Evolving Nationalism examines how the idea of Israel as a
nation-state has developed within Zionist and Israeli discourse
over the past eight decades. Nadav G. Shelef focuses on the
changing ways in which the main nationalist movements answered
three distinct questions in their private and public ideological
articulations between 1925 and 2005: Where is the "Land of Israel"?
Who ought to be Israeli? What should the Zionist national mission
be?
Framed within broader debates about how and why changes in
foundational definitions of the nation occur, Shelef's analysis
centers on the mechanisms of ideological change and then subjects
them to empirical scrutiny. He thus moves beyond the common but
problematic assumptions that such transformations must be either a
rare, rational adaptation to traumatic shock or a relatively
constant product of manipulation by power-hungry elites. He finds
that nationalist movements, including radical and religious
fundamentalist ones, can and do change cardinal components of their
ideological beliefs in both moderating and radicalizing
directions.
These changes have more to do with the unguided consequences of
engagement in day-to-day politics than with strategic reaction to
new realities, the use of force, or the changing incentives of
leaders. Engaging with some of the most contentious debates about
the nature of Israeli nationalism and the geographic, religious,
and ethnic definition of the state of Israel, Shelef has made
signal contributions to our understanding of Middle East politics
and of the ideological underpinnings of nationalism itself.
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