconditionally loyal to its members.
In-groups implicitly then have out-groups.

The two in-groups currently battling it out are Hamas and Fatah.

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Chris Smit

Chris is passionate about Cultural Differences. He has been helping organizations save time and money when they work Internationally for the last 20+ years. While doing this he had the fortunate opportunity to hold lectures, workshops, and consulting projects on this subject World Wide. It has made him understand his own culture much better and appreciate the differences around the world.
His education is in Organisational Psychology and he has lived in the USA, the Netherlands, and currently lives in Belgium.

Chris Smit

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