microcosm

ヨルダン川西岸地区（West Bank）に建設予定の街Rawabi。その建設が思うように進みません。記事はthe New York Timesからの引用です。
microcosmは文字通り「小世界, 小宇宙」を表す単語ですが，加えて「（一般に）縮図」という意味もあります（『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館）。英英辞書でも"a small group, society, or place that has the same qualities as a much larger one"（LDOCE）のように解説されていました。ここでは「パレスチナを象徴するかのように」と解釈できます。（Koyamamoto）

Birth of a Palestinian City Is Punctuated by Struggles
RAWABI, West Bank — Two students came up with Rawabi, the Arabic word for hills, in a competition to name this new Palestinian city, the first to have been planned from the ground up. The developers rejected suggestions — like Arafat City and Jihad City — that evoked a more chaotic past.
… But like a microcosm of the Palestinian state in the making, the building of Rawabi is a continual struggle. Its future growth depends on a precarious political environment and the cooperation of Israel. Because of Rawabi’s location, Mr. Masri says, he and his colleagues spend about 70 percent of their time on issues like water and obtaining permits. Promised funds from the Palestinian Authority never materialized, posing an additional challenge.