Israel and its Army
From Cohesion to Confusion
Price: $140.00
Add to Cart- ISBN: 978-0-415-40049-7
- Binding: Hardback
- Published by: Routledge
- Publication Date: 24th January 2008
- Pages: 208
About the Book
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) plays a key role in Israeli society, and has traditionally been perceived not only as the guardian of national survival, but also as a 'people's army' responsible for the custody of national values. This volume analyses the circumstances currently undermining these perceptions, and explores both the changes occurring in Israel’s military framework, and their potential implications.
The book highlights the influence exerted by massive shifts in both Israel's external strategic landscape and in the country's domestic and cultural environments, which have compelled the IDF to undertake major programmes of structural reform, technological adaptation and doctrinal revision. This book argues that these changes have lead the public to subject the armed forces and their conduct to unprecedented critical scrutiny. The way in which Israelis and their army resolve these tensions is of crucial importance not only for Israel, but for the Middle East as a whole.
Table of Contents
1. Frameworks of Analysis Section A: Changing Contexts 2. Forging a Relationship 3. The Changing Operational Landscape 4. The New Societal Setting Section B: New Dilemmas 5. A Smaller and Smarter IDF? 6. From Nation-Binder to Nation-Divider? 7. The Appropriate Application of Force? Section C: Prospects 8. Future Challenges and their Resolution
About the Author(s)
Stuart Cohen is Professor of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and Senior Research Associate of the BESA (Begin-Sadat) Center for Strategic Studies.