Constructing Political Opportunity: 1987—The Palestinian Year of Discontent

Abstract

This article challenges the portrayal of the 1987 Palestinian Intifada as a spontaneous, sudden outburst of contention. Drawing on content analysis data obtained from several Palestinian print news media sources (N=84), it is suggested that a Palestinian shared perception regarding ripe conditions to rebel was constructed throughout 1987. The findings indicate that throughout 1987 there was (a) a significant gradual increase in calls for action and (b) a convergence among newspapers representing various political factions of the Palestinian movement regarding a framing process of an opportunity to act contentiously. Such findings support recent calls in social movement literature to integrate perceptual with structural aspects.