Media Strategy and Military Operations in the 21st Century ─ Mediatizing the Israel Defence Forces

This book applies the concept of mediatization to the contemporary dynamic between war, media and society, with a focus on the Israel Defence Force (IDF).

Since the beginning of the 21st century the IDF has undergone an intensive process of mediatization that has transformed the media into an interpretative grid for many of its military activities and has allowed it to influence and shape civilian perceptions of conflict and security through media activity and strategy. This process can be divided into four distinct chronological phases in accordance with the operational challenges confronted by the IDF during this period: the ‘al-Aqsa Intifada’ of 2000-2005; the unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005; the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006; and the Gaza confrontations of 2008-09, 2012 and 2014. The work shows how the IDF’s media management evolved from a narrow perception of its role, in terms of disseminating information about its activities and operations to the public, to a cohesive and coherently articulated media strategy that has subsequently become an integral part of operational military activities and a vital component of strategic military aims and objectives. This strategic stance has led the IDF to adopt a global media perspective using the most advanced new media platforms, designed to influence public opinion and improve national narratives, both in Israel and the international community. By applying the concept of mediatization to the Israeli case, this book fills a research lacuna and offers a new prism for the study of media-military relations in contemporary conflicts.

The book will be of much interest to students of civil-military relations, strategic studies, Middle Eastern Studies, media and communication studies, sociology and IR, in general.

Michal Shavit is lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, and has a PhD in Social Science and Public Policy from Kings College London.