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Defence and Diplomacy in Israel’s National Security Experience
Tactics, Partnerships, and Motives
| David Rodman |
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| David Rodman has
written numerous articles, review essays, and book reviews on
various aspects of the Arab–Israeli conflict for professional
journals, including Middle Eastern Studies, The Journal
of Strategic Studies, MERIA Journal, Israel
Affairs, Defence Studies, and Air & Space
Power Chronicles. He has also contributed chapters to From
War to Peace?, Review Essays in Israel Studies: Books
on Israel, Vol. 5, and Between War and Peace: Dilemmas
of Israeli Security.
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“In a short, insightful book about Israel’s strategic
thinking, Rodman proves a clear overview of Israel’s national
security… [The author] reviews the appropriate paradigm for
the analysis of Israel’s external strategy, and Israel’s
rare attempts to adopt far-reaching goals such as targeting hostile
governments.” Middle East Quarterly
“As Israel and Hezbollah disengage in Lebanon and the international
community grudgingly attempts to enforce a cease-fire, the Israeli
political
and military elites will, no doubt, embark on some significant introspection.
Not least, they will wonder why they ostensibly failed to neutralize
the threat posed by Hezbollah, even with the support of both the
US and the UK. Written in 2005, Rodman’s book elucidates upon
a number
of issues pertaining to asymmetrical warfare and general threats
from nonstate actors, an especially relevant subject within the context
of the recent violence in Lebanon. In particular, the author states
that, should Israel find itself fighting in another regional war,
it would be likely to attack its enemies’ targets with air,
sea and land-based ordnance before engaging in ‘
offensive manoeuvre warfare’ (p. 14) … Well-written and
well-researched.” Israel Affairs
“While Defense and Diplomacy in Israel's National Security
Experience was
written in 2005, it reads as if it was intended as an alternative
to the flimsy analysis of the newspaper and television coverage of
the 2006 Lebanon hostilities. The television and news analysis of
Israeli tactics in that
war tended to view each new action taken by the Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF) from the standpoint of world opinion, or at best, from the
standpoint of a single tactical premise and not from an overall strategic
objective. Rodman’s book, instructs the reader to view IDF
tactics from both the historical and long-term perspective.
… David
Rodman’s book provides a well organized,
well written, and thorough
analysis of Israel’s military for a period of
sixty years. More importantly, it provides an objective basis for
understanding
Israel’s military reaction to recent, and present, provocations.
Because the threats to Israel must be viewed as existential, as
opposed to the threats posed recently to the United States, Israel’s
response must be viewed in the context reflected in this tightly
written and cogent work.” Journal of Global Change and
Governance
“This book of essays examines a wide range of topics from the role of the
Air Force in Israel’s National Security strategy, to Israel’s bilateral
relationship with Turkey and the US, to Israel’s arms export policy and
the factors motivating its foreign policy. However, these, and a number of other
issues, are all linked together by their centrality to Israel’s
complex, and at times contradictory, national security requirements. Given
the challenges facing the Jewish state this work is very timely, all the more
so
because the author brings a deep knowledge to the subject. All in all a highly
informative work that makes an important contribution to the literature on
Israeli strategy and involvement in the international arena.” Efraim
Karsh, Head Mediterranean Studies Programme, King’s College, University
of London
“David Rodman has written a much-needed update and reconsideration of Israel’s national security strategy and practices. Comprehensive and original, this book is useful reading on an important and controversial subject.” Barry Rubin
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Examines Israel’s national security experience since its establishment in 1948 |
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Provides an inclusive yet concise examination of Israel’s national security policy |
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Surveys the central concepts behind the state’s national security doctrine |
This work defines the central concepts
of Israel’s national security doctrine as deterrence, geography,
manpower, quantity versus quality, offensive maneuver warfare, conventional
versus unconventional threats, self-reliance, great power patronage,
and peripheral partnerships.
… The author describes and explains
how these concepts have influenced the war fighting experience of
the Israel Defense Forces, including the air force and the navy.
Special attention is paid to Israel’s relationships with the
United States, Turkey, and India as they relate to the Jewish state’s
national security, and in particular offers a new interpretation
of what really drives these relationships; the motives behind Israeli
foreign policy and Israeli arms export policy; and whether Israel’s
national security doctrine ought to include a capability to threaten
the existence of hostile Arab (and Islamic) governments.
Sections of this book have been used to teach a class on strategic studies at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.
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List of Contents to follow |
Publication Details
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ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-073-6 h/b |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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172 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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Illustrated: |
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No |
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Hardback Price: |
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£37.50 / $52.50 |
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| This book can be ordered online or by telephone. |
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For the UK and Rest of the World:
Gazelle Book Services
tel. 44 (0)1524-68765 |
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For the United States:
International Specialized Book Services
tel. (1) 503 287-3093 or (800) 944-6190 |
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For Canada:
University of Toronto Distribution
tel. (1) 800-565-9523 |
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