The New Citizen Armies ─ Israel's Armed Forces in Comparative Perspective

This edited book constitutes the first detailed attempt at a comparative international analysis of the transformations that are currently affecting the composition of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and their place in Israeli society.

Focusing primarily on deviations from the traditional norm of universal military service, the book compares the emergence of a new type of "citizen army" in Israel with the formats that have in recent decades become evident in other western democracies. In addition, these essays correct the conventional tendency to concentrate almost exclusively on the influences stimulating military institutional change in the West, and thereby to overlook the equally important factors that retard its momentum. By contrast, this volume deliberately highlights the brakes as well as the accelerators in current processes, thereby presenting a far more faithful picture of their complexity.

This book will be of much interest to students of Israeli politics, military studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.

Stuart Cohen is a senior research associate of the BESA (Begin-Sadat) Center for Strategic Studies and also teaches political studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His most recent book is Israel and its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion (Routledge, 2008).

Stuart A. Cohen is a senior research associate of the BESA (Begin-Sadat) Center for Strategic Studies and also teaches Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His most recent book is Israel and its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion (Routledge, 2008).

Part 1: Continuities and their Manifestations 1. The Enduring Citizen-Soldier Tradition in the United States Ronald R. Krebs 2. Recruiting the All-Volunteer Force: Continuity and Change in the British Army, 1963-2008 Christopher Dandeker 3. The Royal Netherlands Army, 1814-2008: The Rise and Decline of a Citizen Army? Jan Hoffenaar 4. Reversing the Tide of Jewish History: Culture and the Creation of Israel's 'People's Army' Stuart A. Cohen Part 2: Change: Causes and Constraints 5. Operational and Technological Incentives and Disincentives for Force Transformation Avi Kober 6. Strategic and Political Factors Preventing the Shift from 'Citizen Armies' to Professional Militaries Gabriel Sheffer and Oren Barak 7. Gender Issues in the Transformation to an All-Volunteer Force: A Transnational Perspective Michelle Sandhoff, Mady Wechsler Segal, David R. Segal 8. Conscription versus Recruitment Through Markets: Economic Considerations Yaacov Lifshitz 9. The Officer Corps in the All-Volunteer Army: The American Experiment Continues Leonard Wong 10. Up from the Ashes: The Re-Professionalization of the Canadian Forces After the 'Somalia' Affair David J. Bercuson Part 3: Israeli Dilemmas and Experiences 11. Where Will the Women Be? Gendered Implications of the Decline of Israel's Citizen Army Orna Sasson-Levy 12. From the 'Citizen Army' to the 'Market Army': Israel as a Case Study Yagil Levy 13. Teaching Citizens to be Professional Soldiers: IDF Responses and Their Implications Tamir Libel