Leiden University Student Repository

Dresia, Jip (2017)

The Israel Defense Forces as a Social Agent: The Effects of Militarized Socialization on Public Discourse in Israel

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

Besides strong physical presence in Israeli society, the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) symbolic presence in society is even more pervasive through constant transmission of its prominent values, embodied by the concept of strategic culture. This paper analyses the process of cultural transmission, performed by the IDF, within the framework of militarized socialization. Arguably, the process of militarized socialization underwent a shift from the use of military education as the main vehicle for socialization, to the use of religion as a vehicle for socialization and as an identity marker of the Israeli military as a whole. The gradual return of religion to the ranks may have important implications for the development of Israeli society, as well as for the course of the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms of decreased chances of rapprochement between the two parties.

Socialization

Military

IDF

Israel

Theocratization

Public Discourse

Cultural Transmission

Author

Dresia, Jip

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Middle East

Supervisors

Strava, Cristiana

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en