Public Administration in Palestine traces the development of public administration in Palestine during the last 150 years. The book spans the Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Israeli historical periods, as well as the present Palestinian authority. Usamah Shahwan argues that public administration systems created by political powers that ruled the region were designed primarily for the control and domination of the local population and not for economic and social development. Shahwan contends that until a new approach is adopted by the Palestinian government, the prospect of a democratic Palestine remains an illusion.