Israel's Materialist Militarism

Israel's Materialist Militarism explains the fluctuations in Israel's military policies during the 1990s-2000s from the Oslo Accords to the al-Aqsa Intifada and the Second Lebanon War. A conceptual framework is offered that relies on materialist militarism, the relations of exchange between the state and social groups, by which the groups exchange their military sacrifice for social rewards, that in turn nutures militarism. The dynamic balancing of the sacrifice/reward equation explains the dynamics of war versus de-escalation.

Yagil Levy is external associate professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev