How Militarization Drives Political Control of the Military: The Case of Israel

The article focuses on how militarization drives political control of the military. Observation of state-military relations in Israel reveals an apparent paradox, as militarization of Israeli society and politics increased, politicians were more successful in institutionalizing effective control over the Israel Defense Forces. Inculcating the principle of subordination of the armed forces to the political during the pre-state period gave way to the construction of formal and informal restraints on autonomous military action. That intersection has not been explored yet by students of society-military relations in Israel. The socio-historical etiology of the subordination of the military to political supervision is missing. Instead, scholars have analyzed the outcomes of previously established processes, that is, the relations between the military and the political authorities underlying the structure of political control. Analysts who explain the different structures of control, be it the civilianization, the partnership between politicians and generals, or military-civil concordance, have not asked what accounts for the military's acceptance of its subordination to the political level.