Hicham Lahouiri

Local politics in Israel has been so far an underrated field in Israel Studies. Interestingly, this situation reflects the poor attention given to local politics by the public and Israeli media. My thesis tends to rehabilitate the study of municipalities as components of the Israeli political system, by highlighting the richness of their actors, the dynamism of power relations, and connections to the political realm.  This seemingly unattractive scene becomes the training backyard of the next generation of Israeli politicians, and the testing lab of innovative policies, party alliances and political practices. Moreover, being able to observe local politicians allows us to apprehend the variety of actors and invites us to enlarge the scope of our interpretations on a highly debated topic.

The University of Oxford seems a particularly stimulating place to enrich my hypothesis, mainly by bonding with the lively community of researchers and students working on Israel/Palestine at the DPIR and the Asian and Middle East Center. 

Upon my arrival in Oxford, I quickly found a very welcoming community of researchers and students who made me feel comfortable and enthusiastic. The University directly appeared to me as a lovely place to study and this impression is reinforced every day.