ABSTRACT
In the realm of civil-military relations, as in many other spheres, Israel has persistently defied conventional categorizations. Clearly, the degree of overall influence wielded by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) exceeds the boundaries that democracies generally consider appropriate. It has long been apparent that in many fields of public life (and not just those directly relevant to security affairs) Israel's military only rarely merits depiction as a subordinate arm of government. Frequently, it has constituted the dominant influence over policy-making and policy execution. 1 Nevertheless, it was for many years generally agreed that Israel did not at all conform to the models of either a ‘praetorian’ or ‘garrison’ state. 2 Even scholars who have more recently referred to Israel as a ‘militaristic’ society, take care to qualify their use of the term. Thus Baruch Kimmerling speaks of Israel as a case of ‘cognitive’ and/or ‘cultural’ militarism, whilst Yagil Levi writes at length about ‘material’ militarism. 3 Both agree that, notwithstanding the IDF's long tradition of predominance in Israeli society and public life, Israel remains a vibrant parliamentary democracy.
