Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly after the Israeli-Arab War of 1967, a highly informal but simultaneously potent security network has influenced Israel's domestic sphere. Composed of acting and former security personnel and their partners in the state's various civilian spheres, this security network has affected Israeli culture, politics, society, economy, public discourse, and foreign relations. This book discusses this major sociopolitical phenomenon and its effects in a comparative and theoretical perspective. First, it defines Israel's security network in a broad theoretical and comparative perspective. Second, it explains how Israel's security network emerged and acquired a hegemonic position in the area of national security and foreign policy. Third, it describes the security network and identifies its members. Fourth, it discusses and explains the multitude of roles that Israel's security network has come to play both domestically and externally. Fifth, it discusses similar phenomena in other relevant cases. Finally, it presents general analytical and theoretical conclusions.

This book investigates the identity issues of South Asians in the diaspora. It engages the theoretical and methodological debates concerning processes of culture and identity in the contemporary context of globalisation and transnationalism. It analyses the South Asian diaspora - a perfect route to a deeper understanding of contemporary socio-cultural transformations and the way in which information and communication technology functions as both a catalyst and indicator of such transformations. The book will be of interest to scholars of diaspora studies, cultural studies, international migration studies, and ethnic and racial studies. This book is a collection of papers from the journal South Asian Diaspora.

Despite Israel's enormous dependence on the United States, relatively little has been written by Israeli scholars about relations between the two countries. In this book of original essays, contributors discuss the social, ideological, and political groups in the United States that support or oppose Israel, examine how they influence policy decisions, and review U.S. public opinion toward Israel. In addition, the politics of supplying arms and economic aid to Israel are analyzed in historical perspective. Finally, the contributors explore the range of U.S. interests in the dispute over the West Bank.

The Arab countries and the Arab Middle East have been projected as homogeneous and united social and political entities. Yet beneath the surface, ethnic tensions and conflicts simmer. Some of these conflicts are well known and the issues arising therefrom are part of the regular diet of news. Other tensions involving ethnic minorities and ethnic diasporas are less well known. But they are no less problematic for regional actors. Particularly so since they are not only influenced by global developments, but they also significantly influence political, economic, cultural and ideological regional and intrastate developments. ... The purpose of this book is to highlight the factors, forces, and circumstances that affect inter-communal relations in the region, and point toward strategies and circumstances that promote or hinder coexistence and integration, or antagonism. By studying diasporas in the Middle East in terms of their significant regional factors in relation to the Middle Eastern diaspora worldwide, this book makes an important and unique contribution to linking the study of Middle Eastern diasporas to the general new field of diasporic studies.

The essays here attempt to move beyond the question of Israel's uniqueness to examine the pace and direction of change of Israel's political, social and economic institutions. Using the tools of comparative analysis, scholars from Israel, the US and Europe describe the ways in which Israeli society is becoming more like other democratic industrialized societies and in what dimensions Israeli culture and institutions are slowing or resisting such convergence. The essays fall into four categories: political institutions and organizations; political economy; ethnicity and religion; and public policy.

Israeli historiography has long been subjected to a sustained assault by self-styled "new historians" vying to expose what they claim to be the distorted "Zionist narrative" of Israeli history and the Arab-Israeli conflict. They have cast Israel as the regional villain, bearing sole responsibility for the cycle of violence in the Middle east since 1946.
This text takes issue with these "revisionists." The author argues that they have ignored or misinterpreted much documentation in developing their analysis of Israel's history. There are numerous in-depth studies to illustrate the author's argument.

In this volume, scholars from a variety of disciplines address the following questions: what are the linkages between systemic features and the small states' environment; does the emerging international system augur well for small states; what can be expected of allies, big and small; what are the interactions between small states and regional organizations; what national strategies best serve the precarious survival of small states; and what are the appropriate defence policies in the changing technological and political environment? This collection not only tackles the issue of the future of small states in the post-Cold War international order, but also investigates the future of international relations.

This book is intended to fill in a gap in the study of modern ethno-national diasporas. Thus, against the background of current trends - globalization, democratization, the weakening of the nation-state and massive transstate migration, it examines the politics of historical, modern and incipient ethno-national diasporas. It argues that unlike the widely accepted view, ethno-national diasporism and diasporas do not constitute a recent phenomenon. Rather, this is a perennial phenomenon whose roots were in antiquity. Some of the existing diasporas were created in antiquity, some during the Middle Ages and some are modern. An essential aspect of this phenomenon is the endless cultural-social-economic and especially political struggle of these dispersed ethnic groups that permanently reside in host countries away from their homelands to maintain their distinctive identities and connections with their homelands and other dispersed groups of the same nation. While describing and analyzing the diaspora phenomenon, the book sheds light on theoretical questions pertaining to current ethnicity and politics.

This book investigates the identity issues of South Asians in the diaspora. It engages the theoretical and methodological debates concerning processes of culture and identity in the contemporary context of globalisation and transnationalism. It analyses the South Asian diaspora - a perfect route to a deeper understanding of contemporary socio-cultural transformations and the way in which information and communication technology functions as both a catalyst and indicator of such transformations. The book will be of interest to scholars of diaspora studies, cultural studies, international migration studies, and ethnic and racial studies. This book is a collection of papers from the journal South Asian Diaspora.

This book revises some of the most widely-accepted views on Israeli history and politics. Through the political biography of Israel's second prime minister, Moshe Sharett, it traces the roots of the Israeli polity, international and domestic orientations, and the making of its policies. It focuses on the role of a moderate leader and his struggles against the legendary Ben-Gurion and his activist supporters, shedding new light on the forces that shaped Israeli politics for decades.

This book is about an important cultural-political phenomenon: ethno-national diasporas. While these groups try to "feel at home" in their host countries, they maintain at the same time close contact with their homelands to promote their culture and interests. The book analyzes their continuous struggle to maintain their identity, organize, and fight against all wishing to prevent permanent settlement and integration in the host countries. It discusses the complex questions of the groups' loyalties to their homelands and host countries as well as their contributions to them.

Challenging the established view that the civilian sector in Israel has been predominant over its security sector since the state's independence in 1948, this volume critically and systematically reexamines the relationship between these sectors and provides a deeper, more nuanced view of their interactions. Individual chapters cast light on the formal and informal arrangements, connections, and dynamic relations that closely tie Israel's security sector to the country's culture, civil society, political system, economy, educational system, gender relations, and the media. Among the issues and events discussed are Israel's separation barrier, the impact of Israel's military confrontations with the Palestinians and other Middle Eastern states especially Lebanon and the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Israeli case offers insights about the role of the military and security in democratic nations in contemporary times."