Cultural Militarism, Militaristic Politics and Potential Praetorianism During the First Fifty Years of Israel

Abstract

The article endeavours to account for the intriguing socio-political phenomenon, illustrated by the case of Israel, that military coups (or praetorianism) are thwarted not because of the resilience of democratic institutions and the absence of war, but because the society is culturally militaristic and is in a protracted state of war. This argument, which hypothesizes an inverse relationship between militarism and praetorianism, is based on an examination of the Israeli state from its foundation up until the present day. During that period, the depiction of the Israeli nation-in-arms has been embodied by non-praetorian militarism.