by Kollo Lena
Abstract
This article presents a Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) of narratives about Palestine, from Palestinians, as a futures methodology for liberation. Conducted with Palestinian-British medical professionals in 2025, the analysis reveals how Zionist propaganda has systematically dehumanised Palestinians, while Palestinian sumud (steadfastness) and the metaphor of springtime represents an emerging regenerative narrative of resilience and renewal. The study demonstrates how CLA can serve as both analytical tool and emancipatory practice, helping marginalised communities reclaim their narratives and envision alternative futures. By identifying systemic causes, worldviews, and metaphors shaping Palestinian experiences, this research contributes to critical futures studies methodologies for oppressed communities and offers pathways for narrative-based liberation futures.
Introduction
The occupation, oppression, and attempted erasure of Palestine and its people represents as much a battle over land as over truth. Since the start of the Zionist project in the late 1800s, narrative manipulation via propaganda has been a vital part of the strategy of the colonisation of Palestine. Palestinian liberation depends as much, if not more, on its own capability to own their narrative: what we know and understand about the Palestinian people, the history and the culture.
Over the past two years we have seen this play out on the global stage. Chants, protests, drums and flags in most countries across the globe. But what about outside of this space? How to take the story off the barricades, into (for want of a better term) polite society? Deeply rooted myths and misconceptions about Palestine, Arabs, Muslims, Jews, Israel and Zionism make this an emotionally and intellectually challenging space to operate in.
I invited a small group of British-Palestinians and Palestinian diaspora, predominantly working in the medical profession, to do a Causal Layered Analysis so that they may build and shape their own future narrative, within their professional context. That is to say, I used it as a tool for direct empowerment in a small group. I write this article so that we may discuss and build on the analysis.
Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), developed by Sohail Inayatullah (1998), provided a multi-layered approach that I needed to uncover deep structures shaping narratives – and crucially the building blocks that allow a collective desirable future narrative to emerge.
Literature Review
Futures Studies and Narrative Power
Futures studies has evolved from its early positivist foundations to encompass critical, emancipatory, and participatory approaches (Sardar, 1999; Inayatullah, 2008). Critical futures scholars argue that futures work must address power imbalances and support marginalised communities (Inayatullah, 2008; Milojević, 2016). As Inayatullah (2008) notes, “Futures without justice is merely management of the present.”
Narrative power lies at the heart of colonial and imperial systems. As Edward Said (1978) demonstrated, Orientalism operated through narrative construction that dehumanised colonised peoples. Futures studies must therefore engage with narrative as both a subject of analysis and a tool of liberation (Inayatullah, 2004).
Causal Layered Analysis as a Methodology
Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) represents one of the most significant contributions to futures methodology developed in the Global South (Inayatullah, 1998). Moving beyond surface-level analysis, CLA examines four layers: the litany (present dominant surface narrative), systemic causes (underlying structures), worldviews (deep beliefs), and myths and metaphors (cultural stories). This multi-layered approach enables deeper understanding of complex issues and identification of intervention points for transformative change.
Inayatullah (2008) argues that CLA is particularly valuable for “unpacking the taken-for-granted assumptions that shape our understanding of reality.”
Palestinian Liberation and Narrative Futures
Palestinian liberation struggles have always involved narrative warfare alongside material resistance. From the Nakba* of 1948 to ongoing occupation and genocide, Zionist propaganda has systematically dehumanised Palestinians and erased their history (Pappe, 2006). The weaponisation of antisemitism to silence criticism of Israeli policies further complicates narrative spaces (Abu-Lughod, 2013).
Futures studies applied to Palestine must therefore address both the material realities of occupation and the narrative dimensions of oppression. As Khalidi (2017) notes, “The question of Palestine is not merely about land and rights, but about who gets to define reality.” This article argues that futures methodologies like CLA can support Palestinian liberation by helping communities reclaim their narratives and imagine alternative futures beyond occupation and oppression.
*Nakba is the Arabic word for catastrophe and widely refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine that began when the British Mandate of Palestine ended, and the state of Israel was recognised by the United Nations. (Pappe, 2018)
Methodology
Research Design and Rationale
This study is built upon Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) as a participatory futures methodology with Palestinian-British medical professionals and charity board members. CLA was chosen for its ability to: (1) uncover deep structures shaping Palestinian experiences; (2) facilitate community dialogue about narrative power; and (3) support the construction of alternative narratives for liberation futures.
Participant Selection and Context
The research took place in-person in London in October 2025 with 8 participants including Palestinian-British and Palestinian medical professionals and charity board members. I ensured a safe and inclusive space to for everyone to speak freely, and therefore maintain the anonymity of all participants.
This group was selected because I deemed the exercise particularly useful to them as influential professionals who raise funds from big donors for a charity. This group represent a narrative bridge between Palestinian experiences, the more radical popular movement on the streets and mainstream British discourse.
Facilitation Process
The CLA process was facilitated over 4 hours, using a combination of individual reflection and group dialogue techniques. Following Inayatullah’s technique, participants first worked down through four layers:
1. Litany Layer: Brainstorming current Palestinian narratives in public discourse
2. Systemic Causes: Identifying underlying structures producing these narratives
3. Worldview Layer: Examining deep beliefs and assumptions shaping perceptions
4. Myths/Metaphors: Exploring cultural stories and metaphors that frame understanding
When the present narratives were fully deconstructed, we worked our way up the same layers, thus shaping a new narrative.
Ethical Considerations
Several ethical considerations guided this research:
– Positionality: The facilitator’s position as British required the creation of a safe space from the start. I took a moment to reflect on my own education about liberation, having been raised within a colonial and/or neo-colonial setting.
– Trauma Sensitivity: I acknowledged the potential trauma of discussing oppression. It was an emotional exercise that I was humbled to be allowed to facilitate. I’m grateful to all participants’ honest contributions.
– Safety: all participants could speak freely in a private space. They all know and trust each other, as well as myself. Additionally, I made it clear o identities will be disclosed.
Findings: A Causal Layered Analysis of Palestinian Narratives
Litany Layer: surface-level narratives
The litany layer reveals the surface-level narratives that dominate public discourse about Palestine. Participants described a pervasive narrative where Palestinians are presumed “guilty until proven innocent” in mainstream discourse. One female participant said: “In every room I enter, I have to prove I’m not a terrorist.” This creates a defensive posture where Palestinian identity requires constant justification, framing the Palestinian identity as inherently problematic and associated with conflict. Participants noted how these narratives often reduce complex political realities to simple dichotomies of “conflict” and “trouble,” while simultaneously reinforcing stereotypes about Palestinian men as dangerous and suspicious.
The group, based in London, pointed out that Palestine is always portrayed as a “far away” foreign issue, disconnected from the historical political context as well as current military and political ties between Britain and Israel. This positioning forces Palestinian advocates into constant defensive mode, having to prove their safety and legitimacy in spaces where their identity should be unremarkable.
Systemic Causes Layer: underlying structures
Beneath these surface narratives, participants identified systemic causes that produce and sustain these dominant discourses. The analysis revealed that Zionist propaganda operates through sophisticated dissemination mechanisms enabled by significant power imbalances. Israel and Zionist lobby groups maintain heavily funded operations positioned within the most powerful institutions globally, allowing for systematic narrative control. Participants highlighted how Zionism successfully weaponised the historical collective trauma of the Holocaust, creating a narrative shield that deflects criticism and silences legitimate Palestinian advocacy. The strategic deployment of Holocaust memory to delegitimise Palestinian claims and frame criticism of Israeli policies as antisemitic is documented. Palestinian and Arab academics have noted how “the fight against antisemitism has been increasingly instrumentalised by the Israeli government and its supporters in an effort to delegitimise the Palestinian cause” (Guardian, 2020). Professor of Scripture in Israel and Palestine David Neuhaus writes “cynical political use of anti-Semitism has been made in order to silence Palestinians and their supporters”, (Vatican News, 2024). A widely cited statement (Mondoweiss, 2020) by more than 100 Palestinian and Arab academics, journalists and intellectuals explicitly states: “In recent years, the fight against antisemitism has been increasingly instrumentalized by the Israeli government and its supporters in an effort to delegitimize the Palestinian cause and silence defenders of Palestinian rights.”
The analysis further identified racism as a prominent feature in Western countries, where decades-long campaigns of deliberate dehumanisation and Islamophobia have created fertile ground for anti-Palestinian narratives to flourish. These systemic structures work in concert to maintain colonial power dynamics while obscuring the material realities of occupation and displacement.
Worldview Layer: deep beliefs and assumptions
The group analysis revealed worldviews that underpin these systemic causes and shape public perception of Palestine. Participants identified the pervasive belief that “might is right,” where Israel’s perceived military and technological superiority is interpreted as inevitable. This worldview operates under the assumption that “this is just how the world works,” reflecting a colonial perspective where power asymmetries are normalised. The analysis uncovered the deeply ingrained assumption that “Jews can’t ever do wrong,” rooted in the historical trauma of the Holocaust, which creates a narrative framework where Israeli actions cannot be critically examined, regardless of many objections by notable non-Zionist Jews. Participants noted how Israel is constructed as a “democratic European-style country,” positioning it as culturally superior to regional nations and justifying Western support. A participant noted a persistent myth that “Palestinians want all Israelis dead,” which serves to delegitimise Palestinian claims and frame resistance as inherently irrational and violent. These worldviews collectively construct Palestinians as backwards, rural and savage, while positioning the conflict as a longstanding local dispute rather than what it actually represents: a continuation of colonial displacement and apartheid.
Myths and Metaphors Layer: cultural stories
Participants identified the dominant myths that shape understanding of Palestine, noting how these myths are primarily constructed by the occupier’s narrative framework. The analysis revealed several foundational Zionist myths that continue to influence global perception: “A land without a people for a people without a land,” which systematically erases the existing Palestinian civilisation; “We built an oasis in the desert,” which ignores the sophisticated agricultural and urban systems that existed before Zionist settlement; and the persistent characterisation of Palestinians and Arabs as “human animals” or “uncivilised,” drawing on colonial discourse that dehumanises indigenous peoples. The most pervasive myth they identified was the characterisation of Palestinians as “all terrorists and intrinsically violent,” which serves to justify collective punishment and military occupation while erasing the diversity of Palestinian experiences and perspectives.
The Land of the Savage
The dominant metaphor for contemporary understanding of Palestine, the group discussion revealed, is “the land of the savage”. This metaphor positions Palestinians as uncivilised, backwards and inherently violent.
This draws further on colonial discourse that frames indigenous peoples as lacking the capacity for self-governance. The savage metaphor serves to justify occupation by portraying Palestinians as needing external control, while simultaneously erasing the sophisticated cultural, intellectual and political traditions that have flourished in Palestine for millennia. This narrative reduces a complex civilisation to a primitive stereotype, making the occupation appear as a civilising mission rather than what it actually represents: systematic displacement and apartheid.
A New Narrative: The Land of Eternal Spring
Following the deconstruction of dominant narratives, participants co-created alternative frameworks that support Palestinian liberation. Their emerging counter-metaphor “land of eternal spring” represents the already present, true Palestinian identity – positioned so that it need not justify itself to any other narrative.
Springtime symbolises renewal, regeneration and the inevitability of life. This metaphor acknowledges the current suffering while simultaneously affirming Palestine’s enduring vitality and capacity for rebirth. It draws on Palestinian agricultural traditions – the nurture of a rich land of olive trees, orange groves and ancient recipes – and the cultural significance of spring as a time of hope and new beginnings.
Unlike the static and dehumanising “savage” metaphor, “eternal spring” is dynamic and forward-looking, positioning Palestine not as a problem to be solved but as a vital civilisation contributing to humanity’s collective future.
A New Lens
The vision emerging from this analysis positions Palestine as the flourishing land where everything grows – a generous, authentic, hospitable, honourable and just nation, brimming with life and joy. This framework emphasizes that Palestinians love life, enjoy living well, and nurture their talents successfully despite all obstacles. Palestine is reimagined as a land of riches – drenched in sunshine, rooted in history and authentic culture, where Palestinians are proudly educated and innovative. A participant elaborated envisioning the restoration of Gaza as a beautiful and culturally rich seaside destination, like for example the Italian Amalfi coast. This vision demonstrates what freedom means, while positioning Palestine as eternal: a home and crossing point for many ancient civilisations that transcends temporary occupation.
What further emerged is that this new narrative positions Palestine as synonymous with resistance against exploitative, racist and cruel oppression everywhere, embodying the principle that “Nobody is free until Palestine is free.” The famous Palestinian keffiyeh (a distinctively patterned Arabic cotton scarf) has already re-emerged as a global symbol of solidarity between people against greed and injustice, connecting Palestinian liberation with struggles in Sudan, Congo, Haiti and beyond (Daz, 2024). Palestine is held in the hearts of the global majority, united in determination to stand proudly and joyfully against imperialism and colonialism.
Structural Causes – How this new narrative may emerge
The new structural causes supporting this narrative include Palestinian sumud and joy as witnessed by the world, the relentless commitment of journalists on the ground documenting life during genocide, and the dedication of global audiences to prevent silencing or censorship. The group analysis identified the unravelling of colonial propaganda spurred by Israel’s genocide and disseminated through social media, alongside a wave of decolonisation among young Jews in Western countries. There is growing awareness of democratic governments’ hypocrisy and sustained global popular outrage, along with exposure of extreme genocidal and racist attitudes as commonplace in Israel. The push for restorative justice extends beyond stopping the killing. It calls for accountability alongside the Palestinian people. The growing popularity of Palestinian and Arab pop music and culture acts as a beacon of hope and solidarity for many.
The Litany – A new common language
The new litany emerging from this analysis frames Palestine as teaching life – citing the famous poem We teach life, sir (2011) by spoken word artist Rafeef Ziadah (Maisoon and Habeeb, 2024). A litany of a land so brim-full of life that no matter how much the powerful oppressors try to stifle it, life and beauty sprout from it, as if it is eternally springtime.
Palestinians show the world courage, dignity, pride and humility in the face of turmoil, embodying a sense of “eternal” that transcends the tangible and recognises that resistance comes from within. Palestine is positioned as a land of renewal, justice and humanity in a time where everything around us seems to be in the middle of collapse; climate, empires, wars, social structures, economies. This narrative transforms Palestine from a site of perpetual conflict into a source of inspiration and renewal for humanity.
CLA Analysis Table
| Layer | Current Reality | Preferred Future |
|---|---|---|
| Litany | Guilty until proven innocent.
Palestinians as inherently dangerous, associated with conflict, positioned as other and backwards, stereotypes of Palestinian men as suspicious and violent. |
Palestine as a land that teaches life, brimming with vitality and beauty. Showing dignity, pride and humility in the face of turmoil; positioned as a source of renewal and humanity in times of global injustices. |
| Systemic Causes | Zionist propaganda with significant funding and institutional power; weaponisation of Holocaust trauma; pervasive racism and Islamophobia in Western societies; a decades-long campaign of dehumanisation. | Palestinian sumud and joy witnessed globally; relentless commitment of journalists documenting Gaza; unravelling of colonial propaganda through social media; solidarity from young Jews in Western countries; global popular outrage at government hypocrisy; exposure of genocidal attitudes in Israel; growing popularity of Palestinian and Arab pop culture. |
| Worldview | “Might is right” – a colonial perspective that accepts power imbalances as natural; assumption that Jews cannot be wrong due to historical trauma; Israel constructed as superior European-style democracy; Palestinians portrayed as backwards, rural, and savage; conflict framed as complex and intractable. | Palestine as flourishing land where everything grows – generous, authentic, hospitable, honourable and just nation; Palestinians as educated, successful and innovative despite obstacles; Palestine as land of renewal using both modern and ancestral knowledge; Palestine positioned as symbol of global solidarity against imperialism and colonialism; recognised as home to ancient civilisations and crossing point for many cultures. |
| Myth/Metaphor | “Land of the savage” – primitive, dangerous, uncivilised, needing external control; justifies occupation through “civilising mission” narrative; erases sophisticated cultural traditions | “Land of eternal spring” – renewal, regeneration, inevitable return of life after oppression; acknowledges current suffering while affirming enduring vitality. |
Discussion
Theoretical Implications
This research demonstrates that CLA can be adapted for liberation contexts to address power imbalances and support marginalised communities. It can uncover mechanisms of narrative oppression and construct alternative narratives for liberation.
Second, the study shows how futures methodologies can support anti-colonial struggles. As Inayatullah (2008) argues, “Futures work must be transformative, not merely predictive.” This research demonstrates how participatory CLA can be both analytical and emancipatory.
Methodological Contributions
This research makes several methodological contributions to futures studies:
1. Adaptation of CLA for a Liberation Context: the study demonstrates how CLA can be practiced with trauma sensitivity while maintaining analytical rigour.
2. Participatory Futures with Marginalised Communities: The research model shows how futures methodologies can be conducted with diaspora communities to strengthen narrative capacity. This approach centres community voices.
Ethical Considerations in Futures Research
This research raises important ethical questions for futures studies working with oppressed communities.
First, it highlights the responsibility of futures practitioners to address their positionality and power dynamics in research relationships.
Second, it demonstrates the importance of trauma-sensitive approaches when working with communities experiencing ongoing oppression.
Third, the research shows how futures methodologies can support immediate community needs rather than focusing solely on long-term scenarios.
Limitations and Acknowledgements
Several limitations should be acknowledged.
First, the research was conducted with a specific demographic of Palestinian-British professionals. Also, the study’s focus on narrative futures means it doesn’t address material aspects of liberation.
Further, the outcomes of this CLA are specifically relevant in a British context, because of Britain’s historical and present-day entanglements with Palestine and Israel. Many aspects are transferable, but not all.
Importantly, a lot of the present-day litany about Palestine also applies to all Arabs, and more widely to Muslims. The root causes are notably the same.
Conclusion
This research demonstrates how Causal Layered Analysis can be both an analytical tool and an emancipatory practice for Palestinian liberation. By untangling the structures shaping Palestinian narratives and constructing preferred narratives of renewal and resistance, the study contributes to futures methodologies that support marginalised communities.
The findings reveal how Zionist propaganda operates through interconnected layers of surface stereotypes, systemic power structures, worldviews and cultural myths. Conversely, Palestinian resistance manifests through regenerative narratives that challenge these layers systematically, positioning Palestine as a land of “eternal spring” rather than “the land of the savage”.
This research contributes to critical futures studies by showing how futures methodologies can address power imbalances and support liberation struggles. As futures practitioners, we have a responsibility to ensure our work serves marginalised communities rather than maintaining existing power structures. The Palestinian experience demonstrates that narrative futures are inseparable from material liberation – that to free Palestine, we must first free the narratives that define it.
Note: checks on formatting, proofreading and citation style with the assistance of: thaura.ai
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