Connection and Resistance: Examining the Impact of Checkpoints on Civilian Support for Militancy

Drawing on 71 life-story-style interviews of olive farmers and IDF soldiers in the West Bank and Israel conducted during the 2015 "Intifada of Individuals", this article argues that freedom of movement restrictions, such as checkpoints, can fragment the communities within which individuals reside to such an extent that social connection is stunted, removing the social support networks that enable civilians to cope with the stress, anger, frustration, fear and grief they experience living in a conflict zone. Such freedom of movement-restricting policies that fractures communities can lead to increased isolation, resulting in increased frustration, aggression and, I argue, a greater likelihood of civilian preferences for militancy as the appropriate means to address their political grievances.

Emily Kalah Gade, Ph.D., holds a joint appointment as a Research Scientist in the Department of Political Science and as a WRF & Moore/Sloan Innovation in Data Science Postdoctoral Fellow at the eScience Institute. Her research focuses on political violence, civilian militancy and civil resistance, state use of force against civilian populations, and data science approaches to social science questions.