From "Obligatory Militarism" to "Contractual Militarism"—Competing Models of Citizenship

Since the 1973 War, the secular Ashkenazi middle-class groups, which traditionally had constituted the military's "backbone", have displayed a lack of enthusiasm to continue to bear the military burden, a phenomenon that was publicly portrayed as a "motivation crisis." We co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Israel studies (Bloomington, Ind.) Ind.), 2007-03, Vol.12 (1), p.127-148
Main Authors: Levy, Yagil, Lomsky-Feder, Edna, Harel, Noa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Arab-Israeli conflict
Area studies
Armed forces
Armies
Attitudes
Ceremonies
Citizenship
Forecasts and trends
Israel
Jewish culture
Jewish life & ethics
Jewish people
Jewish studies
Market trend/market analysis
Militarism
Military recruitment
Military Service
Motivation
Social Agencies
Social Change
Social conditions & trends
Socialization
Soldiers
War
Warfare
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Summary:Since the 1973 War, the secular Ashkenazi middle-class groups, which traditionally had constituted the military's "backbone", have displayed a lack of enthusiasm to continue to bear the military burden, a phenomenon that was publicly portrayed as a "motivation crisis." We conceptualize this process as a shift from a "subjected militarism" that perceived military service as an unconditioned, mandatory national duty to a "contractual militarism," according to which military service is stipulated by the fulfillment of the individual's ambitions and interests, although it remained a formal obligation. Two sites of socializations-school memorial ceremonies and preparation for the military service-serve as mediating mechanisms between the structural, social change and the social agency. Both have been utilized by the dominant groups to re-shape the canon, military ethos in a manner that redefines their relations vis-à-vis the military in contractual terms.
ISSN:1084-9513
1527-201X
1527-201X
DOI:10.1353/is.2007.0004